Papers of William Franklin Jr. "Billy" Graham - Collection 15

[Note: What follows is a description of the documents in this collection which are available for use at BGC Archives in Wheaton, Illinois, USA. The actual documents are not, in most cases, available online, only this description of them. Nor are they available for sale or rent.

Table of Contents

Brief Description of This Collection

Title Page and Restrictions

General Historical Background of Billy Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

An Essay on the Contents of the Collection (Scope and Content)

Paper Records
Nonpaper Records

Lists of Audio Tapes, Films, and Photographs in This Collection (Location Records)

Audio Tapes
Digital Recordings
Films
Oversize Materials
Photographs

List of the Contents of Boxes of Paper Records in This Collection (Container List)

Digital file D1 closed during the life time of Billy Graham to all persons except those with the written permission of the Graham family representative. Forms for contacting this person are available from the Archives staff.

Folders 1-3 and 3-1 are closed during the life time of Billy Graham to all persons except those with the written permission of the Graham family representative. Forms for contacting this person are available from the Archives staff.

The Lausanne Covenant signed by Billy Graham in Oversize Drawer OS24 is closed for preservation reasons. A copy is available for viewing.

Forms to be sent to the BGEA representative should be obtained from the staff in the Reading Room.

Scope and Content

Exceptional items: Of particular interest is a scrapbook kept by Graham during his attendance at Florida Bible Institute and Wheaton College and of miscellaneous materials he stored inside the back cover. Taped in the scrapbook are articles, programs, photos, and other memorabilia of services at which Dr. Graham preached. Also taped in the book is a newspaper article on and a photograph of his class (1940) at the Institute, and a photograph of Ponzi Parrington, who served as Billy Graham's songleader. In the back of the scrapbook was stored Graham's diploma from the Institute, programs for activities he was involved in while attending Wheaton, handbills for his evangelistic services, newspapers, a few pages of correspondence, and typewritten sermons, possibly by Graham. To preserve the original order of the scrapbook, the leaves of the book which had items taped on to them were encapsulated between mylar plastic sheets. The loose items have been foldered (folders 1-2 through 1-14). Folder 1-3 includes an August 1941 letter from V. Raymond Edman, president of Wheaton College, concerning Graham becoming the preacher at the Union Gospel Tabernacle in Wheaton.

Folder 3-5 contains a certified copy of a 1942 licence for a wedding Graham performed in Indiana, one of his first.

Folder 2-7 has the program for the 1947 funeral service of William Bell Riley, a mentor of Graham’s.

When Graham appeared on the TV show This if Your Life in 1957, Crest Toothpaste as a present to him paid to sponsor ten orphans at World Vision’s Korean orphanages. Folder 2-6 contains a notebook about the individual orphans that were sponsored and also contains letters and other information on them.

Folder 3-4 contains transcripts of sermons and talks by Graham: from the 1972 Charlotte Crusade (the university of life); the Denver Crusade of 1987 (forgiveness, loneliness), the Rochester Crusade of 1988 (Hope), the Capital City Crusade of 1990 (conversion), and the Scotland Crusade of 1991 (the offense of the cross). Also in the folder is the speech he gave at the 1976 bicentennial of the so-called Meckleburg Declaration of Independence. Some of the transcripts list no author and may not be by Graham.

Graham was probably the person most influential in bringing together the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization, which met in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974. Oversize drawer 24 contains his personally signed copy of the Lausanne Covenant, dated July 26, 1974.

Folder 3-3 contains the transcript of Graham’s remarks at the 1981 funeral of his mother, Morrow Coffey Graham, and the program of the service. Besides describing her character, he also talks about his childhood.

Folder 2-3 contains a variety of miscellaneous letters gathered from various sources: two photocopies of letters (1950 and 1958) to Ray Schulenberg about the possibility of an evangelistic meetings in Moline and Chicago, Illinois; correspondence just after the 1957 New York Crusade in which Graham discusses his policy of cooperating with churches in his evangelistic meetings, as long as they placed no restrictions on his message; Graham’s 1962 response to a condolence note on the death of his father; a letter to Fuller Seminary president Richard Mouw agreeing to serve on an anniversary committee for the seminary; drafts of the letter Graham wrote to the planners of the Moscow anti-nuclear weapons conference which he attended in 1982; a 2002 photocopy of a letter to Wheaton College, commending the humanitarian work of the rock musical Bono.

