Min Livshistorie

Norsk tittel: Min Livshistorie
Original tittel: My Life Story
Dato: 1959-04-19
Sted: Los Angeles, California, USA

DENNE TALEN ER MASKINOVERSATT

Oppsett:

Engelsk:

Let us bow our heads just a moment for prayer.
Our gracious Heavenly Father, it is indeed with privileges that we have of approaching Thee, our God and Saviour. Hearing this marvelous song, How Great Thou Art, it thrills us because that we know that Thou art great. And we pray that Your greatness will be manifested to us anew this afternoon as we speak. And it is fallen my lot, for the first time in many years, to try to go back into life's past. And I pray that You'll give me strength, and what I need, Lord, to be in this hour. And may all my mistakes in life only be a stepping-stone to others, that would bring them closer to Thee. Grant it, Lord. May sinners see the footprints on the sands of time, and may they be led to Thee. These things we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
You may be seated.

Norsk:

La oss bøye våre hoder et øyeblikk i bønn.
Vår nådige Himmelske Far, det er virkelig et privilegium å få nærme oss Deg, vår Gud og Frelser. Når vi hører denne vidunderlige sangen, "O' store Gud" fylles vi av ærefrykt fordi vi vet at Du er stor. Vi ber om at Din storhet skal åpenbares for oss på nytt i ettermiddag nå mens vi taler.
Det har tilfalt meg, for første gang på mange år, å forsøke å se tilbake på fortiden min. Jeg ber om at Du gir meg styrke og det jeg trenger, Herre, for å være til stede nå i denne stunden. Måtte alle mine feil i livet kun være et springbrett for andre, slik at de kan komme nærmere Deg. Gi det, Herre. Måtte synderne se fotavtrykkene i tidens sand og bli ledet til Deg.
Disse tingene ber vi om i Herrens Jesu navn. Amen.
Vær så god og sitt.

[Brother Branham speaks aside to Brother Glover.]
All right, sir, thank you. As this sainted man, Brother Glover, that I've known now for some years, had the privilege of being with him a while last evening, and he told me he had been laid up for a little while, resting. And now, at seventy-five years old, is returning back into the service of the Lord. I'm not half as tired as I was before I heard that. I thought I was tired, but I don't believe I am. He had just placed here to me some handkerchiefs, in the form of envelopes and so forth, where they're inside and already backed.

[Bror Branham snakker til bror Glover.]
Takk skal Du ha, bror Glover. Denne helliggjorte mannen, bror Glover, som jeg har kjent i noen år nå, og som jeg hadde privilegiet av å være sammen med i går kveld, fortalte meg at han hadde tatt seg en pause for å hvile ut. Nå, i en alder av syttifem år, vender han tilbake i Herrens tjeneste. Jeg er ikke halvparten så sliten som jeg var før jeg hørte det. Jeg trodde jeg var sliten, men nå tror jeg ikke det. Han ga meg nettopp noen lommetørklær, lagt i konvolutter, ferdig pakket.

Now, any of you in radio land, or here, that desires one of these handkerchiefs (and the Angelus Temple sends them out constantly, all the time), you could write right here to Angelus Temple and they'll pray over it; because I will assure you that it's the Scripture. It's a promise of God.
And if it would be that you'd want me to pray over one for you, why, I will be glad to do that. You just would write me at Post Office Box 3-2-5, 325, Jeffersonville, spelt J-e-f-f-e-r-s-o-n-v-i-l-l-e. Jeffersonville, Indiana. Or if you cannot think of the post office box, just write "Jeffersonville." It's a small city, population about thirty-five thousand. Everyone knows me there. And so we would be glad to pray over a handkerchief and send to you.

Til alle dere som lytter på radio eller som er til stede her og ønsker et av disse lommetørklene (Angelus Temple sender disse ut hele tiden), kan dere skrive direkte til Angelus Temple om forbønn; og jeg kan forsikre dere om at dette er i samsvar med Skriften og Guds løfte.
Hvis du ønsker at jeg personlig skal be over et lommetørkle for deg, vil jeg med glede gjøre det. Skriv til meg på Postboks 325, Jeffersonville, Indiana. Om du ikke husker postboksnummeret, kan du bare skrive "Jeffersonville." Det er en liten by med en befolkning på cirka trettifem tusen. Alle der kjenner meg. Vi vil med glede be over et lommetørkle og sende det til deg.

And, now, we have had great success in doing this, because… You'll have a little form letter with it, that people around the world pray every morning at nine o'clock, and at twelve o'clock, and at three o'clock. And you can imagine, around behind the world, what time of the night they have to get up to make this prayer. So if all these tens of thousands, times thousands, are sending prayers to God at that very same time for this ministry, your sickness, God just can't turn that away. And so now we, as I say, we don't have any programs, we're not wanting one penny of money. We're just… If we can help you, that's what we're here for. And let us… Someone is bringing another bunch of handkerchiefs.

Vi har hatt stor suksess med dette fordi folk rundt om i verden ber hver morgen klokken ni, klokken tolv, og klokken tre. Du kan forestille deg hvilket tidspunkt på natten noen må stå opp for å be. Hvis titusener ganger tusenvis av mennesker ber til Gud samtidig for denne tjenesten og for din sykdom, kan Gud rett og slett ikke vende Seg bort fra det. Som jeg sier, vi har ingen programmer og vi ber ikke om en eneste krone. Vi er her bare for å hjelpe deg. Nå ser jeg at noen bringer en ny bunke med lommetørklær.

Now, if you do not have a handkerchief that you wanted to send, well, then you just write, anyhow. If you don't need it right now, keep it in the book of Acts, in the Bible, the nineteenth chapter. And it'll be a form of a little white ribbon that will be sent you, and the instructions how to confess your sins first. And (thank you) how to confess your sins. You must never try to get anything from God without first being right with God. See? And then you're instructed in this to call your neighbors in, and your pastor. If you got anything that's in your heart against anyone, go make it right first, and come back. And then pray, have a prayer meeting in your home, and pin this handkerchief to your underneath garment, then believe God. And at that very three hours, each day, there'll be people around the world praying, a chain around the world.

Hvis du ikke har et lommetørkle du ønsker å sende, kan du likevel skrive. Hvis du ikke trenger det akkurat nå, kan du legge det i Apostlenes gjerninger, kapittel 19, i Bibelen. Du vil motta et lite hvitt bånd og instruksjoner om hvordan du først bekjenner dine synder. Du må aldri forsøke å få noe fra Gud uten først å være rett med Ham. Du vil bli instruert til å kalle inn din neste og din pastor. Hvis du har noe imot noen, må du gjøre opp først og så komme tilbake. Deretter skal dere be, ha en bønnestund i hjemmet ditt, feste dette lommetørkleet til ditt indre klær og tro på Gud. Hver dag vil det være mennesker rundt om i verden som ber, en bønnekjede rundt kloden på nøyaktig de samme tre timene.

And now it's yours, absolutely free, just send. And, now, we will not be writing back to you to dun you or to tell you of some program that we have. We want you to support a program, but we don't have any for you to support. See? So it's not to get your address, it's just merely accommodation and a ministry of the Lord that we're trying to carry on.
Now let us bow our heads. And if you're in radio land, and have your handkerchief laying there, just put your own hand upon it while we pray.

Og nå er det ditt, helt gratis, bare send inn. Vi vil ikke skrive tilbake for å kreve noe av deg eller informere om noen program vi har. Vi ønsker at du skal støtte et program, men vi har ingen spesifikke vi ber deg støtte. Ser du? Så formålet er ikke å få adressen din; det er bare en tjeneste for Herren vi prøver å videreføre.
La oss nå bøye hodene våre. Og hvis du lytter på radio og har lommetørkleet ditt liggende der, legg hånden din på det mens vi ber.

Gracious Lord, we bring to Thee these little parcels, perhaps some of them look to be maybe little vests for a baby, or some little undershirt, or maybe a little pair of booties, or something, a handkerchief, that's going to the sick and the afflicted. Lord, it is according to Thy Word that we do this. For we read in the book of Acts that they taken from the body of Your servant Paul handkerchiefs and aprons, because they believed that Your Spirit was on the man. And unclean spirits went out of people, and afflictions and diseases left them, because they believed. And now we realize, Lord, that we're not Saint Paul, but we know that You still remain Jesus. And we pray that You'll honor the faith of these people.

Gracious Lord, vi bringer til Deg disse små pakkene. Noen av dem ser kanskje ut som små vester for en baby, eller små undertrøyer, eller kanskje et lite par tøfler, eller noe, en lommetørkle, som skal til de syke og lidende. Herre, det er i henhold til Ditt Ord at vi gjør dette. For vi leser i Apostlenes gjerninger at de tok fra Din tjener Paulus' kropp lommetørkler og forklær, fordi de trodde at Din Ånd var over mannen. Og urene ånder gikk ut av mennesker, og lidelser og sykdommer forlot dem, fordi de trodde. Og nå innser vi, Herre, at vi ikke er den hellige Paulus, men vi vet at Du fortsatt er Jesus. Vi ber at Du vil ære disse menneskenes tro.

And it was said once that when Israel, trying to obey God, had been caught into a trap---the sea before them, the mountains on either side, and Pharaoh's army approaching---and one has said that God looked down through that Pillar of Fire with angered eyes, and the sea got scared, and rolled back itself, and made a path for Israel to cross to the promised land.
O Lord, look down again when these parcels are laid upon the sick bodies in commemoration of Thy living Word, and may the disease get scared. Look through the blood of Thy Son, Jesus, who died for this atonement, and may the enemy be scared and move away; that these people might move into the promise that "Above all things," that it is Your desire "that we prosper in health." Grant it, Father, for we send it with that attitude in our heart. And that's our objective. We send it in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.
Thank you, Brother Glover. Thank you, sir.

En gang ble det sagt at da Israel, i forsøket på å adlyde Gud, ble fanget i en felle—havet foran dem, fjellene på hver side, og Faraos hær som nærmet seg—da så Gud ned gjennom ildsøylen med harme, og havet ble redd og rullet tilbake, og laget en vei for Israel til å krysse over til det lovede land.
Herre, se ned igjen når disse pakkene legges på de syke kroppene som en påminnelse om Ditt levende Ord, og la sykdommen bli redd. Se gjennom blodet til Din Sønn, Jesus, som døde for denne forsoningen, og la fienden bli skremt og trekke seg tilbake, slik at disse menneskene kan gå inn i løftet om at "framfor alt," er det Din vilje "at vi skal ha fremgang i helsen." Innvilg dette, Far, for vi sender det med den holdningen i hjertet. Og det er vårt mål. Vi sender det i Jesu Kristi navn. Amen.
Takk, Bror Glover. Takk, sir.

Now, tonight being the closing of this part of the revival, I do not know whether it will be broadcast or not. But I'd like to say (if not) to the radio audience, that this has been one of the finest meetings that I've had for a many, many year. It's been solid, sound, most loving, cooperative meeting that I have been in for a long time.

Nå, i kveld som avslutningen på denne delen av vekkelsen, vet jeg ikke om den vil bli kringkastet eller ikke. Men jeg vil gjerne si (hvis ikke) til radiopublikummet at dette har vært et av de beste møtene jeg har hatt på mange, mange år. Det har vært et solid, sunt, svært kjærlig og samarbeidsvillig møte som jeg ikke har opplevd på lang tid.

[A brother says, "We're on the air till a quarter past four, brother. And they are listening to you all over southern California, out into the islands, and on the ships. We get messages from them. And so you got a big audience, thousands and tens of thousands."] Thank you, sir. That's very good. Glad to hear that. God bless you all.
And I certainly have always had a warm place in my heart for the Angelus Temple, for its stand for the full Gospel of Jesus Christ. And, now, it seems to be more personal to me now. It seems like, after meeting everyone and seeing their fine spirit, I seem like I am just more one of you than I used to be. God bless you, is my prayer. And… [Audience applauds.] Thank you, kindly.

En bror sier: "Vi er på lufta til kvart over fire. De lytter til deg over hele Sør-California, ut på øyene og på skipene. Vi får meldinger fra dem. Så du har et stort publikum, tusenvis og titusenvis." Tusen takk, det er veldig bra. Glad for å høre det. Gud velsigne dere alle.
Jeg har alltid hatt en varm plass i mitt hjerte for Angelus-tempelet på grunn av dets standpunkt for det fulle Evangeliet om Jesus Kristus. Nå føles det enda mer personlig for meg. Etter å ha møtt alle og sett deres gode ånd, føler jeg meg mer som en del av dere enn tidligere. Gud velsigne dere, er min bønn. Og... [Publikum applauderer.] Takk, hjertelig.

Now, it was given out that today I was to kind of talk to you a while on my life story. That's a hard thing for me. This will be the first time I have tried to approach it for many years. And I would not have time to go in details, but just part of it. And, in here, I've made many mistakes, done many things that was wrong. And I desire that you in the radio land, and you that are present, that you will not take my mistakes to be stumbling-stones, but stepping-stones to bring you closer to the Lord Jesus.

I dag ble det annonsert at jeg skulle fortelle litt om mitt liv. Dette er vanskelig for meg, da det er første gang på mange år at jeg prøver å gjøre dette. Jeg vil ikke ha tid til å gå i detaljer, men vil dele noen deler av det. Jeg har gjort mange feil og mange ting som var galt. Jeg håper at dere som lytter på radio og dere som er til stede her, ikke ser på mine feil som snublesteiner, men som trinn som kan bringe dere nærmere Herren Jesus.

Then tonight, the prayer cards is to be given out for the healing service tonight. Now, when we speak of healing service, doesn't mean that we're going to heal someone; we're going to pray for someone. God does the healing. He's just been very gracious to me, to answer prayer.
And I was talking to the manager of a famous evangelist here sometime ago, and it was asked why didn't this evangelist pray for the sick. And the evangelist said back to the manager of my meetings, said, "This evangelist believes in divine healing, but if he would start praying for the sick, it would interrupt his service because he's sponsored by churches." Many churches and many of them does not believe in divine healing. So I have an honor and respect for the evangelist because he's keeping his place, his post of duty.
He could perhaps… I could never take his place, and I doubt whether he could take my place. We all have a place in the kingdom of God. We're all jointed together. Different gifts, but the same Spirit. Different manifestations, I meant to say, but the same Spirit.

