Augustus J. C. Hare

#1

"Here, for the first time in print anywhere, is the complete story of the life of Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and Angelus Temple, Los Angeles, California. From her parents' farm in Canada to the Angelus Temple pulpit in Los Angeles, she pitched her tents, preached the gospel, and ministered to all who would hear. Her reputation traveled around the globe, and in this book she reveals her own impressions and recounts the facts that made her activities such a sensational media attraction. As a teenager Aimee Kennedy was converted under the preaching of a flaming young Irish evangelist, Robert Semple. Later, as his wife, she accompanied him to Hong Kong, where the two of them labored as missionaries to the Chinese. Robert sudden, untimely death preceded the birth of their daughter, Roberta, by only a month.^ What should a young, widowed mother, committed to serving the Lord on foreign soil, do under such circumstances? Convinced by her missionary colleagues that her first duty was to the baby entrusted by God to her care, Aimee Semple returned to the States. Within a few months, she joined her mother as a solicitor for the Salvation Army in New York City. Then during a visit to a former congregation in Chicago, she met and married Harold McPherson. Even after the birth of their son, Rob, however, she grew more convinced each day that her place was preaching the gospel. So with two young children in her arms, a patched-up tent, and a nearly worn-out car, she began the journey across America which ultimately led to the building of Angelus Temple and the founding of a fundamental religious movement. [This book] is Mrs. McPherson's own version of the victories, the sorrows, the achivements, and the disappointments of her life.^ She recounts how, though surrounded by the thousands who came to see her, she longed for the closeness and companionship of a loving marriage relationship. She also describes in her own words the events leading up to and including her kidnap from a California beach; how she was accused of planning the kidnapping for publicity purposes; how public clamor and outcry mounted; and how she was completely exonerated in a Los Angeles courtroom. The manuscript which forms the basis for this book lay unnoticed for more than two decades. When its presence was discovered and called to the attention of the Heritage Committee of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Dr. Raymond L. Cox was engaged to compile and complete it. The story as it appears here is Mrs. McPherson's story--in her very own words as much as possible. It was gleaned by Dr. Cox from Mrs.^ McPherson's sermons, articles, and documents, both published and unpublished, as well as accumulated reams of photocopies and clippings pertaining to her life. The facts are illustrated by actual photographs made during and after Mrs. McPherson's life. Aimee Semple McPherson did the seemingly impossible for a woman in the first half of the twentieth century. She refused to be daunted by obstacles, large or small, and held tenaciously to her faith in the reality of the unchanging Christ. The story of her life gives insight not only into the humanness of a woman who became a legend in her own lifetime, it also paints a portrait of an era in the religious history of America which today, thirty years after her death, continues to grow and expand throughout the world."--Dust jacket.