There is a good deal of correspondence with evangelist Charles Fuller in folder 2-4. All the materials in this folder are photocopies of documents sent to the Archives by the archives of Fuller Theological Seminary. The letters include Graham asking for help with the starting of the magazine Christianity Today, his responses to requests for help from Fuller with Fuller Seminary, and their comments on and participation in each other’s ministry. .

Folder 3-1 contains some of the telegrams Graham sent his wife Ruth during the early days of his ministry, describing his various meetings. There are also a few telegrams from 1968 from friends and co-workers, celebrating his birthday

Some of the items reflect Ruth Graham’s participation in her husband’s ministry. Folder 2-2 contains a copy of Graham’s 1953 book Peace With God with her handwritten notes, apparently in preparation for a possible revision of the book. Folder 2-8 contains a script of the movie The Hiding Place, with a few handwritten notes and suggestions by her.

Folder 3-2 contains a 1987 notebook with a proposal for what became the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. The proposal outlined the methods and purpose of the training center, which was to train laypeople in Bible study and evangelism.

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Series: Nonpaper Records
Arrangement: Chronological
Date Range: 1943-1981
Geographic coverage: United States, Taiwan
Type of documents: Audio tapes of speeches, home movies (?), photographs
Subjects: Billy Graham's family life and his evangelistic ministry
Notes: Items are described fully in their individual location records

Provenance

The material in this collection received from the BGEA and other sources between 1975 and 2000.

Accession 75-16, 81-92, 86-3, 86-69, 92-24, 97-3, 97-57, 97-69, 98-13, 00-07, 06-13, 02-73, 06-24

Updated June 22, 2001
Robert Shuster

Acc.: 06-13
Updated: May 16, 2006
Bob Shuster

Acc. 02-73, 06-24
Updates: January 26, 2010
Bob Shuster

Acc. 11-13
Updated: March 3, 2011
Bob Shuster

T1 - Cassette. Recording of a visit of Billy Graham to Chiang Kai-shek's tomb in Taiwan. Tape consists of his prayer by the tomb, in which he describes Chiang's impact on China and his Christian faith. 3 minutes. October 26, 1975. See folder 3-4 for transcript of the sermon.

T2 - Reel, 7 ½ ips, 1 side. 13 minutes. Message from Billy Graham to those attending the Consultation on World Evangelization (COWE) sponsored by the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization and held in Pattaya, Thailand, June 16-27, 1980. Graham explains why he will be unable to attend and gives his thoughts on the priorities in world evangelization.

T3 - Cassette. Memorial service for Billy Graham's mother, Morrow Coffey Graham. A transcript of Billy Graham's comments is in folder 3-3. August 16, 1981.


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LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 08-38
Type of Material: DIGITAL RECORDINGS

F1 - Color 16mm home movie of scenes from the 1951 Christ for Hollywood meetings at the Hollywood Bowl. The film is less than two minutes long. It shows the marquee outside the Bowl, Cliff Barrows leading the choir, and the crowd dispersing at the end of the service.


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LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 86-3
Type of material: Oversize Materials
The following items are in the OVERSIZE FILE. Request by collection number and folder location (in parentheses).


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LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 86-3
Type of material: Photographs

The following items are located in the PHOTO FILE; request by folder title (in bold) at the beginning of each entry below.

COVENT, ARTHUR (OVERSIZE). Matted portrait photo, autographed to Billy Graham. B&w. N.d.

GRAHAM, WILLIAM FRANKLIN JR. (OVERSIZE). Matted photo of Billy Graham with Paul Dietzel and William Murray in Montreat, North Carolina, in August 1969. He is holding the Tuss McLaughry Award, which he had received in January of the same year. Matted 3-D portrait photo of Graham. Matted photo of Billy and Ruth Graham with Richard and Pat Nixon, probably at the White House. Artwork including photograph for an advertisement for the 1976 Bicentennial of Faith. Matted photo of Graham with Archbishop Borders and Mayor Schaefer at the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast in Baltimore, Maryland. Several matted portrait photos of graham. 3 color, 6 b&w. 1969-1981; n.d.

GRAHAM, WILLIAM F AND RUTH BELL. Pictures of their wedding, as members of the bridal party at a friend's wedding, at Wheaton College during their senior year, other pictures of them together after their marriage. Ca. 1943-1950. 11 b&w, 1 color.

STAM, JOHN AND BETTY. Small snapshot of Helen Priscilla Stay autographed by her on the back for Ruth Graham. 1937. 1 b&w.