I kveld skal vi dele ut bønnekort for helbredelsesmøtet. Når vi snakker om helbredelsesmøtet, betyr det ikke at vi skal helbrede noen; vi skal be for noen. Gud står for helbredelsen. Han har vært svært nådig mot meg ved å svare på bønner.
For en tid tilbake snakket jeg med manageren til en kjent evangelist. Det ble spurt hvorfor denne evangelisten ikke ba for de syke. Evangelisten svarte manageren for mine møter: "Denne evangelisten tror på guddommelig helbredelse, men hvis han begynner å be for de syke, vil det forstyrre tjenesten hans fordi han er sponset av menigheter." Mange av disse menighetene tror ikke på guddommelig helbredelse. Jeg har derfor stor respekt for evangelisten fordi han holder seg til sin plass og sitt kall.
Kanskje kunne han ikke fylle min rolle, og jeg tviler på om jeg kunne fylle hans. Vi har alle en plass i Guds rike. Vi er alle sammenføyde. Ulike gaver, men samme Ånd. Ulike manifestasjoner, men samme Ånd.

And, now, tonight the services will begin … I think they said the concert begins at six-thirty. And, now, if you're out in the radio land, come in to listen to this. It'll be beautiful, it's always.
And then I wish to say that the prayer cards will be given out immediately after this service, just as soon as this service is dismissed, if you're here and want a prayer card. I was instructed in there just a few moments ago, my son, Mr. Mercier, or Mr. Goad, they'll be giving out prayer cards. Just remain in your seat. As soon as the service is dismissed, just remain at your seat so the boys can get down through the line and get the prayer cards given out just as quick as possible. That'll be in the balconies, or on the floor, wherever, the bottom floors, or wherever you are, just remain in your seat and the boys will know that you're here for a prayer card. And then tonight we will be praying for the sick. And if the Lord does not change my thoughts, I want to preach on the subject tonight, If You'll Show Us the Father, It Will Satisfy Us.

I kveld begynner møtene ... Jeg tror de sa at konserten starter klokken halv sju. Hvis du lytter til radioen, kom og hør på dette. Det vil bli vakkert, som alltid.
Umiddelbart etter dette møtet vil bønnekort bli delt ut. Hvis du er her og ønsker et bønnekort, bli værende i setet ditt etter at møtet er avsluttet. Jeg ble nettopp informert av min sønn, Mr. Mercier, eller Mr. Goad om at de vil dele ut bønnekort. Bli bare sittende, så kan de raskt komme ned gjennom rekken og dele ut kortene. Uansett om du er på balkongen eller på hovedgulvet, bare bli værende i setet ditt slik at de vet at du ønsker et bønnekort.
I kveld vil vi be for de syke. Hvis Herren ikke forandrer mine tanker, ønsker jeg å forkynne om emnet, Hvis Du Viser Oss Faderen, Vil Det Tilfredsstille Oss.

Now I wish to read for a text this afternoon, just to start off the Life Story, found over in the book of Hebrews, the 13th chapter, and let's begin here about… I would say about the 12th verse:
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Let us go … therefore to him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
Now that is kind of a text. For, you see, if it's a life story, or anything pertaining to a human being, we don't glorify that; and especially a man's past, if it's been as dark as mine has been. But I thought, if we read the Scripture, God would bless the Scripture. And my thought is that here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

Nå ønsker jeg å lese en tekst denne ettermiddagen, for å starte Livshistorien, funnet i Hebreerne, kapittel 13, vers 12:
Derfor led også Jesus utenfor porten for å hellige folket ved Sitt eget blod.
La oss derfor gå til Ham utenfor leiren og bære Hans vanære.
For her har vi ingen by som består, men vi søker den som skal komme.
Dette er en slags tekst. For, ser dere, hvis det dreier seg om en livshistorie, eller noe som angår et menneske, glorifiserer vi ikke det; spesielt ikke en manns fortid, hvis den har vært så mørk som min. Men jeg tenkte, hvis vi leser Skriften, vil Gud velsigne Skriften. Min tanke er at her har vi ingen by som består, men vi søker den som skal komme.

Now, I know that you're very fond of Los Angeles. You have a right to be. It's a great, beautiful city. With its smog and what-more, yet it's a beautiful city, fine climate. But this city cannot continue, it's got to have an end.
I've stood in Rome, where the great emperors … and the cities that they thought they would build immortal, and dig down twenty feet to even find the ruins of it. I've stood where the Pharaohs has had their great kingdoms, and you'd dig down in the ground to find where the great Pharaohs ruled. All of us like to think about our city and our place, but, remember, it cannot stand.

Jeg vet at du er veldig glad i Los Angeles, og det har du all rett til å være. Det er en flott, vakker by. Til tross for smogen og annet, har den et fint klima og er en vakker by. Men denne byen kan ikke fortsette; den må få en ende.
Jeg har stått i Roma, hvor de store keiserne hersket, og byene de trodde de ville bygge udødelige, der må man grave tjue fot ned for å finne ruinene. Jeg har vært der de store faraoene hadde sine riker, og man må grave ned i bakken for å finne hvor de hersket. Alle liker vi å tenke på vår egen by og vårt eget sted, men husk, det kan ikke stå for alltid.

When I was a little boy I used to go to a great maple tree. In my country we have a lot of hardwood. And then we had this maple tree, the sugar maple, and what we call the "hard maple," and "soft maple." This great gigantic tree, it was the most beautiful tree. And when I would come in from the fields, working in the hay and the harvests, I would love to go to this big tree and sit down under it and look up. And I'd see its great, mighty branches sway in the wind, great huge trunk. And I said, "You know, I believe that this tree will be here for hundreds and hundreds of years." Not long ago I took a look at the old tree, it's just a snag.
"For here we have no continuing city." No, nothing here on the earth that you can look at will continue. It's got to have an end. Everything that's mortal has to give away to an immortality. So no matter how good we build our highways, how fine we make our structures, it all has to go, for here there's nothing can continue. Just the unseen is what continues.

Da jeg var en liten gutt, pleide jeg å gå til et flott lønnetre. I mitt hjemland har vi mye løvtre. Vi hadde et slikt lønnetre, sukkertre, og det vi kaller "hard lønn" og "myk lønn." Dette store, enorme treet var det vakreste treet. Når jeg kom inn fra markene, etter å ha jobbet med høy og innhøstinger, elsket jeg å gå til dette store treet, sette meg ned under det og se opp. Jeg så de store, mektige grenene svaie i vinden og den enorme stammen. Jeg tenkte: "Du vet, jeg tror dette treet vil stå her i hundrevis av år."
For ikke lenge siden tok jeg en titt på det gamle treet, nå er det bare en stubb igjen. "For her har vi ingen blivende stad." Nei, ingenting her på jorden er varig. Det må ende. Alt som er dødelig må vike for det udødelige. Uansett hvor godt vi bygger våre veier, hvor flotte vi gjør våre byggverk, må alt forgå, for her er ingenting varig. Bare det usynlige består.

I remember the house that we lived in. It was an old log house chinked with mud. Perhaps maybe many never seen a house chinked with mud. But it was all chinked up with mud, and the great huge logs that was in the old house, I thought that house would stand for hundreds of years. But, you know, today where that house stood is a housing project. It's so much different. Everything's changing.

Jeg husker huset vi bodde i. Det var et gammelt tømmerhus tetttet med leire. Kanskje har mange aldri sett et hus tetttet med leire, men vårt hus var det. De store tømmerstokkene i det gamle huset fikk meg til å tro at det ville stå i hundrevis av år. Men i dag er det reist et boligprosjekt der huset sto. Alt er så annerledes. Alt forandrer seg.

And I used to see my father. He was rather a short, stocky man, very strong, and he was one of the strongest little men that I knew of. I met Mr. Coots, a fellow that he used to work with in the logs (he was a logger), and … about a year ago. And Mr. Coots is a very good friend of mine, and a deacon in the First Baptist church, and he said, "Billy, you ought to be a real powerful man."
And I said, "No, I'm not, Mr. Coots."
He said, "If you took after your daddy, you would be." Said, "I seen that man, weighing a hundred and forty pounds, load a log on the wagon by himself, that weighed nine hundred pounds." He just knew how to do it. He was strong. I'd see him come into the place to wash and get ready for dinner, when Mother would call him.

Jeg husker min far. Han var en nokså kortvokst, kraftig mann, svært sterk, og en av de sterkeste små mennene jeg kjente til. Jeg møtte Mr. Coots, en kamerat han pleide å jobbe med som tømmerhogger, for omtrent et år siden. Mr. Coots er en god venn av meg og en diakon i First Baptist Menighet. Han sa: "Billy, du burde være en virkelig kraftig mann."
Jeg svarte: "Nei, det er jeg ikke, Mr. Coots."
Han sa: "Hvis du tok etter din far, ville du være det. Jeg så den mannen, som veide kun 140 pund, laste en stokk på vognen alene som veide 900 pund. Han visste bare hvordan han skulle gjøre det. Han var sterk." Jeg så ham komme inn for å vaske seg og gjøre seg klar til middag når Mor kalte ham.

And we had an old apple tree out in the front yard, and then there was three or four small ones along towards the back. And right in the middle tree there was an old looking glass, had been broke, mirror, large one. And had been tacked on the side of the tree with some nails bent in. Kind of like what some of you carpenters listening in would call "coat hangers." It had been bent in to hold the glass in its place. And there was an old tin comb. How many ever seen an old tin … the old-fashioned tin comb? I can just see it.
And then there was a little wash bench, just a little board with a little slanting leg beneath it, tacked against the tree. A little old half sulfur pump there that we pumped the water out, and we washed at this old tree. And Mama used to take meal sacks and make towels. Anybody ever use a meal-sack towel? Well, I'm sure I feel at home now. And those big old rough towels, and when she'd give us little kiddies a bath, she'd feel like she was rubbing the hide off every time she rubbed. And I remember that old meal sack. And she'd pull some of the strings out and make little tassels, to kind of decorate it up.

Vi hadde et gammelt epletre i hagen foran huset, samt tre eller fire små trær lenger bak. Midt på det ene treet var det et gammelt speil som hadde blitt knust. Et stort speil. Det var festet på siden av treet med noen kroker som var bøyd til. Dette var noe snekkere blant dere ville kalle "krokopphengere." De var bøyd for å holde speilet på plass. Der var også en gammel blikk-kam. Hvor mange har sett en gammeldags blikk-kam? Jeg kan fortsatt se den for meg.
Det var også en liten vaskebenk, bare en enkel planke med en skråben under, festet til treet. Der var en gammel halv svovelpumpe som vi brukte for å pumpe vann til vask. Vi vasket oss ved dette gamle treet. Mamma pleide å lage håndklær av melsekker. Er det noen som har brukt melsekkhåndklær? Nå føler jeg meg virkelig hjemme. Disse store, grove håndklærne fikk det til å føles som om hun skrubbet av huden hver gang vi små barn ble vasket. Jeg husker de gamle melsekkene godt. Hun trakk ut noen av trådene for å lage små dusker og pynte dem litt.

How many ever slept on a straw tick? Well, I will say! How many ever knowed what a shuck pillow was? Well, Brother Glover, I'm at home now, sure enough! Straw tick, well, it hasn't been too long since I just come off of one, and it was… Oh, it's good sleeping, cool. Then in the wintertime they take the old feather bed and lay on it, you know. And then have to put a piece of canvas over the top of us because the snow blowed in the cracks in the house, you know, where the old clapboard shingles would turn up, you know, and the snow would sweep through it. And, oh, I can remember that very well.

Har noen noen gang sovet på en madrass fylt med halm? Vel, jeg vil si! Hvor mange har kjent til en pute fylt med maisdrag? Vel, Bror Glover, nå føler jeg meg virkelig hjemme! Halmadrass; det er ikke så lenge siden jeg gikk av en slik, og den var ... Å, det er god søvn, kjølig. Om vinteren la de den gamle fjærmadrassen oppå, vet du. Vi måtte dekke oss med et stykke lerret fordi snøen blåste inn gjennom sprekkene i huset, der de gamle klappertakene løftet seg, og snøen kom gjennom. Å, jeg husker det veldig godt.

And then Pop used to have a shaving brush. Now this is going to get you. It was made out of corn shucks, a shaving brush with corn shucks. He'd take mother's old lye soap that she had made, fix it up and put it on his face with this corn shuck brush, and shave it with a big old straight razor. And on Sunday he'd take the pieces of paper, stick around his collar (they wore celluloid collars), and put it around the collar like this to keep the lather from getting on his shirt collar. Did you ever see that done? Why, my, my!

Pappa hadde en barberkost som var laget av maisblad. Nå kommer du til å bli overrasket. Han brukte mors gamle lutsepe som hun hadde laget, fikset det opp og påførte det i ansiktet med den maisbladkosten. Deretter barberte han seg med en stor, gammeldags barberkniv. På søndager tok han papirbiter og satte dem rundt kragen (de brukte celluloidkrager) for å beskytte skjortekragen mot skummet. Har du noen gang sett det gjort? Å du store min!

I remember a little old spring down below, where we used to go get a drink of water, and get our water out of an old gourd dipper. How many ever seen a gourd dipper? Well, how many of you is from Kentucky, anyhow? Well, just looky here at the Kentuckians! Well, my, I'm right… I thought it was all Okies and Arkies out here, but look like Kentucky is moving in. Well, they did strike oil in Kentucky a few months ago, you know, so maybe that's some of them's coming this a-way.

Jeg husker en liten, gammel kilde nedenfor hvor vi pleide å hente vann med en gammel kalebassøse. Hvor mange har noen gang sett en kalebassøse? Vel, hvor mange av dere er fra Kentucky? Se her, alle kentuckianerne! Jeg trodde det bare var folk fra Oklahoma og Arkansas her ute, men det ser ut til at Kentucky flytter inn. De fant jo olje i Kentucky for noen måneder siden, så kanskje det er noen av dem som kommer hit.

