Smith Wigglesworth

Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth
Born	June 8, 1859(1859-06-08) Menston, Yorkshire, England
Died	March 12, 1947 Glad Tidings Hall, Yorkshire, England
Occupation	Plumber, Evangelist
Spouse(s)	Mary Jane Featherstone (Polly), 1860-1913 (widowed)
Children	Alice, Seth, Harold, Ernest & George

Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947), was a British religious figure, important in the early history of Pentecostalism.

Early life

Smith Wigglesworth was born on June 08, 1859, in Menston, Yorkshire, England, to an impoverished family. As a small child, he worked in the fields pulling turnips alongside his mother; he also worked in factories. During his childhood, he was illiterate.

Nominally a Methodist, he became a born-again Christian at the age of eight. His grandmother was a devout Methodist; his parents, John and Martha, were not practising Christians although they took young Smith to Methodist and Anglican churches on regular occasions. He was confirmed by a Bishop in the Church of England, baptized by immersion in the Baptist Church and had the grounding in Bible teaching in the Plymouth Brethren while learning the plumbing trade as an apprentice from a man in the Brethren movement.^[1]

Wigglesworth married Polly Featherstone in 1882. At the time of their marriage, she was a preacher with the Salvation Army, and had come to the attention of General William Booth. They had one daughter, Alice, and four sons, Seth, Harold, Ernest and George. Polly died in 1913.^[2]

Wigglesworth learned to read after he married Polly; she taught him to read the Bible. He often stated that it was the only book he ever read, and did not permit newspapers in his home, preferring the Bible to be their only reading material.

Wigglesworth worked as a plumber, but he abandoned this trade because he was too busy for it after he started preaching. In 1907 Wigglesworth visited Alexander Boddy during the Sunderland Revival, and following a laying-on of hands from Alexander's wife Mary Boddy he experienced speaking in tongues (glossolalia).^[3] He worked with the Assemblies of God.

Ministry

Wigglesworth believed that healing came through faith, and he was flexible about the methods he employed. When he was forbidden to lay hands on audience members by the authorities in Sweden, he prayed for a "corporate healing", by which people laid hands on themselves. He also practiced anointing with oil, and the distribution of prayer handkerchiefs (one of which was sent to King George V). Wigglesworth sometimes attributed ill-health to demons.^[4]

Wigglesworth ministered at many churches throughout Yorkshire - often at Bethesda Church on the outskirts of Sheffield, where he had many prophecies. He also had an international ministry: as well as Sweden, he ministered in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Pacific Islands, India, Ceylon, and several countries in Europe. Some of his sermons were transcribed for Pentecostal magazines, and these were collected into two books: Ever Increasing Faith^[5] and Faith that Prevails.

Wigglesworth made a commitment to God that he would not sleep at night before he had won a soul for Christ every day. He claimed that on one occasion he could not sleep because he had not met this commitment, and that he went out into the night and met an alcoholic to whom he spoke and persuaded to become a believer.

Wigglesworth is considered one of the most influential evangelists in the early history of Pentecostalism and is also credited with helping give the movement a large religious audience.

Reportedly, David du Plessis recounted that Wigglesworth prophesied over him that God would pour out his Spirit on the established churches, and that David du Plessis would be greatly involved in it. Later du Plessis was very much involved in the Charismatic movement.

Wigglesworth continued to minister up until the time of his death on March 12, 1947.

Healing claims

Wigglesworth believed that God had cured him of hemorrhoids, and much of his ministry was focused on faith healing. He avoided medical treatment as far as possible, despite suffering from kidney stones in his later years. In his books, Wigglesworth said he refused any surgical procedure, stating that no knife would ever touch his body either in life or death. This was substantiated by a friend, Albert Hibbert, who stated in his book Smith Wigglesworth: The Secret of His Power that no autopsy was ever performed after Wigglesworth's death. Wigglesworth even claimed that God had allowed him to raise several persons from the dead, including his wife.^{[citation needed]}

References

• Bickle, Michael. "Smith Wigglesworth Biography" (HTML). http://web.archive.org/web/20060518010249/http://www.mklangl.com/wigglesworthrbio.html. Retrieved on 2006-05-18. 
• Frodsham, Stanley Howard (1948). Smith Wigglesworth: Apostle of Faith. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House. 
• Wigglesworth, Smith (1924). Ever Increasing Faith. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House. http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/wigglesworth/5f00.0930/5f00.0930.c.htm. Retrieved on 2006-12-13. 
• Hibbert, Albert (1982) Smith Wigglesworth: The Secret of His Power. Harrison House: Tulsa, OK.
• Reverend Lester Sumerall's personal account of Smith Wigglesworth testimony. This was televised.
• http://www.enterhisrest.org/history/healing_revivalists.pdf.

Works

• Ever Increasing Faith. (PDF) 1924. Zao Ministries International.
• Faith That Prevails. 1938. Biblioteca di eVangelo.
• The Smith Wigglesworth Blog. Sermons by Wigglesworth.

Further reading

• Christian Preservation Society. Wigglesworth bio.
• Colin, Melbourne. Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947). Born Again Christian Info.
• McGee, Gary B. "The Revival Legacy of Smith Wigglesworth." Assemblies of God USA Enrichment Journal.
• Pentecostal Pioneers WEBSITE : Smith Wigglesworth and other pioneers whom he ministered with.
• Wind and Fire Ministries. Smith Wigglesworth, Spiritual Leader Bio. Cedar Rapids, IA.
• Major Smith Wigglesworth Resource online A comprehensive array of Wigglesworth sermons, histories, reports and bibliographies