March, 1936
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T H E K I N G S B U S I N E S S
On the afternoon of January 28, 1936, President Paul W. Rood (standing) was in charge of the dedicatory serv ices at which a bronze tablet in honor of Reuben Archer Torrey was unveiled, and when the south wing of the Insti tute building was named Lyman Stewart Hall, in memory of the Los Angeles business man whose liberality in giving was a fundamental factor in the founding of Biola. Partici pating in the ceremony were (left to right): Louis T. Talbot, Vice-President of the Institute and Pastor of the Church of the Open Door; Mrs. Ralph C. Norton, close friend of the Torrey family; Mrs. Stewart, widow of Lyman Stewart; Dr. Rood, and A. B. Prichard, one of the early leaders of Institute activities in the city of Los Angeles.
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When Torrey...
WOULD HAVE FELT AT HOME B y MILDRED M. COOK
I f , on th at sunny morning of January 26, 1936, Reuben Archer Torrey, Biola’s beloved first Dean, could have strode, with accustomed poise, into the auditorium at Sixth and Hope Streets in America’s fifth city, without doubt he would have felt completely at home. Men of the old faith were on the platform. It was the Lord’s Day, and perhaps 3,000 worshipers were rising to sing, with fervor and un derstanding, that grand old hymn o f adoration: T o Thee, O God above, W e cry with glowing love, May Jesus Christ be praised. Who that knew R. A. Torrey could doubt that his heart would have echoed “ amen” ! The occasion was the opening of the Institute’s first annual Bible Conference, known this year as a Conference on Evangelism. With sessions morning, afternoon, and evening, the meetings continued, with ascending power and blessing, for eight wonderful days. Actually, Torrey was with the Lord, having entered into His presence on October 26, 1928; but during the period of the conference, he moved again, in influence and in memory, among men and women who praised God at the very utterance of his name. For twelve blessedly
eventful years, from 1912 to 1924, Torrey, as Dean, re garded the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles as “ home.” Dur ing all o f this time— and indeed throughout the whole of his Christian life— four dominant principles characterized the man: active acceptance of the whole Word o f God, con sistent emphasis on the value o f prayer, deep-seated yearn ing for the souls o f lost men, and balance in the teaching of the Word. And these were the very matters that occupied attention at Biola’s Conference on Evangelism. “ T orrey D a y ” Even on “ Torrey Day,” January 28, the eightieth anni versary o f Torrey’s birth, when the afternoon hours were spent in the recollection o f the grace of God as it was mani fest through Torrey and through his devoted colaborer, Lyman Stewart, there was not the slightest trace o f empty eulogy. Rather, awe and exultation were awakened, for the God who hath wrought wonders was the only One who was praised. And if Torrey, whose loathing for adulation is well known, could have heard the words uttered by his friends, the speakers of the afternoon, could have seen the simple dignity o f the platform decoration which included two large framed sepia portraits of the men whom Biola desired to honor, and could have felt that vast auditorium
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