And then I remember when Dad used to come in and take his wash for dinner, he'd roll up his sleeves, and them little short stubby arms. And when he'd pull up his arms to wash, throw the water up on his face, them muscles just wadded in his little arms. And I said, "You know, my daddy will live to be a hundred and fifty years old! He was so strong. But he died at fifty-two. See? "Here we have no continuing city." That's right. We cannot continue.

Jeg husker når pappa pleide å komme inn for å vaske seg før middag. Han brettet opp skjorteermene, og de korte, kraftige armene hans kom til syne. Når han vasket seg, kastet han vannet opp i ansiktet, og musklene bulet i de små armene. Jeg tenkte, "Pappa kommer til å leve til han blir hundre og femti år gammel! Han var så sterk." Men han døde da han var femtito. Ser du? "Her har vi ingen varig by." Det stemmer. Vi kan ikke fortsette.

Now let's take a little trip, all of us. There's every one of you here that has a life story, just as I do, and it's good to stroll down memory's lane once in a while. Don't you think so? Just go back. And let's all go back for a while, back to similar experiences as little children.
And now the first part of the life story, I will just give it a little touch, because it's in the book and many of you have the book.

La oss ta en liten tur sammen, alle sammen. Hver og en av dere har en livshistorie, akkurat som jeg har, og det er godt å vandre ned minnenes vei en gang i blant. Synes dere ikke det? Så la oss alle gå tilbake for en stund, tilbake til lignende opplevelser som små barn.
Den første delen av livshistorien vil jeg bare berøre kort, fordi den er i boken, og mange av dere har boken.

I was born in a little mountain cabin, way up in the mountains of Kentucky. It had one room that we lived in, no rug on the floor, not even wood on the floor. It was just simply a bare floor. And a stump, top of a stump cut off with three legs on it, that was our table. And all those little Branhams would pile around there, and out on the front of the little old cabin, and wallow down---looked like where a bunch of possums had been wallowing out there in the dust, you know, all the little brothers. There was nine of us, and one little girl; and she really had a rough time amongst that bunch of boys. We have to respect her yet today from the things that we did in those days. She couldn't go with us anywhere, we'd run her back, she was a girl. So she couldn't take it, you know. So we had… And all…

Jeg ble født i en liten fjellhytte høyt oppe i fjellene i Kentucky. Hytta hadde kun ett rom som vi bodde i, uten teppe på gulvet, ikke engang tregulv. Gulvet var helt bart. Vi hadde en stubbe kappet av med tre ben som fungerte som vårt bord. Alle de små Branhams samlet seg rundt dette bordet, og utenfor den lille gamle hytta var det en opptråkket plass som så ut som om det var brukt av en gjeng opossumer, med alle de små brødrene som lekte der. Vi var ni gutter og én liten jente, og hun hadde det virkelig tøft blant denne gjengen med gutter. Vi må fortsatt vise henne respekt for alt hun måtte tåle på den tiden. Hun kunne aldri bli med oss noen steder; vi jaget henne tilbake, for hun var en jente og kunne ikke være med på alt.

Remember that back behind the table we had just two chairs, and they were made out of limb bark. Just old hickory saplings put together, and the bottom of them laced with hickory bark. Did anybody ever see a hickory bark chair? Yeah. And I can hear Mama yet. Oh, later on when we got into a place where she could have a wooden floor, with those babies on her lap like this, and rocking that old chair just bangity, bangity, bang on the floor. And I remember to keep the little ones from going out the door, when she would be washing or something, she'd lay a chair down and turn it kind of cater-cornered across the door, to keep the little ones from getting out when she had to go to the spring to get water, and so forth.
And Mother was fifteen years old when I was born, Dad was eighteen. And I was the first of the nine children. And they told me that the morning I was born…

Husk at vi hadde bare to stoler bak bordet, og de var laget av kvistbark. Bare gamle hickory-ungtrær som var satt sammen, og bunnen av dem var flettet med hickory-bark. Har noen noen gang sett en stol laget av hickory-bark? Ja. Jeg kan fortsatt høre Mamma. Senere, da vi flyttet til et sted med tregulv, hadde Hun babyene på fanget og gynget den gamle stolen som dundret mot gulvet. Jeg husker også at for å hindre de små fra å gå ut døren mens Hun vasket eller lignende, la Hun en stol ned diagonalt foran døren. Dette gjorde Hun for å sikre at de små ikke kom ut mens Hun måtte gå til kilden etter vann, og lignende.
Mor var femten år gammel da jeg ble født, og Far var atten. Jeg var den første av ni barn. De fortalte meg at den morgenen jeg ble født...

Now, we was very poor, just the poorest of poor. And we did not even have a window in this little cabin. It had like a little wooden door that you open. I doubt whether you ever seen anything like that, a little wooden door that opened instead of a window. You keep it open in the daytime and you closed it at night. We couldn't turn on the electric lights, or even burn kerosene, in those days. We had what you call a "grease lamp." Now, I don't know whether you ever know what a grease lamp was. Well, what do you… And did you ever buy … burn a pine knot? Just take a pine knot and light it and lay it upon a lid? It'll burn. And that's … smoked up a little bit, but they had no furniture, anyhow, to smoke up. So it just … the cabin got the smoking. It drawed good because there was plenty of roof up there for it to draw through.

Vi var svært fattige, blant de aller fattigste. Vi hadde ikke engang et vindu i denne lille hytta. Det var en liten trelem som du kunne åpne. Jeg tviler på om du noen gang har sett noe lignende, en liten trelem som åpnet i stedet for et vindu. Vi holdt den åpen på dagtid og lukket den om natten. Vi hadde ikke mulighet til å slå på elektriske lys eller brenne parafin på den tiden. Vi brukte det som kalles en "fettlampe." Jeg vet ikke om du noen gang har hørt om en fettlampe. Har du noen gang brent en furuknute? Du tar en furuknute, tenner den og legger den på et lokk. Den brenner. Den røyker litt, men vi hadde uansett ikke møbler som kunne bli svertet av røyken. Så hytta ble bare fylt med røyk. Den trakk godt, for det var mye tak den kunne trekke gjennom.

I was born on April the 6th, 1909. Course, you know, that makes me a little over twenty-five now. And so, the morning that I was born, Mother said that they opened up the window. Now, we had no doctors, there was a midwife. And that midwife was my grandmother. And so when I was born and my first beginning to cry, and Mother wanted to see her child. And she was no more than a child herself. And when they opened up the little window, just at the break of day, about five o'clock, and there was an old robin sitting by the side of a little bush---as you all have seen the picture of it in my book of my life story. An old robin was sitting there just singing for all that was in him.

Jeg ble født den 6. april 1909, noe som betyr at jeg nå er litt over tjuefem. Mor fortalte at de åpnet vinduet den morgenen jeg kom til verden. Vi hadde ingen lege, bare en jordmor – min bestemor. Da jeg begynte å gråte for første gang, ønsket Mor å se sitt barn, og hun var knapt mer enn et barn selv. Da de åpnet det lille vinduet ved daggry, rundt klokken fem, satt en gammel rødstrupe der ved siden av en liten busk – som dere alle har sett bildet av i boken om min livshistorie. Den gamle rødstrupen satt der og sang av full hals.

I've always loved robins. Now, you boys out in radio land, don't shoot at my birds. You see, they're… Them's my birds. Did you ever hear the legend of the robin, how he got his red breast? I will stop here a moment. How he got his red breast, there was the King of kings was dying one day on the cross, and He was suffering and no one would come to Him. He had no one to help Him. And there was a little brown bird wanted to take them nails out of the cross, and he kept flying into the cross and jerking on those nails. He was too little to pull them out, and he got his little breast all red with blood. Ever since then his breast has been red. Don't shoot him, boys. Let him alone.
He was sitting at the side of the window, a-chirping as the robins sing. And Dad pushed back the window. And when they pushed the little window door back, that Light that you see in the picture come whirling in the window, says my mother, and hung over the bed. Grandmother didn't know what to say.

Jeg har alltid elsket rødstruper. Så, dere gutter der ute i radioland, ikke skyt mine fugler. Forstår dere, de er mine fugler. Har dere noen gang hørt legenden om hvordan rødstrupen fikk sitt røde bryst? Jeg vil stoppe opp et øyeblikk og fortelle. Det var slik at Kongenes Konge hang på korset og led, og ingen kom for å hjelpe Ham. Ingen var der for å støtte Ham. Det var en liten brun fugl som ønsket å ta ut naglene fra korset, og den fløy mot korset og dro i naglene. Fuglen var for liten til å få dem ut, og den fikk sitt lille bryst tilsølt med blod. Siden den gang har brystet dens vært rødt. Ikke skyt den, gutter. La den være i fred.
Fuglen satt ved vinduet og kvitret slik rødstruper gjør. Far åpnet vinduet, og da han skjøv den lille vinduslemmen tilbake, kom Lyset som dere ser på bildet inn gjennom vinduet, sier min mor, og hang over sengen. Bestemor visste ikke hva hun skulle si.

Now, we are … was not a religious family. My people are Catholic. I'm Irish on both sides. My father is strictly Irish, Branham. My mother is Harvey; only, her father married a Cherokee Indian, so that broke the little line … or, the blood of the Irish. And Father and Mother did not go to church, and they married out of the church, and they had no religion at all. And back there in the mountains there was not even a Catholic church. So they come over in the early settlers, two Branhams come over, and from that sprung the whole generation of Branhams, is the genealogy of the family.

Vi kom fra en ikke-religiøs familie. Min familie er katolsk. Jeg er irsk på begge sider. Min fars slektsnavn er Branham, og han er strengt irsk. Min mors slektsnavn er Harvey, men hennes far giftet seg med en Cherokee-indianer, noe som brøt den irske blodlinjen. Far og mor gikk ikke i kirken og giftet seg utenfor kirken, og de hadde ingen religion i det hele tatt. I de fjellområdene fantes det heller ingen katolsk kirke. To Branhams kom hit med de første bosetterne, og fra disse stammer hele Branhams-slekten.

And then she opened … when they opened this window and this Light stood in there, they did not know what to do. Dad had bought him, Mama said, a new pair of overalls for this event. He was standing with his arms in the bib of the old overalls, like the woodsmen and loggers used in those days. And it frightened them.

Da de åpnet vinduet og dette Lyset sto der, visste de ikke hva de skulle gjøre. Pappa hadde kjøpt et nytt par arbeidsbukser til Ham for anledningen, sa mamma. Han sto med armene korslagt i selene på de gamle arbeidsbuksene, som tømmerhoggere brukte på den tiden. Det skremte dem.

Well, after I had got up maybe ten days old, or something, they taken me up to a little Baptist church called "Opossum Kingdom," Opossum Kingdom Baptist Church. That's quite a name. There was an old circuit preacher, the old-fashioned Baptist preacher, came through there about once every two months. The people would have a little service together, they'd go sing some songs, but they had preaching every so often on the circuit rider. They paid him each year with a sack of pumpkins and a few things like that, you know, that the people would raise to give him. And the old preacher came by, and there he offered prayer for me as a little boy. That was my first trip to church.

Da jeg var rundt ti dager gammel, ble jeg tatt med til en liten baptistmenighet kalt "Opossum Kingdom Baptist Church." Det er litt av et navn. En gammeldags reisepredikant kom dit omtrent hver andre måned. Folk hadde små samlinger, sang noen sanger, men det var prekener med jevne mellomrom når predikanten kom. Folk betalte ham årlig med en sekk gresskar og noen andre ting de dyrket for å gi ham. Den gamle predikanten kom dit, og han ba for meg som en liten gutt. Dette var mitt første besøk i menigheten.

At the year of about … something a little over two years old, the first vision taken place.
Well, they had told around in the mountains there that this light came in. So they tried to figure it up. Some of them said it must have been the sunlight reflecting on a mirror in the house. But there was no mirror in there. And the sun wasn't up, so it was too early, five o'clock. And then, oh, they just passed it by. And when I was about … supposed to be near three years old…

Da jeg var litt over to år gammel, opplevde jeg min første visjon. Det gikk rykter i fjellene om at et lys hadde kommet inn. Noen mente det måtte være sollyset som reflekterte fra et speil i huset, men det var ingen speil der, og solen hadde ikke stått opp ennå, for det var bare klokken fem om morgenen. Så de avfeide det bare. Og da jeg var nærmere tre år gammel...

Now, I have to be honest. There's things here that I do not like to say, and I wish I could bypass it and not have to say it. But yet, to tell the truth, you must tell the truth if it's on yourself or your people. Be honest about it, and then it's always the same.
My father was a long way from being a religious person. He was a typical mountain boy that drank constantly all the time. And he had gotten in some trouble in a fight. And there had been two or three men almost killed as they … fighting, shooting, and cutting one another with knives at some kind of a party up in the mountains. And Dad had been one of the ringleaders of this fight, because that there had been a friend of his had got hurt, and had hit someone with a chair. The man had a knife out and was going to cut Dad's friend on the floor with this knife, through his heart, and Dad took his part. And it really must have been a terrible fight, because from all the way down to Burkesville, many miles away, they sent a sheriff up after Dad, horseback.

Jeg må være ærlig. Det er ting her jeg ikke liker å si, og jeg skulle ønske jeg kunne unngå det. Men for å fortelle sannheten, må man være ærlig, enten det gjelder deg selv eller ditt folk. Vær ærlig, og det vil alltid være det samme.
Min far var langt fra å være en religiøs person. Han var en typisk fjellgutt som drakk konstant. Han hadde havnet i trøbbel i en slåsskamp hvor to eller tre menn nesten ble drept. De slåss, skjøt og stakk hverandre med kniver på en slags fest i fjellene. Far var en av ringlederne i denne slåsskampen, fordi en venn av ham hadde blitt skadet. Noen hadde angrepet vennen med en kniv, og far grep inn for å beskytte ham. Det må ha vært en forferdelig slåsskamp, for hele veien til Burkesville, mange mil unna, sendte de en sheriff til hest for å fange far.

