In some circles of “higher learning,” it is considered a mark of inferiority to read the Bible. Yet some of the most able leaders and most brilliant minds of all ages have been Bible readers. Consider what these great men have said of the Sacred Book:
- GEORGE WASHINGTON: It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible… He is worse than an infidel who does not read his Bible and acknowledge his obligation to God.
- JOHN ADAMS: The Bible is the best book in the world.
- THOMAS JEFFERSON: 1 have always said and always will say that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands… The Bible makes the best people in the world.
- JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: My custom is to read four or five chapters of the Bible every morning immediately after rising… It seems to me the most suitable manner of beginning the day…
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN: I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book upon reason that you can, and the balance of faith, and you will live and die a better man.
- WOODROW WILSON: I have a very simple thing to ask of you. I ask every man and woman in this audience that from this day on, they will realize that part of the destiny of America lies in their daily perusal of this great Book.
- DANIEL WEBSTER: From the time that, at my mother’s feet or on my father’s knee, I first learned to lisp the verses from the sacred writings, they have been my daily study and vigilant contemplation,
- WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE: I have known ninety-five great men of the world in my time, and of these, eighty-seven were all followers of the Bible.
The Bible is a valuable book. The highest price ever paid for a Bible was $5.39 million. It was a 1455 edition of the Old Testament by Gutenberg. Recently, a poor Chinese farmer stole a Bible from a book fair in Asia. The fine was $200, 20 times the value of the Bible. A businessman heard of the plight of the farmer and paid the fine because the man would have spent most of the remaining years of his life in prison. We might ask ourselves, what value do we place on the Bible?
“The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver… I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” —Psalm 119:72, 162
