Difference between revisions of "Bible House of Los Angeles"

Revision as of 16:07, 12 January 2022

The Bible House of Los Angeles was a publisher and distributor of bible study materials founded in 1898 by Lyman Stewart (1840-1923), in 1908 a founder of the Biola/Talbot schools; and A.B. Prichard, both Presbyterians, initially targeted at distributors in 20 Spanish speaking countries, including many PB. It was a publishing extension of a short-lived Los Angeles Bible Institute (1901-1903) which Prichard administrated, and William Blackstone served (starting in 1902) as a Bible and prophecy teacher.¹. Ralph D. Smith served as administrator of the publishing side after the school closed.

In 1904, there was an open brethren (OB) assembly meeting at 330 1/2 Broadway as the Los Angeles Bible Institute Hall which may have been a headquarters for the Bible House as well. It was also listed as Room 505, Mason Building, cor. Fourth & Broadway (perhaps same address).

King's Business history of the Bible House of Los Angeles

Lyman Stewart was a Presbyterian in fellowship with a church in Titusville, California, then Immanuel Presbyterian in Los Angeles. At the close of the Spanish-American War, he developed a burden for the Philippines with regard to Bibles, as "there were only two Bibles in the entire Philippines, so far as it is known, at the time of the Spanish-American War." He approached A.B. Prichard, a Presbyterian minister who "prepared and underscored Testaments which Stewart had published in Spanish and then distributed extensively in 22 Spanish-speaking countries."

"It was in connection with this work that the Rev. Mr. Prichard became president of the Los Angeles Bible Institute, a project founded by Stewart. Classes were held from 1901 through 1903. However, when Prichard accepted the pastorate of the Central Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, the Bible classes were disbanded, the publishing part of the ministry continued under its secretary, Ralph D. Smith, and its name was changed to the Bible House of Los Angeles. Stewart continued to be the main supporter of the Bible House for several years and he stated that he probably contributed about $175,000."

Leadership (1906?)

As per preface to the Library of Princeton by The Bible House of Los Angeles for a complimentary copy of A.C. Gaebelein's The Seven Parables, his exposition on Matthew 13.

Advisory Council

• Rev. F.W. Flint (Christian Alliance)
• Mr. Lyman Stewart (Presbyterian)
• Rev. W.W. Logan (United Presbyterian)
• Prof. Melville Dozier (Baptist)
• Mr. S.I. Merrill (Baptist)
• Rev. E.J. Inwood (Methodist Episcopal)
• Rev. W.P. Hardy (Congregational)

Officers

• A.B. Prichard - President
• Melville Dozier - Vice-President
• Ralph D. Smith - Secretary-Treasurer

Notable Colporteurs

• William Cameron Townsend, after studying at the Occidental College (Presbyterian) served as a colporteur for the Bible House of Los Angeles in Guatemala for a year, before joining Central American Mission (CAM), founded by C.I. Scofield in 1890. Townsend later founded Wycliffe Bible Translators.²

• Antonio Pesqueira was born at, and spent the duration of his life serving the Lord at, Galicia, Spain.

Publications

Books

1880's-1930's

• Is the Bible Scientifically Correct?, by Frederick Erdman. 188_.
• The Seven Parables, by A.C. Gaebelein, n.d. (1906 or before).
• Jesus is Coming, by William E. Blackstone. First published in 1878. By the time the "presentation" edition was issued in 1908, 325,000 copies in twenty-five languages had been circulated, as per p. 42 of Premillennialism in America, by P.C. Wilt, 1970. The special edition of 1908 was distributed free thru the Bible House of Los Angeles, to theological students, missionaries, Bible students and "Israelites", as per Wilt's thesis. Another printing in 1916, with an introduction by James M. Gray, the editor claimed that 386,000 copies had been distributed.
• Christ in Psalm CXIX by Augustus Bedlow Prichard. 128 pp., 1938.

1940's

• Sight Sermons, Object Lessons on Sin, Salvation, Separation and Service, by Elmer Lavern Wilder. 160 pp., 1941.
• The Book of Daniel: A Composite Revelation of the Last Days of Israel's Subjugation to Gentile Powers, by William Coit Stevens. Revised Edition, 224 pp., 1943, 1949. Previously published in 1918 by Fleming H. Revell.
• Born Crucified by L.E. Maxwell. 191 pp., 1945.
• Resurrection Realities, by Merrill C. Tenney. 96 pp., 1945.
• The Bible Basis of Missions, by Robert Hall Glover. 208 pp., 1946. Also published the same year by Moody Press.

Pamphlets

• In Memoriam, Rev. Louis Meyer, D.D., by Mrs. T.C. Rounds. 42 pp., 1913.
• The Gospel of Grace in Romans III, by W.R. Newell (Chicago, IL)
• Why We Believe The Bible, by H.B. Gage (Los Angeles, CA)
• Three Aspects of Prayer, by A.B. Prichard (Los Angeles, CA)
• Bible Burning in Mexico", by Eglon Harris. 6 pp., 1915.
• That Worthy Name: James 2:7 7 pp., n.d.
• Why Evangelize Romanists?, by Lucy E. Guinness-Kumm. 1 p., n.d.
• Romanists: The Curse of South America by Charles Inwood. 8 pp., n.d.

Scripture

Spanish

• Underscored New Testament in Spanish. 380,000 copies (including Gospels) printed by or prior to 1906.

French

• Passages Choisis tires des saintes Ecritures. 126pp., 1927.

English

• The Gospel According to John. 92 pp., 1908.

Also See

• Records of the Bible House of Los Angeles, 1916-1930 @ Yale University Library, New Haven, CT.

Sources

• Black Oil & Souls To Win by James O. Henry. The King, 1958-Feb. p. 19

Footnotes

• ¹ Dr. Louis Meyer: A Centennial Observance, by Paul W. Rood, 2013, p. 4.
• ² Protestantism and Human Capital in Guatemala and the Republic of Korea, by Rachel M. McCleary.
  • Another reference: PSU.edu