So the man was laying at the point of death. Might be some of his people listening in. I'm going to call his name, Will Yarborough was his name. They probably… I think some of them is in California, of his boys. But he was a bully, great powerful man, killed his own boy with a fence rail. So he was a very powerful and wicked man. And so there was a great knife fight between he and Dad. And my father almost killed the man, so he had to run and leave Kentucky and come across the river to Indiana.

Mannen lå for døden. Noen av hans nære kan kanskje høre etter. Jeg skal nevne navnet hans, Will Yarborough. Noen av hans sønner befinner seg trolig i California. Han var en bølle, en stor og sterk mann som til og med drepte sin egen sønn med et gjerdespyd. Will var både mektig og ondskapsfull. Det var en alvorlig knivkamp mellom ham og faren min, og faren min holdt på å drepe ham. Derfor måtte han rømme fra Kentucky og krysse elven til Indiana.

And he had a brother that lived, at the time, in Louisville, Kentucky, was the assistant superintendent of the Wood Mosaic Saw Mills in Kentucky, in Louisville. And so Dad come to find his older brother. Dad was the youngest of the boys, of seventeen children. And so he came to find his older brother. And while he was gone, for almost a year… He could not come back, because the law was looking for him. And then when… We had heard from him by letter, signed by another name, but that he had told mother how it would be that she'd hear from him.

Han hadde en bror som bodde i Louisville, Kentucky, og som var assisterende overmester ved Wood Mosaic Saw Mills. Far dro for å oppsøke sin eldre bror. Far var den yngste av guttene, i en søskenflokk på sytten. Mens han var borte i nesten et år, kunne han ikke vende tilbake fordi han var ettersøkt av loven. Vi hørte fra ham gjennom et brev, signert med et annet navn, men han hadde fortalt mor på forhånd hvordan hun kunne forvente å høre fra ham.

And then I remember one day---the spring at this little cabin was just behind the house---and during that time after… There was nine … eleven months difference between me and my next brother, and he was still crawling. And I had a big rock in my hand, and I was trying to show him how hard I could throw this rock in the old mud, where the spring had run out of the ground and made the muddy ground. And I heard a bird, and it was singing up in a tree. And I looked up to that tree and the bird flew away. And when it did, a voice spoke to me.
Now, I know you think I could not think and remember that. But the Lord God who's Judge, the earth and the heavens and all there is, knows that I'm telling the truth.

Jeg husker en dag---vårkilden ved denne lille hytta var rett bak huset---og i den tiden etter... Det var ni ... elleve måneders forskjell mellom meg og min neste bror, og han krabbet fortsatt. Jeg hadde en stor stein i hånden og prøvde å vise ham hvor hardt jeg kunne kaste denne steinen i den gamle gjørmen, der det hadde sprunget ut vann og gjort bakken gjørmete. Jeg hørte en fugl som sang oppe i et tre. Jeg så opp på treet, og fuglen fløy bort. Da det skjedde, hørte jeg en stemme.
Nå vet jeg at du kanskje tenker at jeg ikke kunne huske dette. Men Herren Gud, som er Dommer over jorden og himmelen og alt som finnes, vet at jeg forteller sannheten.

That bird, when it flew away, a voice came from where the bird was in the tree, like a wind caught in the bush, and it said, "You'll live near a city called New Albany." And I've lived, from the time I was three years old until this time, within three miles of New Albany, Indiana.
I went in and told my mother about it. Well, she thought I was just dreaming or something.
Later we moved to Indiana and Father went to work for a man, Mr. Wathen, a rich man. He owns the Wathen Distilleries. And he owned a great shares (he's a multimillionaire) in the Louisville Colonels, and baseball, and so forth. And then we lived near there. And Dad being a poor man, yet he could not do without his drinking, so he went to making whiskey in a still.
And then it worked a hardship on me, because I was the oldest of the children. I had to come and pack water to this still, to keep those coils cool while they were making the whiskey. Then he got to selling it, and then he got two or three of those stills. Now, that's the part I don't like to tell, but it's the truth.

Da fuglen fløy bort, kom en stemme fra stedet der fuglen satt i treet, som vinden fanget i busken, og den sa: "Du vil leve nær en by kalt New Albany." Og fra jeg var tre år gammel til nå, har jeg bodd innen tre mil fra New Albany, Indiana.
Jeg gikk inn og fortalte moren min om det. Hun trodde jeg bare drømte eller noe slikt.
Senere flyttet vi til Indiana, og far begynte å jobbe for en mann, Mr. Wathen, en rik forretningsmann som eier Wathen Distilleries. Han hadde store aksjer (han er multimillionær) i Louisville Colonels, baseball, og så videre. Vi bodde der i nærheten. Far var en fattig mann, og selv om han ikke kunne klare seg uten drikken, begynte han å lage whisky på en destillasjon.
Dette førte til store utfordringer for meg siden jeg var eldst av barna. Jeg måtte hente vann til destillasjonen for å holde spolene kjølige mens de laget whiskyen. Deretter begynte han å selge den, og til slutt fikk han to eller tre av disse destillasjonene. Dette er den delen jeg ikke liker å fortelle, men det er sannheten.

And I remember one day, from the barn, coming up to the house crying, because… Out at the back of the place was a pond, where they used to cut ice. Many of you remember when they used to cut ice and put it in sawdust. Well, that's the way Mr. Wathen kept ice out there in the country. And Father was a chauffeur for him, a private chauffeur. And when … this pond was full of fish. And when they could go to cutting the ice and bring it in and put it in the sawdust, then when the ice melted in the summertime as it went down, it was kind of clean I suppose. More like a lake ice, and they could use it, not to drink, but to keep water cold, put it around the buckets and their milk and so forth.

Jeg husker en dag jeg kom gråtende fra låven opp til huset. På baksiden var det en dam hvor de pleide å skjære is. Mange av dere husker sikkert da man pleide å skjære is og legge det i sagflis. Vel, det var slik Mr. Wathen holdt isen kald ute på landet. Far jobbet som hans private sjåfør. Dammen var full av fisk, og når de kuttet isen og la den i sagflis, kunne de bruke den om sommeren da isen smeltet. Isen var nokså ren, som innsjøis, og ble brukt til å holde vann kald, ikke drikke, ved å legge den rundt bøtter og melk og lignende.

And one day packing water from back out at this pump, which was about a city block, I was squalling to who wouldn't have it; because I had come from school and all the boys had went out to the pond fishing. I just loved to fish. And so they all got to go fishing but me, and I had to pack water for this still. Of course, my, that had to be mum---it was prohibition. And it was such a hardship. And I remember coming along there with a stumped toe, and I had a corn cob wrapped under my toe to keep it out of the dust. Did you ever do that? Just put a corn cob under your toe like this and wrap a string around it. It holds your toe right up like a turtle head almost, you know, sticking up. You could track me everywhere I went, with this corn cob under my toe, where I'd stump it, you know. I didn't have any shoes to wear. So we never wore shoes, sometime half the winter. If we did, it was just what we could pick up, somebody would give us. And clothes, to what somebody, charity, would give us.

En dag, mens jeg bar vann fra pumpen et kvartal unna, var jeg opprørt og sytende. Jeg hadde nettopp kommet fra skolen, og alle guttene hadde gått til dammen for å fiske. Jeg elsket å fiske. Alle fikk dra og fiske bortsett fra meg, som måtte hente vann til denne destillasjonsapparatet. Selvfølgelig var dette under forbudstiden.
Det var så slitsomt, og jeg husker at jeg kom gående med en stubbet tå. Jeg hadde en maiskolbe pakket under tåen for å holde den ute av støvet. Har du noen gang gjort det? Man legger en maiskolbe under tåen og binder en snor rundt den. Det holder tåen oppe, nesten som et skilpaddehode som stikker opp. Du kunne følge mine spor overalt, med denne maiskolben under tåen.
Jeg hadde ingen sko å ha på meg. Ofte gikk vi barbeint, til og med halve vinteren. Hvis vi hadde sko, var det noe vi hadde fått av noen andre. Klærne vi brukte var også ofte gitt i gave fra veldedighet.

And I stopped under this tree, and I was sitting there just squalling (it was in September) because I wanted to go fishing. I had to pack several tubs of water with little molasses buckets, just about that high, half a gallon, because I was just a little lad of about seven years old. And I'd pour them in a big tub and then go back and get another two buckets and come back, pumping it. That's the water we had. And they was going to run off a batch of that corn whiskey that night, these men with Daddy up at the house.

Jeg stoppet under et tre og satt der og gråt (det var i september) fordi jeg ønsket å fiske. Jeg måtte bære flere spann med vann i små bøtter, omtrent en halv gallon, siden jeg bare var en liten gutt på omtrent syv år. Jeg helte vannet i et stort fat og gikk tilbake for å hente to bøtter til, og fortsatte slik. Det var vannet vi brukte. Mennene, sammen med pappa, skulle lage en runde med maiswhiskey den kvelden.

And I was crying, and all at once I heard something making a noise like a whirlwind, something like this (now, I hope it isn't too loud), going "Whheww, whheww." Just a noise like that. Well, it was awful quiet, and I looked around. And you know what, a little whirlwind, I believe you call them a little cyclone, in the fall of the year they pick up through the corn field, you know, the leaves and so forth. In the autumn there, the leaves just begin turning, and I was under a great white poplar tree, stood about halfway between the barn and the house. And I heard that noise, and I looked around. It was just as quiet as it is in this room. Not a leaf blowing nowhere, nothing. And I thought, "Where's that noise coming from?" Well, I thought, "Must be away from here." Just a lad. And it got louder and louder.

Jeg gråt, og plutselig hørte jeg noe som lagde en lyd som en virvelvind, noe i retning av "Whheww, whheww." Bare en slik lyd. Det var helt stille, og jeg så meg rundt. Og vet du hva, en liten virvelvind—jeg tror man kaller dem en liten syklon—pleier om høsten å plukke opp løv gjennom maisåkeren. Bladene begynte nettopp å skifte farge den høsten, og jeg sto under et stort hvitt poppeltre, omtrent halvveis mellom låven og huset. Jeg hørte den lyden og så meg rundt. Det var like stille som i dette rommet, ikke et blad rørte seg. Jeg tenkte: "Hvor kommer den lyden fra?" Jeg trodde først det var et sted langt borte. Men så ble lyden høyere og høyere.

I picked up my little buckets and squalled a couple more times and started up the lane. I was resting. And I got just few feet from that, out from under the branches of this big tree; and, oh, my, it made a whirl sounding! And I turned to look, and about halfway up that tree was another whirlwind, caught in that tree just a-going around and around, moving those leaves. Well, I thought nothing strange about that, because it's just in that time of year. In the autumn, why, those whirlwinds come (we call them "whirlwinds") and they pick up dust. You've seen them on the desert like that---same thing. So I watched, but it didn't leave off. Usually it's just a puff for a moment, then it goes; but it had already been in there two minutes or more.

Jeg tok opp de små bøttene mine og ropte et par ganger til før jeg begynte å gå oppover veien. Jeg tok en liten pause. Jeg hadde bare gått noen få meter fra det stedet, under grenene på dette store treet; og, åh, for en lyd det laget! Jeg snudde meg for å se, og omtrent halvveis opp i treet var det nok en virvelvind som hadde satt seg fast og gikk rundt og rundt, og bevegde bladene. Jeg syntes ikke det var noe merkelig med det, for det er vanlig på denne tiden av året. Om høsten kommer slike virvelvinder, de vi kaller "virvelvinder", som løfter støv. Du har sett dem på ørkenen --- akkurat det samme. Så jeg så på, men den stoppet ikke. Vanligvis er det bare et puf i et øyeblikk, og så er det over; men denne hadde allerede vart i to minutter eller mer.

Well, I started up the lane again, and I turned to look at this again. And when it did, a human voice, just as audible as mine is, said, "Don't you never drink, smoke, or defile your body in any way. There'll be a work for you to do when you get older." Why, it liked to scared me to death! You could imagine how a little fellow felt. I dropped those buckets, and home I went just as hard as I could go, screaming the top of my voice.

Jeg begynte å gå oppover stien igjen og snudde meg for å se på dette på nytt. Da hørte jeg en menneskelig stemme, like tydelig som min egen, som sa: "Du skal aldri drikke, røyke eller vanære kroppen din på noen måte. Det vil være et arbeid for deg å gjøre når du blir eldre." Det skremte meg nesten til døde! Du kan forestille deg hvordan en liten gutt følte det. Jeg slapp bøttene og løp hjem så fort jeg kunne, skrikende for full hals.

And there was copperheads in that country, snakes, and they're very poison. Mother thought coming alongside of the garden I had perhaps got my foot on a copperhead, and she ran to meet me. And I jumped up in her arms, screaming, hugging her and kissing her. And she said, "What's the matter? Did you get snakebit?" Looked me all over.
I said, "No, Mama! There's a man in that tree down there."
And she said, "Oh, Billy, Billy! Come on." And she said, "Did you stop and go to sleep?"
I said, "No, ma'am! There's a man in that tree, and he told me not to drink and not to smoke."

Det fantes klapperslanger i området, og de er svært giftige. Mor fryktet at jeg hadde tråkket på en slange ved hagen og løp mot meg. Jeg hoppet opp i hennes armer, skrek, klemte og kysset henne.
Hun spurte, "Hva er galt? Har du blitt bitt av en slange?" og undersøkte meg nøye.
Jeg svarte, "Nei, mamma! Det er en mann i det treet der nede."
Hun sa, "Å, Billy, Billy! Kom nå." Så spurte hun, "Har du stoppet og sovnet?"
Jeg svarte, "Nei, mamma! Det er en mann i det treet, og han ba meg om å ikke drikke og ikke røyke."

"Drink whiskeys and things"---and I was packing water to a moonshine still, right then. And He said, "Don't you never drink or defile your body in any way." That's immoral, you know, and my child … young manhood with women. And to my best, I have never one time been guilty of such. The Lord helped me of those things, and as I go along you'll find out. So then, "Don't drink or don't smoke, or do not defile your body, for there will be a work for you to do when you get older."
Well, I told that to Mama, and she just laughed at me. And I was just hysterically. She called the doctor, and the doctor said, "Well, he's just nervous, that's all." So she put me to bed. And I never, from that day to this, ever passed by that tree again. I was scared. I'd go down the other side of the garden, because I thought there was a man up in that tree and he was talking to me, great deep voice that spoke.

Jeg bar vann til en hjemmebrentdestillering da. Og Han sa: "Ikke drikk eller besmitt kroppen din på noen måte." Det er umoralsk, vet du, og min ungdomstid med kvinner. Etter beste evne har jeg aldri vært skyldig i slike ting. Herren hjalp meg i disse situasjonene, og etter hvert vil du forstå. Så, "Ikke drikk, ikke røyk, og besmitt ikke kroppen din, for det vil være et arbeid for deg å gjøre når du blir eldre."
Jeg fortalte dette til mor, og hun bare lo av meg. Jeg var hysterisk. Hun ringte legen, og legen sa: "Han er bare nervøs, det er alt." Så hun la meg til sengs. Fra den dagen har jeg aldri gått forbi det treet igjen. Jeg var redd. Jeg gikk på den andre siden av hagen, fordi jeg trodde det var en mann oppe i det treet som snakket til meg med en dyp stemme.

And then sometime about a month after that, I was playing marbles out with my little brothers, out in the front yard. And all at once I had a strange feeling come on me. And I stopped and sat down aside of a tree. And we were right up on the bank from the Ohio River. And I looked down towards Jeffersonville, and I seen a bridge rise up and go across the river---span the river. And I seen sixteen men (I counted them) that dropped off of there and lost their lives on that bridge. I run in real quick and told my mother, and she thought I went to sleep. But they kept it in mind, and twenty-two years from then the Municipal Bridge now (that many of you cross when you cross there) crossed the river at the same place, and sixteen man lost their life building that bridge across the river.
It's never failed to be perfectly true. As you see it here in the auditorium, it's been that way all the time.

Omtrent en måned etter det, spilte jeg klinkekuler med mine små brødre i hagen foran huset. Plutselig fikk jeg en merkelig følelse. Jeg stoppet og satte meg ved et tre. Vi var rett ved bredden av Ohio-elven. Jeg tittet ned mot Jeffersonville og så en bro stige opp og spenne over elva. Jeg så seksten menn (jeg telte dem) som falt av broen og mistet livet. Jeg løp raskt inn og fortalte det til min mor, men hun trodde jeg hadde sovet. Likevel husket de det, og tjue-to år senere ble den kommunale broen bygget (den som mange av dere krysser nå), og seksten menn mistet livet under byggingen av denne broen over elva.
Det har aldri slått feil å være helt sant. Som dere ser her i auditoriet, har det alltid vært slik.

Now, they thought I was just nervous. Which, I am a nervous person, that's true. And, if you ever notice, people who are inclined to be spiritual are nervous.
Look at poets and prophets. And look at William Cowper who wrote that famous song, "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins." Did you ever… You know the song. I stood by his grave not long ago. Brother Julius, I believe, I don't know, no … yes, that's right, was with us over there at his grave. And there, after he had wrote that song, the inspiration left him, he tried to find the river to commit suicide. See, the Spirit had left him. And people like poets and authors and … or not… I mean prophets.

De trodde jeg bare var nervøs. Og det er sant at jeg er en nervøs person. Hvis du legger merke til det, er folk som er tilbøyelige til å være åndelige ofte nervøse. Se på diktere og profeter. Tenk på William Cowper, som skrev den kjente sangen «There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins». Du kjenner sangen. Jeg sto ved graven hans for ikke lenge siden. Bror Julius var med oss der. Etter at han hadde skrevet den sangen og inspirasjonen forlot ham, prøvde han å finne en elv for å begå selvmord. Ånden hadde forlatt ham. Slik er det med folk som diktere, forfattere og profeter.

Look at Elijah, when he stood on the mountain and called fire out of the heaven and called rain out of the heaven. Then when the Spirit left him, he run at a threat of a woman. And God found him pulled back in a cave, forty days later.
Look at Jonah, with enough inspiration, when the Lord had anointed him to preach there in Nineveh, till a city was the size of Saint Louis repented with sackcloth. And then when the Spirit left him, what happened to him? We find him up on the mountain, after the Spirit left him, praying to God to take his life. And, you see, it's inspiration. And when these things happen, it does something to you.

Se på Elia, da han stod på fjellet og kalte ild ned fra himmelen og regn ut av himmelen. Da Ånden forlot ham, flyktet han på grunn av en trussel fra en kvinne. Gud fant ham gjemt i en hule, førti dager senere.
Se på Jona, med nok inspirasjon, da Herren hadde salvet ham til å forkynne i Ninive, slik at en by på størrelse med St. Louis angret i sekk og aske. Og hva skjedde da Ånden forlot ham? Vi finner ham på fjellet, etter at Ånden forlot ham, bedende til Gud om å ta hans liv. Du skjønner, det er inspirasjon. Når disse tingene skjer, påvirker det deg.

Then I remember coming on up. I got to be a young man. (I will hurry to make it within the next little bit.) When I got to be a young man I had ideas like all young men. Going to school, I'd found them little girls, you know. I was real bashful, you know; and I finally got me a little girlfriend. And like all little boys, about fifteen years old, I guess. And so, oh, she was pretty. My, she had eyes like a dove, and she had teeth like pearl, and a neck like a swan; and she was really pretty.

Jeg husker da jeg begynte å bli voksen. Jeg ble etter hvert en ung mann. (Jeg skal forsøke å gjøre det kort.) Som ung mann hadde jeg de samme tankene som andre unge menn. På skolen la jeg merke til de små jentene. Jeg var veldig sjenert, men til slutt fikk jeg meg en liten kjæreste. Som alle femten år gamle gutter, antar jeg. Å, hun var vakker. Hennes øyne var som dueøyne, tennene som perler, og halsen som en svane. Hun var virkelig vakker.

And another little boy, we were buddies, so he got his daddy's old model-T Ford, and we got a date with our girls. And we was going to take them out, riding. We got enough, about two gallons of gasoline. We had to jack the back wheel up to crank it. I don't know whether you ever remember that or not, you know, to crank it. But we was going along pretty good.
And so I had a few nickels in my pocket, and we stopped at a little place and got… You could get a ham sandwich for a nickel, and so, oh, I was rich, I could buy four of them, see. And after we had eat the sandwiches and drank the coke, I started taking the bottles back. And to my surprise, when I come out (women had just start falling from grace at that time, or from womanhood), my little dove was smoking a cigarette.

En annen liten gutt og jeg var kamerater, så han hentet sin fars gamle model-T Ford, og vi hadde en avtale med jentene våre. Vi skulle ta dem med ut på kjøretur. Vi hadde fått samlet sammen omtrent to liter bensin, og vi måtte heise opp bakhjulet for å starte bilen. Jeg vet ikke om du husker det, men slik måtte man gjøre det. Vi kjørte ganske bra.
Jeg hadde noen få femøringer i lomma, så vi stoppet ved et lite sted hvor du kunne få en skinkesmørbrød for en femøring. Jeg følte meg rik og kunne kjøpe fire stykker. Etter at vi hadde spist smørbrødene og drukket cola, tok jeg flaskene med tilbake. Til min store overraskelse, når jeg kom ut (kvinner hadde akkurat begynt å falle fra nåden på den tiden, eller fra kvinnelighet), så jeg at min lille due røyket en sigarett.

Well, I've always had my opinion of a woman that would smoke a cigarette, and I haven't changed it one bit from that time on. That's right. It's the lowest thing she can do. And that's exactly right. And I thought… Now, the cigarette company could get after me for this, but, I'm telling you, that's just a stunt of the devil. It's the biggest killer and sabotage this nation's got. I'd rather my boy be a drunkard than to be a cigarette smoker. That's the truth. I'd rather see my wife laying on the floor drunk, than to see her with a cigarette. That's how…

Jeg har alltid hatt en mening om en kvinne som røyker sigaretter, og den har ikke endret seg noe siden den gang. Det er riktig. Det er det laveste hun kan gjøre. Det er helt korrekt. Nå kunne sigarettselskapene bli sinte på meg for dette, men jeg sier sannheten: det er bare et knep fra djevelen. Det er den største drapsmaskinen og sabotasjen denne nasjonen har. Jeg vil heller at sønnen min skulle være en alkoholiker enn å være en sigarettrøyker. Det er sannheten. Jeg vil heller se min kone liggende på gulvet beruset enn å se henne med en sigarett. Slik er det...

Now, this Spirit of God that's with me, if that is the Spirit of God (as you might question), you smoking cigarettes has got a slim chance when you get there, because that just… Every time, you notice it on the platform, how He condemns it. It's a horrible thing! Keep away from it. Lady, if you have been guilty of that, please, in the name of Christ, get away from it! It breaks you. It'll kill you. It's cancer by the carloads.
The doctors try to warn you. And then how they can sell you that stuff… If you go down to the drug store and say, "I want to buy fifty-cents worth of cancer," why, they'd come lock them up. But when you buy fifty-cents worth of cigarettes, you're buying the same thing. Doctors say so. Oh, this money-mad nation. It's too bad. It's a killer. It's been proved.

Den Hellige Ånd som er med meg, og hvis dette er Guds Ånd (som du kanskje stiller spørsmål ved), gir deg liten sjanse hvis du røyker sigaretter, for Han fordømmer det hver gang på plattformen. Det er en forferdelig vane! Hold deg unna det. Hvis du, dame, har vært skyldig i dette, vennligst, i Kristi navn, stopp med det! Det ødelegger deg. Det vil drepe deg. Det gir kreft i store mengder.
Legene prøver å advare deg. Og hvordan de kan selge deg det stoffet... Hvis du går til apoteket og sier: "Jeg vil kjøpe for femti øre med kreft," ville de låse deg inne. Men når du kjøper for femti øre med sigaretter, kjøper du det samme. Legene sier det. Å, denne pengegriske nasjonen. Det er trist. Det er en drapsmaskin. Det er bevist.

Well, when I seen that pretty little girl just acting smart, this cigarette in her hand, that liked to have killed me, because I really thought I loved her. And I thought, "Well…"
Now, I'm called a "woman-hater," you know that, because I'm always kind of against women. But not against you sisters, I'm just against the way modern women act. That's right. Good women should be packed along.

Da jeg så den søte lille jenta oppføre seg småsmart med en sigarett i hånden, føltes det som om det nesten drepte meg, fordi jeg virkelig trodde jeg elsket henne. Og jeg tenkte, "Vel..."
Nå, jeg blir kalt en "kvinnehater", dere vet det, fordi jeg alltid er litt imot kvinner. Men jeg er ikke imot dere søstre, jeg er bare imot måten moderne kvinner oppfører seg på. Det er riktig. Gode kvinner skal verdsettes.

But I can remember when my father's still, up there running, I had to be out there with water and stuff, see young ladies that wasn't over seventeen, eighteen years old, up there with men my age now, drunk. And they'd have to sober them up and give them black coffee, to get home to cook their husband's supper. Oh, something like that, I said… This was my remark then, "They're not worth a good clean bullet to kill them with it." That's right. And I hated women, that's right. And I just have to watch every move now, to keep from still thinking the same thing.

Jeg husker da destillasjonsapparatet til far fremdeles var i gang. Jeg måtte være der ute med vann og annet. Jeg så unge kvinner, ikke eldre enn sytten eller atten år, sammen med menn på min nåværende alder, fulle. De måtte nøkterne dem opp med svart kaffe slik at de kunne komme seg hjem for å lage middag til ektemennene sine. Da sa jeg: "De er ikke verdt en ren kule til å drepe dem med." Det stemmer. Jeg hatet kvinner, det er riktig. Jeg må fortsatt være svært oppmerksom på mine tanker for å unngå å tenke det samme.

But now, a good woman is a jewel in a man's crown. She should be honored. My mother's a woman, my wife is, and they're lovely. And I've got thousands of Christian sisters who I highly respect. But if they can respect what God made them, a motherhood and a real queen, that's all right. She's one of the best things that God could give a man, was a wife. Besides salvation, a wife is the best thing, if she is a good wife. But if she isn't, Solomon said, "A good woman is a jewel in a man's crown, but an ornery one, or no-good one, is water in his blood." And that's right, it's the worst thing could happen. So a good woman… If you've got a good wife, brother, you ought to respect her with the highest. That's right, you should do that. A real woman. And, children, if you've got a real mother that stays home, and tries to take care of you, keeping your clothes clean, sends you to school, teaching you about Jesus, you should honor that sweet old mother with all that's in you. You should respect that woman, yes, sir, because she's a real mother.

En god kvinne er en juvel i en manns krone og bør æres. Min mor er en kvinne, min kone også, og de er begge vidunderlige. Jeg har også tusenvis av kristne søstre som jeg har stor respekt for. Hvis de kan respektere det Gud skapte dem til – morsrollen og som virkelige dronninger – er det helt fint. En av de beste gaver Gud kunne gi en mann er en kone. Foruten frelse, er en god kone det beste en mann kan ha. Hvis hun derimot ikke er god, sa Salomo: "En god kvinne er en juvel i en manns krone, men en ornery (vanskelig) eller dårlig kvinne er vann i hans blod." Og det er sant, det er det verste som kan skje. Så hvis du har en god kone, bror, bør du respektere henne med høyeste ære. Det er riktig, du bør gjøre det. En ekte kvinne.
Og, barn, hvis dere har en virkelig mor som holder seg hjemme og tar vare på dere, holder klærne deres rene, sender dere til skolen og lærer dere om Jesus, bør dere ære den søte gamle moren med alt dere har. Dere bør respektere den kvinnen, ja, for hun er en virkelig mor.

They talk about the illiteracy of Kentucky mountains. You see it in this here dogpatch stuff. Some of them old mammies out there could come here to Hollywood and teach you modern mothers how to raise your kids. You let her kid come in one night with her hair all messed up, and lips … slips, (what do you call that?) make-up stuff they put on their face, and her dress all squeezed to one side, and been out all night, drunk, brother, she'd get one of them limbs off the top of that hickory tree and she'd never go out no more. I'm telling you, she'd… And if you had a little more of that, you'd have a better Hollywood around here, and a better nation. That's right. It's true. "Just try to be modern," that's one of the tricks of the devil.

De snakker om analfabetismen i fjellområdene i Kentucky. Du ser det i den enkle livsstilen der. Noen av de eldre kvinnene der kunne komme til Hollywood og lære moderne mødre hvordan de skal oppdra barna sine. Hvis hennes barn kom hjem en kveld med håret tilrotet og ansiktet fullt av sminke, og kjolen skjevt på, etter å ha vært ute hele natten og drukket, bror, så ville hun finne en gren fra toppen av hickory-treet, og barnet ville ikke gått ut igjen. Jeg sier deg, hun ville… Og hvis vi hadde litt mer av det, ville vi hatt et bedre Hollywood og en bedre nasjon. Det er riktig. Det er sant. "Bare prøv å være moderne," det er en av djevelens knep.

Now, this little girl, when I looked at her, my heart just bled. And I thought, "Poor little fellow."
And she said, "Oh, you want a cigarette, Billy?"
I said, "No, ma'am." I said, "I don't smoke."
She said, "Now, you said you didn't dance." They wanted to go to a dance and I wouldn't do it. So they said there was a dance down there, what they called Sycamore Garden.
And I said, "No, I don't dance."
She said, "Now, you don't dance, you don't smoke, you don't drink. How do you have any fun?"
I said, "Well, I like to fish and I like to hunt." That didn't interest her.
So she said, "Take this cigarette."
And I said, "No, ma'am, thank you. I don't smoke."

Da jeg så denne lille jenta, blødde hjertet mitt for henne. Jeg tenkte: "Stakkars lille vesen."
Hun spurte: "Vil du ha en sigarett, Billy?"
Jeg svarte: "Nei, frue. Jeg røyker ikke."
Hun sa: "Du sa jo at du ikke danser." De ville gå på en dans, men jeg nektet. Det var en dans ved hva de kalte Sycamore Garden.
Jeg gjentok: "Nei, jeg danser ikke."
Så sa hun: "Du danser ikke, du røyker ikke, og du drikker ikke. Hvordan har du det gøy?"
Jeg svarte: "Vel, jeg liker å fiske og jakte." Dette interesserte henne ikke.
Hun insisterte: "Ta denne sigaretten."
Jeg svarte igjen: "Nei, frue, takk. Jeg røyker ikke."

And I was standing on the fender. They had a running board on the old Fords, you remember, and I was standing on that fender, sitting in the back seat, she and I. And she said, "You mean you won't smoke a cigarette?" Said, "And we girls has got more nerve than you have."
I said, "No, ma'am, I don't believe I want to do it."
She said, "Why, you big sissy!" Oh, my! I wanted to be big bad Bill, so I sure didn't want nothing sissy. See, I wanted to be a prize fighter, that was my idea of life. So I said… "Sissy! Sissy!"

Jeg sto på fotbrettet. De gamle Fordene hadde et slikt fotbrett, husker du, og jeg sto der mens hun satt i baksetet sammen med meg. Hun sa: "Mener du at du ikke vil røyke en sigarett?" og la til, "Vi jenter har mer mot enn deg."
Jeg svarte: "Nei, frue, jeg tror ikke jeg vil gjøre det."
Hun utbrøt: "For en pyse!" Å, jeg ønsket å være den tøffe Bill, så jeg ville absolutt ikke bli kalt en pyse. Jeg drømte om å bli en bokser, det var min idé om livet. Så jeg sa... "Pyse! Pyse!"

---I couldn't stand that.
So I said, "Give it to me!" My hand out, I said, "I will show her whether I'm sissy or not!" Got that cigarette out, and started to strike the match. Now, I know you're… Now, I'm not responsible for what you think, I'm just responsible for telling the truth. When I started to strike that cigarette, just as much determined to smoke it as I am to pick up this Bible, see, I heard something going, "Whheww!" I tried again, I couldn't get it to my mouth. I got to crying, I throwed the thing down, and they got to laughing at me; and I walked home. Went up through the field, sat down out there crying, and… It was a terrible life.

Jeg klarte ikke å holde ut det. Så jeg sa: "Gi den til meg!" Med hånden utstrakt sa jeg: "Jeg skal vise henne om jeg er feig eller ikke!" Jeg tok sigaretten og skulle til å tenne fyrstikken. Nå vet jeg at... Jeg er ikke ansvarlig for hva du tenker, men jeg er ansvarlig for å fortelle sannheten. Da jeg skulle til å tenne sigaretten, like bestemt på å røyke den som jeg er på å plukke opp denne Bibelen, hørte jeg en lyd som gikk "Whheww!" Jeg forsøkte igjen, men klarte ikke å få den til munnen. Jeg begynte å gråte, kastet sigaretten, og de begynte å le av meg. Jeg gikk hjem. Gikk gjennom åkeren, satte meg ned og gråt... Det var et forferdelig liv.

I remember one day Dad was going down to the river with the boys. My brother and I, we had to take a boat and go up and down the river, hunting bottles to put the whiskey in. We got a nickel a dozen for them, to pick them up along the river. And Dad was with me, and he had one of those little flat… I believe they was about a half-pint bottles. And there was a tree had blowed down, and Dad… And this man was with him, Mr. Dornbush. He had a nice boat, and I wanted to find favor with him because I wanted to use that boat. It had a good rudder, and mine didn't have no rudder at all. We had just old boards to paddle with. And if he'd let me use that boat… So, he done welding and he made the stills for Dad. They throwed their leg up across that tree, and Dad reached in his back pocket and pulled out a little flat bottle of whiskey, handed it to him and he took a drink, handed it back to Dad and he taken a drink. He set it down on a little sucker on the side of the tree that went out. And Mr. Dornbush picked it up, said, "Here you are, Billy."
I said, "Thank you, I don't drink."
He said, "A Branham, and don't drink?" Every one died with their boots on, nearly. And he said, "A Branham, and don't drink?"
I said, "No, sir."
"No," Dad said, "I raised one sissy."

Jeg husker en dag da pappa og guttene skulle dra ned til elva. Min bror og jeg måtte ta en båt og patruljere elva på jakt etter flasker til å ha whiskyen i. Vi tjente en femøring for hvert dusin vi plukket opp langs elva. Pappa var med meg, og han hadde med en av disse små, flate flaskene på omtrent en halv pint. Et tre hadde blåst ned, og pappa... Denne mannen ved navn Mr. Dornbush var med ham. Han hadde en fin båt, og jeg ønsket å gjøre godt inntrykk på ham fordi jeg gjerne ville bruke båten hans. Den hadde et godt ror, mens min båt manglet ror. Vi brukte bare gamle planker som padleårer. Hvis han lot meg bruke båten... Mr. Dornbush drev med sveising og lagde destillasjonsapparatene for pappa. De satte beinet over treet, og pappa tok en liten, flat flaske med whiskey fra baklommen, rakte den til Mr. Dornbush som tok en slurk og ga flasken tilbake til pappa, som også tok en slurk. Han satte flasken ned på en liten grein som stakk ut fra treet. Mr. Dornbush plukket flasken opp igjen og sa: "Her, Billy."
Jeg svarte: "Takk, men jeg drikker ikke."
Han sa: "En Branham, og drikker ikke? Nesten alle har dødd med støvlene på. En Branham, og drikker ikke?"
Jeg svarte: "Nei, sir."
Pappa sa: "Jeg oppdro én feiging."

My daddy calling me a sissy! I said, "Hand me that bottle!" And I pulled that stopper out of the top of it, determined to drink it. And when I started to turn it up, "Whheww!" I handed the bottle back and took off down through the field as hard as I could, crying. Something wouldn't let me do it! See? I could not say that I was any good, I was determined to do it. But it's God, grace, amazing grace, that kept me from doing those things. I wanted to do them, myself, but He just wouldn't let me do it.

Min far kalte meg en pyse! Jeg sa: "Gi meg den flasken!" Jeg trakk ut korken, fast bestemt på å drikke. Men da jeg skulle til å løfte flasken, "Whheww!" Jeg ga flasken tilbake og løp av gårde over marken så fort jeg kunne, gråtende. Noe hindret meg fra å gjøre det! Ser du? Jeg kan ikke si at jeg var noe særlig, jeg var bestemt på å gjøre det. Men det er Gud, nåde, fantastisk nåde, som hindret meg fra å gjøre disse tingene. Jeg ønsket å gjøre dem selv, men Han ville rett og slett ikke la meg gjøre det.

Later on I found a girl, when I was about twenty-two years old. She was a darling. She was a girl that went to church, German Lutheran. Her name was Brumbach, B-r-u-m-b-a-c-h, come from the name of Brumbaugh. And she was a nice girl. She didn't smoke, or drink, or she didn't dance or anything---a nice girl. I went with her for a little while, and I'd (then about twenty-two) I'd made enough money till I bought me an old Ford, and we'd go out on dates together. And so, at that time there was no Lutheran church close, they had moved from Howard Park up there.

Senere møtte jeg en jente da jeg var omtrent tjue-to år gammel. Hun var en herlig jente som gikk i menigheten, tysk luthersk. Hun het Brumbach, B-r-u-m-b-a-c-h, opprinnelig fra navnet Brumbaugh. Hun var en skikkelig flott jente. Hun røykte ikke, drakk ikke og danset ikke—en ordentlig fin jente. Jeg var sammen med henne en stund. På den tiden, da jeg var omtrent tjue-to, hadde jeg tjent nok penger til å kjøpe meg en gammel Ford, og vi dro ut på dater sammen. På den tiden var det ingen luthersk menighet i nærheten; de hadde flyttet fra Howard Park.

And so there was a minister, the one that ordained me in the Missionary Baptist Church, Doctor Roy Davis. Sister Upshaw… The very one that sent Brother Upshaw over to me, or talked to him about me, Doctor Roy Davis. And so he was preaching, and had the First Baptist Church, or the… I don't believe it was the First Baptist Church, either. It was the … called the Missionary Baptist Church at Jeffersonville. And he was preaching at the place at that time, and we would go to church at night, and we'd come back. And I never did join church, but I just liked to go with her. Because the main thought was going with her. I just might as well be honest.

Det var en predikant, Doktor Roy Davis, som ordinert meg i den Misjonærbaptistiske Menigheten, som forkynte. Søster Upshaw... Den samme som sendte Bror Upshaw til meg, eller snakket med ham om meg, Doktor Roy Davis. Han forkynte for den Misjonærbaptistiske Menigheten i Jeffersonville på den tiden. Vi gikk ofte til møtene om kvelden, og kom tilbake etterpå. Jeg meldte meg aldri inn i menigheten, men jeg likte å gå med henne. Hovedgrunnen var egentlig å være sammen med henne, skal jeg være ærlig.

So then going with her, and one day I… She was out of a nice family, and I begin to think, "You know, you know, I oughtn't to take that girl's time. It isn't right, because she's a nice girl, and I'm poor and I…" My daddy had broke down in health, and there wasn't no way for me to make a living for a girl like that, who had been used to a nice home, and rugs on the floor.

Så en dag, mens jeg var sammen med henne … Hun kom fra en fin familie, og jeg begynte å tenke: "Du vet, jeg burde ikke ta opp tiden hennes. Det er ikke riktig, fordi hun er en flott jente, og jeg er fattig, og jeg …" Min far hadde fått helseproblemer, og jeg hadde ingen mulighet til å forsørge en jente som henne, som var vant til et pent hjem og tepper på gulvet.

I remember the first rug I ever seen, I didn't know what it was. I walked around the side. I thought it was the prettiest thing I ever seen in my life. "How would they put something like that on the floor?" It was the first rug I had ever seen. It was one of these, I believe it's called, "matting rugs." I may have that wrong. Some kind of like "wicker" or something that's laced together, and laying on the floor. Pretty green and red, and big rose worked in the middle of it, you know. It was a pretty thing.

Jeg husker det første teppet jeg noen gang så, jeg visste ikke hva det var. Jeg gikk rundt det og syntes det var det vakreste jeg noensinne hadde sett. "Hvordan kunne de legge noe slikt på gulvet?" Det var det første teppet jeg hadde sett. Jeg tror det var en såkalt "matte." Kanskje jeg tar feil. Det var en type "kurvvev" eller noe lignende som var flettet sammen og lå på gulvet. Vakre grønne og røde farger, med en stor rose i midten. Det var virkelig pent.

And so I remember I made up my mind that I either had to ask her to marry me, or I must get away and let some good man marry her, somebody that would be good to her, could make her a living and could be kind to her. I could be kind to her, but I was only making twenty cents an hour. So I couldn't make too much of a living for her. With all the family we had to take care of, and Dad broke down in health, and I had to take care of all them, so I was having a pretty rough time.

Jeg husker at jeg bestemte meg for at jeg enten måtte be henne gifte seg med meg, eller trekke meg tilbake og la en god mann gifte seg med henne. En mann som kunne være god mot henne, forsørge henne og være snill mot henne. Jeg kunne være snill mot henne, men jeg tjente bare tjue cent i timen og kunne derfor ikke forsørge henne tilstrekkelig. Med hele familien å ta vare på, og far med svekket helse, hadde jeg et ganske vanskelig liv.

So I thought, "Well, the only thing for me to do is tell her that I just won't be back, because I thought too much of her to wreck her life and to let her fool along with me." And then I thought, "If somebody could get a hold of her and marry her, make a lovely home. And maybe if I couldn't have her, I could know that she was happy."
And so I thought, "But I just can't give her up!" And I was in an awful shape. And day after day I'd think about it. So I was too bashful to ask her to marry me. Every night I'd make up my mind, "I'm going to ask her." And, why, what is that, butterflies, or something, you get in your…? All you brethren out there probably had the same experience along that. And a real funny feeling, my face would get hot. I didn't know … I couldn't ask her.
So I guess you wonder how I ever got married. You know what? I wrote her a letter and asked her. And so… Now, it wasn't "dear Miss." It was a little more (you know) on the love side than that. It was just not an agreement, it was… I wrote it up the best I could.

Så jeg tenkte: "Vel, det eneste jeg kan gjøre, er å fortelle henne at jeg ikke kommer tilbake, fordi jeg hadde så stor respekt for henne at jeg ikke ville ødelegge livet hennes og la henne bli lurt med meg." Og så tenkte jeg: "Hvis noen kunne få tak i henne og gifte seg med henne, kunne de lage et vakkert hjem. Og kanskje, hvis jeg ikke kunne ha henne, kunne jeg i det minste vite at hun var lykkelig."
Men jeg tenkte også: "Jeg bare klarer ikke å gi henne opp!" Jeg var i en forferdelig situasjon og tenkte på det dag etter dag. Jeg var for sjenert til å be henne gifte seg med meg. Hver kveld bestemte jeg meg for: "I morgen skal jeg spørre henne." Men så fikk jeg sommerfugler i magen, eller noe lignende. Alle dere brødre der ute har sikkert hatt samme erfaring. Jeg fikk en merkelig følelse, og ansiktet mitt ble varmt. Jeg visste ikke hvordan jeg skulle spørre henne.
Så lurer dere kanskje på hvordan jeg klarte å gifte meg. Vet dere hva? Jeg skrev et brev til henne og fridde. Nå, det var ikke bare "kjære frøken." Det var litt mer (dere vet) på den kjærlige siden. Det var ikke bare en avtale, jeg skrev det så godt jeg kunne.

And I was a little afraid of her mother. Her mother was … she was kind of rough, but her father was a gentle old Dutchman, just a fine old fellow. He was an organizer of the Brotherhood, the trainmen on the railroad, making about five hundred dollars a month in them times. And me making twenty cents an hour, to marry his daughter. Hmm! I knowed that would never work. And her mother was very… Now, she's a nice lady. And she was kind of one of these high societies, you know, and prissy-like, you know, and so she didn't have much use for me anyhow. I was just an old plain sassafras country boy, and she thought Hope ought to go with a little better class of boy, and I think she was right. And so… But I didn't think it then.

Jeg var litt redd for moren hennes. Moren var ... hun var ganske streng, men faren var en mild, gammel nederlender, en fin gammel fyr. Han var organisator for Brorskapet, jernbanearbeiderne, og tjente rundt fem hundre dollar i måneden på den tiden. Og så kom jeg, som tjente tjue cent i timen, for å gifte meg med datteren hans. Hmm! Jeg visste at det aldri ville fungere. Moren hennes var veldig... Nå, hun var en hyggelig dame. Hun var en del av det høye sosietetslivet, prippete, og hadde derfor ikke mye til overs for meg. Jeg var bare en enkel gutt fra landet, og hun mente Hope burde være sammen med en gutt fra en bedre klasse, og det tror jeg hun hadde rett i. Men, det tenkte jeg ikke den gangen.

So I thought, "Well, now, I don't know how … I can't ask her daddy, and I'm sure not going to ask her mother. And so I got to ask her first." So I wrote me a letter. And that morning on the road to work, I dropped it in the mailbox. We was going to church Wednesday night, and that was on Monday morning. I tried all day Sunday to tell her that I wanted to get married, and I just couldn't get up enough nerve.
So then I dropped it in the mailbox. And all at work that day I happened to think, "What if her mother got a hold of that letter?" Oh, my! Then I knowed I was ruined, if she ever got a hold of it, because she didn't care too much about me. Well, I was just sweating it out.

Jeg tenkte: "Vel, jeg vet ikke hvordan … Jeg kan ikke spørre faren hennes, og jeg skal i hvert fall ikke spørre moren hennes. Så jeg må spørre henne først." Jeg skrev et brev til henne. På vei til jobb den morgenen, la jeg det i postkassen. Vi skulle til menigheten onsdag kveld, og det var mandag morgen. Hele søndagen forsøkte jeg å fortelle henne at jeg ville gifte meg, men jeg klarte bare ikke å samle nok mot.
Så jeg la brevet i postkassen, men hele dagen på jobben tenkte jeg: "Hva om moren hennes får tak i det brevet?" Å, nei! Da visste jeg at jeg var ødelagt, hvis hun fikk tak i det, for hun likte meg ikke særlig godt. Jeg var nervøs hele dagen.

And that Wednesday night when I come, oh, my, I thought, "How am I going to go up there? If her mother got a hold of that letter she will really work me over, so I hope she got it." I addressed it to "Hope." That was her name, Hope. And so I said, "I will just write it out here to Hope." And I thought maybe she might have not a-got a hold of it.
So I knowed better than to stop outside and blow the horn for her to come out. Oh, my! And any boy that hasn't got nerve enough to walk up to the house and knock on the door and ask for the girl, ain't got no business being out with her anyhow. That's exactly right. That's so silly. That's cheap.

Den onsdagskvelden da jeg kom, tenkte jeg, "Hvordan skal jeg klare dette? Hvis moren hennes har fått tak i brevet, vil hun virkelig sette meg på plass. Så jeg håper hun fikk det." Jeg adresserte det til "Hope." Det var navnet hennes, Hope. Derfor skrev jeg, "Jeg vil bare skrive det til Hope." Jeg tenkte kanskje hun ikke hadde fått tak i det.
Jeg visste bedre enn å stoppe utenfor og tute for å få henne ut. Enhver gutt som ikke har mot nok til å gå opp til huset, banke på døren og be om å få snakke med jenta, har uansett ingen rett til å være ute med henne. Det er helt riktig. Det er så tåpelig. Det er billig.

And so I stopped my old Ford, you know, and I had it all shined up. And so I went up and knocked at the door. Mercy, her mother come to the door! I couldn't hardly catch my breath, I said, "How---how---how do you do, Mrs. Brumbach?"
She said, "How do you do, William."
I thought, "Uh-oh, 'William.'"
And she said, "Will you step in?"
I said, "Thank you." I stepped inside the door. I said, "Is Hope just about ready?"
And just then here come Hope skipping through the house, just a girl about sixteen. And she said, "Hi, Billy!"
And I said, "Hi, Hope." And I said, "You about ready for church?"
She said, "Just in a minute."
I thought, "Oh, my, she never got it, she never got it; good, good, good! Hope never got it either, so it'll be all right, because she'd have named it to me." So I felt pretty fair.

Jeg stoppet min gamle Ford, som jeg hadde pusset opp, og gikk bort og banket på døren. Hennes mor kom til døren, og jeg mistet nesten pusten. Jeg sa, "Hvordan---hvordan---hvordan har du det, fru Brumbach?"
Hun svarte, "Hvordan har du det, William."
Jeg tenkte, "Å nei, 'William'."
Hun sa, "Vil du komme inn?"
Jeg svarte, "Takk." Jeg gikk inn gjennom døren og spurte, "Er Hope klar?"
Akkurat da kom Hope hoppende gjennom huset, en jente på rundt seksten år, og hilste, "Hei, Billy!"
Jeg svarte, "Hei, Hope. Er du klar for møtet?"
Hun sa, "Om et øyeblikk."
Jeg tenkte, "Flott, hun har ikke fått det med seg; bra, bra, bra! Hope fikk det heller ikke med seg, så det vil gå fint." Jeg følte meg ganske lettet.

And then when I got out to church, I happened to think, "What if she did get it?" See? And I couldn't hear what Doctor Davis was saying. I'd look over at her, and I thought, "Maybe she's just holding it back, and she's really going to tell me off when I get out of here, for asking her that." And I couldn't hear what Brother Davis was saying. And I'd look over at her, and I thought, "My, I hate to give her up, but… And I… The showdown's sure to come."
So after church we started walking down the street together, going home, and so we walked to the old Ford. All along, the moon is shining bright, you know, and I'd look over, and she was pretty. Boy, I'd look at her, and I thought, "My, how I would like to have her; but guess I can't."

Da jeg kom til menigheten, begynte jeg å tenke, "Hva om hun faktisk fikk det?" Jeg kunne ikke høre hva Doktor Davis sa. Jeg kikket over på henne og tenkte, "Kanskje hun bare holder det inne og virkelig kommer til å kjefte på meg når vi er ferdige her, på grunn av det jeg spurte henne om." Jeg kunne fortsatt ikke høre hva Bror Davis sa. Jeg så på henne igjen og tenkte, "Jeg ønsker virkelig ikke å miste henne, men... Konfrontasjonen må komme."
Etter møtet begynte vi å gå sammen hjemover. Vi gikk mot den gamle Ford-bilen, under den klare måneskinnet. Jeg kikket på henne, og hun var vakker. Jeg tenkte, "Å, hvor gjerne jeg skulle ønske å være sammen med henne; men det ser ut som jeg ikke kan."

And so I walked on a little farther, you know, and I'd look up at her again. I said, "How---how you feeling tonight?"
She said, "Oh, I'm all right."
And we stopped the old Ford down and we started to get out, you know, around the side, walk around the corner and go up to her house. And I was walking up to the door with her. I thought, "You know, she probably never got the letter, so I just might as well forget it. I will have another week of grace anyhow." So I got to feeling pretty good.
She said, "Billy?"
I said, "Yeah?"
She said, "I got your letter." Oh, my!
I said, "You did?"
She said, "Uh-huh." Well, she just kept walking on, never said another word.
I thought, "Woman, tell me something. Run me away, or tell me what you think about it." And I said, "Did you … did you read it?"
She said, "Uh-huh."
My, you know how a woman can keep you in suspense. Oh, I didn't mean it just that way, you see. See? But anyhow, you know, I thought, "Why don't you say something?" See, and I kept going on. I said, "Did you read it all?"
And she said, "Uh-huh."

Jeg gikk litt videre, du vet, og kikket opp på henne igjen. Jeg sa, "Hvordan – hvordan føler du deg i kveld?"
Hun sa, "Å, jeg har det bra."
Vi stoppet den gamle Forden og begynte å gå ut, rundet hjørnet og gikk opp til huset hennes. Da vi gikk opp til døren sammen, tenkte jeg: "Hun fikk vel aldri brevet, så jeg kan like gjerne glemme det. Jeg har i det minste en uke til på meg." Så jeg begynte å føle meg litt bedre.
Hun sa, "Billy?"
Jeg sa, "Ja?"
Hun sa, "Jeg fikk brevet ditt." Å, herregud!
Jeg sa, "Gjorde du det?"
Hun sa, "Ja." Hun fortsatte å gå uten å si noe mer.
Jeg tenkte, "Kvinne, si noe. Avvis meg, eller fortell meg hva du synes om det." Jeg spurte, "Leste du det?"
Hun sa, "Ja."
Å, du vet hvordan en kvinne kan holde deg i spenning. Å, jeg mente det ikke akkurat slik, skjønner du. Men uansett, jeg tenkte, "Hvorfor sier du ikke noe?" Jeg fortsatte, "Leste du alt?"
Hun sa, "Ja."

So we was almost to the door, and I thought, "Boy, don't get me on the porch, because I might not be able to outrun them, so you tell me now." And so I kept waiting.
And she said, "Billy, I would love to do that. She said, "I love you." God bless her soul now, she's in glory. She said, "I love you." Said, "I think we ought to tell our parent … the parents about it. Don't you think so?"
And I said, "Honey, listen, let's start this out with a fifty-fifty proposition." I said, "I will tell your daddy if you'll tell your mother.", rooting the worse part off on her to begin with.
She said, "All right, if you'll tell Daddy first."
I said, "All right, I will tell him Sunday night."

Vi var nesten ved døren, og jeg tenkte: "Gutt, ikke la meg komme meg inn på verandaen, for jeg vil kanskje ikke klare å løpe fra dem, så du fortell meg det nå." Så jeg ventet fortsatt.
Hun sa: "Billy, jeg ville virkelig gjort det. Jeg elsker deg." Gud velsigne hennes sjel nå, hun er i herlighet. Hun sa: "Jeg elsker deg. Jeg synes vi burde fortelle foreldrene om det. Synes du ikke det?"
Jeg sa: "Kjære, la oss starte dette med en femti-femti avtale. Jeg vil fortelle faren din hvis du forteller moren din," og la den verste delen på henne til å begynne med.
Hun sa: "Greit, hvis du forteller pappa først."
Jeg sa: "Greit, jeg forteller ham søndag kveld."

And so Sunday night come, I brought her home from church, and she kept looking at me. And I looked, and it was nine-thirty, it was time for me to get going. So Charlie was sitting at his desk, typing away. And Mrs. Brumbach sitting over the corner, doing some kind of a crocheting, you know, or them little hooks you put over things, you know. I don't know what you call it. And so she was doing some of that kind of stuff. And Hope kept looking at me, and she'd frown at me, you know, motion to her daddy. And I … oh, my." I thought, "What if he says, 'No'?" So I started out to the door, I said, "Well, I guess I'd better go."

Søndag kveld kom, og jeg hadde kjørt henne hjem fra menigheten. Hun fortsatte å se på meg, og jeg så på klokka. Den var halv ti, og det var på tide for meg å dra. Charlie satt ved pulten sin og skrev. Fru Brumbach satt i hjørnet og holdt på med en slags hekling, dere vet, eller noen små kroker man setter over ting. Jeg vet ikke helt hva man kaller det. Hun holdt i hvert fall på med den slags ting. Hope fortsatte å se på meg og rynket pannen mens hun signaliserte mot faren sin. Jeg tenkte: "Hva hvis han sier 'nei'?" Så jeg begynte å bevege meg mot døra og sa: "Vel, jeg antar at det er på tide at jeg går."

And I walked to the door, and she started over to the door with me. She'd always come to the door and tell me good night. So I started to the door, and she said, "Aren't you going to tell him?"
And I said, "Huh!" I said, "I'm sure trying to, but I … I don't know how I'm a-going to do it."
And she said, "I will just go back and you call him out." So she walked back and left me standing there.
And I said, "Charlie?"
He turned around and said, "Yeah, Bill?"
I said, "Could I talk to you just a minute?"
He said, "Sure." He turned around from his desk. Mrs. Brumbach looked at him, looked over at Hope, and looked at me.
And I said, "Would you come out on the porch?"
And he said, "Yes, I will come out." So he walked out on the porch.
I said, "Sure is a pretty night, isn't it?"
And he said, "Yes, it is."
I said, "Sure been warm."
"Certainly has," he looked at me.
I said, "I've been working so hard," I said, "you know, even my hands is getting calluses."
He said, "You can have her, Bill." Oh, my! "You can have her."

Jeg gikk mot døren, og hun fulgte meg dit. Hun pleide alltid å følge meg til døren for å si god natt. Så jeg gikk mot døren, og hun spurte: "Skal du ikke fortelle ham det?"
Jeg svarte, "Hæ? Jeg prøver, men jeg vet ikke hvordan jeg skal gjøre det."
Hun sa, "Jeg går tilbake, og så roper du på ham." Så gikk hun tilbake og lot meg stå der.
Jeg sa, "Charlie?"
Han snudde seg og svarte, "Ja, Bill?"
Jeg spurte, "Kan jeg snakke med deg et øyeblikk?"
Han sa, "Selvfølgelig." Han snudde seg bort fra skrivebordet. Fru Brumbach så på ham, deretter på Hope, og til slutt på meg.
Jeg spurte, "Vil du komme ut på verandaen?"
Han svarte, "Ja, jeg kommer ut." Så han gikk ut på verandaen.
Jeg sa, "Nydelig kveld, ikke sant?"
Han sa, "Ja, det er det."
Jeg la til, "Det har vært veldig varmt."
"Det har det virkelig," sa han og så på meg.
Jeg fortsatte, "Jeg har jobbet så hardt, til og med hendene mine har begynt å få hard hud."
Han sa, "Du kan få henne, Bill." Oh, min! "Du kan få henne."

I thought, "Oh, that's better." I said, "You really mean it, Charlie?" He said… I said, "Charlie, look, I know that she's your daughter, and you got money."
And he reached over and got me by the hand. He said, "Bill, listen, money ain't all things that's in human life." He said…
I said, "Charlie, I only make twenty cents an hour, but I love her and she loves me. And I promise you, Charlie, that I will work till the calluses wear off of my hands, to make her a living. I will be just as true to her as I could be."
He said, "I believe that, Bill." He said, "Listen, Bill, I want to tell you." Said, "You know, happiness, don't altogether take money to be happy." Said, "Just be good to her. And I know you will."
I said, "Thank you, Charlie. I sure will do that."
Then it was her time to tell Mama. I don't know how she got by, but we got married.

Jeg tenkte: "Åh, det er bedre." Jeg sa: "Mener du det virkelig, Charlie?" Han svarte... Jeg sa: "Charlie, se, jeg vet at hun er datteren din, og du har penger."
Han tok hånden min og sa: "Bill, hør, penger er ikke alt i livet." Han sa...
Jeg sa: "Charlie, jeg tjener bare tjue øre i timen, men jeg elsker henne, og hun elsker meg. Jeg lover deg, Charlie, at jeg skal jobbe til huden på hendene mine er slitt bort for å forsørge henne. Jeg skal være så tro mot henne som jeg bare kan."
Han svarte: "Det tror jeg på, Bill. Hør, Bill, la meg fortelle deg noe. Lykken avhenger ikke bare av penger. Vær bare god mot henne. Og jeg vet at du vil være det."
Jeg sa: "Takk, Charlie. Det skal jeg gjøre."
Så var det hennes tur til å fortelle mamma. Jeg vet ikke hvordan hun klarte det, men vi giftet oss.

So, when we got married, we didn't have nothing, nothing to go housekeeping. I think we had two or three dollars. So we rented a house, it cost us four dollars a month. It was a little old two-room place. And someone give us an old folding bed. I wonder if anybody ever seen an old folding bed? And they gave us that. And I went down to Sears and Roebucks and got a little table with four chairs, and it wasn't painted, you know, and we got that on time. And so then I went over to Mr. Weber, a junk dealer, and bought a cooking stove. I paid seventy-five cents for it, and a dollar and something for grates to go in it. We set up housekeeping. I remember taking and painting a shamrock on the chairs, when I painted them. And, oh, we were happy, though. We had one another, so that was all necessary. And God, by His mercy and His goodness we was the happiest little couple could be on the earth.
I found this, that happiness does not consist of how much of the world's goods you own, but how contented you are with the portion that's allotted to you.

Da vi giftet oss, hadde vi ingenting, ikke noe til husholdningen. Jeg tror vi hadde to eller tre dollar. Så vi leide et hus til fire dollar i måneden. Det var et lite, gammelt to-roms sted. Noen ga oss en gammel feltseng. Jeg lurer på om noen har sett en slik feltseng. De ga oss den. Jeg dro ned til Sears og Roebuck og fikk et lite bord med fire stoler, som ikke var malt, og vi kjøpte det på avbetaling. Deretter gikk jeg til Mr. Weber, en skraphandler, og kjøpte en kokeovn. Jeg betalte syttifem cent for den, og en dollar og noe for ristene til ovnen. Vi startet husholdningen. Jeg husker at jeg malte en kløver på stolene når jeg malte dem. Å, vi var lykkelige. Vi hadde hverandre, og det var alt som var nødvendig. Gud, i Sin barmhjertighet og godhet, gjorde oss til det lykkeligste lille paret på jorden.
Jeg har erfart at lykke ikke avhenger av hvor mye av verdens gods man eier, men av hvor fornøyd man er med den delen man har fått tildelt.

And after a while God came down and blessed our little home, we had a little boy. His name was Billy Paul; in the service right now here. And a little later from then, about eleven months, He blessed us again with a little girl called Sharon Rose, taken from the Word of "The Rose of Sharon."
And I remember one day I had saved up my money and I was going to take a little vacation, going up to a place, the Paw Paw Lake, to fish. And on my road back…

Etter en stund kom Gud ned og velsignet vårt lille hjem med en liten gutt. Hans navn var Billy Paul, og han er til stede i møtet nå. Noen måneder senere, omtrent elleve måneder, velsignet Han oss igjen med en liten jente som fikk navnet Sharon Rose, hentet fra Ordet "Rosen av Sharon."
Jeg husker en dag da jeg hadde spart opp penger og planla å ta en liten ferie, for å dra til Paw Paw-sjøen for å fiske. På vei tilbake...

And during this time (I'm leaving out my conversion) I was converted, and was ordained by Doctor Roy Davis in the Missionary Baptist Church and had become a minister, and had the Tabernacle that I now preach in in Jeffersonville. And I was pastoring the little church. And I…
No money. I pastored the church seventeen years and never got one penny. I didn't believe in tak… There wasn't even an offering plate in it. And what tithings I had from work, and so forth, had a little box on the back of the building, said, little sign on it, "Insomuch as you have done unto the least of these my little ones, you have did it unto me." And then that's how the church was paid for. We had ten-years loan to pay it, and was paid off less than two years. And I never took an offering of no kind.
And then I had, oh, a few dollars I had saved up for my vacation. She worked, too, at Fine's Shirt Factory. A lovely darling girl. And her grave is probably snowy today, but she's still in my heart. And I remember when she had worked so hard to help me to have enough money to go up to this lake to fish.

I utelater min egen omvendelse her: Jeg ble omvendt og ordinert av Doktor Roy Davis i Misjonsbaptistkirken og ble da en forkynner. Jeg fikk også Tabernaklet som jeg nå forkynner i, i Jeffersonville. Jeg var pastor i den lille menigheten, og...
Ingen penger. Jeg var pastor i menigheten i sytten år uten å motta én eneste krone. Jeg trodde ikke på å ta imot penger. Det fantes ikke engang en kollektbøsse i menigheten. De tiendene jeg fikk fra arbeid og lignende, ble lagt i en liten boks på baksiden av bygningen med et lite skilt: "Hva dere har gjort mot en av Mine minste, det har Dere gjort mot Meg." Slik ble menigheten betalt for. Vi hadde et tiårslån for å betale den, men det ble betalt ned på mindre enn to år. Jeg tok aldri imot noen form for gave.
Jeg hadde også spart noen få dollar til ferie. Hun jobbet også på Fine's Skjortefabrikk. En elskverdig, kjær jente. Graven hennes er antagelig dekket av snø i dag, men hun er fortsatt i mitt hjerte. Jeg husker hvor hardt hun jobbet for å hjelpe meg med å spare nok penger til å dra til denne innsjøen for å fiske.

And when I was coming back from the lake, I begin to see, coming into Mishawaka and South Bend, Indiana, and I begin to notice cars that had signs on the back, said, "Jesus Only." And I thought, "That sounds strange, 'Jesus Only.'" And I begin noticing those signs. And it was on anywhere from bicycles, Fords, Cadillacs, and what-more, "Jesus Only." And I followed some of them down, and they come to a great big church. And I found out they were Pentecostal.
I had heard of Pentecostal, but they were a bunch of "holy-rollers that laid on the floor and frothed at their mouth," and everything that they told me about. So I didn't want nothing to do with it.
So I heard them all carrying on in there, and I thought, "Believe I will just walk in." So I stopped my old Ford and walked in, and all the singing you ever heard in your life! And I come to find out there were two great churches, one of them called a P.A. of J.C., and the P.A. of W. Many of you people might remember those old organi… I think they're United, called now, called the United Pentecostal Church. Well, I listened at some of their teachers. And they were standing there, oh, they were teaching about Jesus and how great He was, and how great everything was, and about a "baptism of the Holy Ghost." I thought, "What are they talking about?"

Da jeg kom tilbake fra innsjøen og nærmet meg Mishawaka og South Bend i Indiana, la jeg merke til biler med skilter som sa "Jesus Only." Jeg tenkte, "Det høres merkelig ut, 'Jesus Only.'" Jeg begynte å legge merke til disse skiltene på alt fra sykler til Fords og Cadillacs. Jeg fulgte noen av dem, og de kom til en stor menighet. Det viste seg at de var Pinsevenner.
Jeg hadde hørt om Pinsevenner før, men hadde fått inntrykk av at det bare var en gjeng "hellig-rullere" som lå på gulvet og skummet fra munnen. Dette var hva jeg hadde blitt fortalt, så jeg ønsket ikke noe med dem å gjøre.
Jeg hørte dem synge og tenkte, "Kanskje jeg skal gå inn." Så jeg stoppet min gamle Ford og gikk inn. Aldri før hadde jeg hørt slik sang! Jeg fant ut at det var to store menigheter, den ene kalt P.A. av J.C. og den andre P.A. av W. Mange av dere kan huske de gamle organisasjonene. Jeg tror de nå er kjent som United Pentecostal Church. Jeg lyttet til noen av deres lærere. De sto der og underviste om Jesus, hvor stor Han er og om "åndsdåpen." Jeg tenkte, "Hva snakker de om?"

And, after a while, somebody jumped up and started speaking with tongues. Well, I never heard anything like that in my life. And here come some woman up through there running just as hard as she could. Then all of them got up and started running. And I thought, "Well, brother, they sure ain't got no church manners!" Screaming and shouting and carrying on, I thought, "What a bunch this is!" But, you know, something about it, longer I sat there, the better I liked it. There was something seemed to be real good. And I begin to watch them. And it went on. I thought, "I will just bear with them a while, because I'm close to the door. If anything starts just rashal, I will run out the door. I know where my car is parked, just around the corner."

Etter en stund reiste noen seg og begynte å tale i tunger. Jeg hadde aldri hørt noe slikt før. Så kom en kvinne løpende så fort hun kunne. Deretter reiste alle seg og begynte å løpe. Jeg tenkte, "Vel, de har tydeligvis ikke mye kirkeetikk!" Mens de skrek, ropte og bar seg, tenkte jeg, "For en gjeng dette er!" Men merkelig nok likte jeg det bedre jo lengre jeg satt der. Det var noe som virket veldig bra. Jeg begynte å følge med på dem. Det fortsatte en stund, og jeg tenkte, "Jeg får holde ut litt til, for jeg sitter nær døren. Hvis noe urovekkende skjer, kan jeg løpe ut. Jeg vet hvor bilen min er parkert, rett rundt hjørnet."

And I begin to hear some of them preachers, was scholars and students. Why, I thought, "That's fine."
So it come supper time, and said, "Everybody come to supper."
But I thought, "Wait a minute. I got a dollar and seventy-five cents to go home." That's all I had for gasoline money. Just taken that to take me home. And I had my old Ford, it was a pretty good old Ford. It wasn't backslid, it was just like this one out here, just wore out. I actually believe that Ford would go thirty miles an hour. But of course that was fifteen this way and fifteen this a-way, you see; put it together, you have thirty. And so I thought, "Well, that night I think I would go out and after the…" I was staying for the night service.

Jeg begynte å høre noen av disse forkynnerne, som var lærde og studenter. Jeg tenkte, "Det er bra."
Så kom det middagstid, og de sa: "Alle kom til middag."
Jeg tenkte: "Vent litt. Jeg har én dollar og syttifem cent til å komme meg hjem." Det var alt jeg hadde til bensin. Bare akkurat nok til å ta meg hjem. Jeg hadde en gammel Ford; det var en ganske god Ford. Den var ikke i dårlig stand, bare sliten, akkurat som den ute her. Jeg tror faktisk den Forden kunne kjøre tretti mil i timen. Selvfølgelig var det femten den ene veien og femten den andre veien; til sammen blir det tretti. Så jeg tenkte, "Vel, den natten tror jeg at jeg ville dra ut etter...". Jeg skulle bli der for nattens møte.

And all … he said, "All of the preachers, regardless of denomination, come to the platform." Well, there was about two hundred of us up there, I went up. And so he said, "Now, we haven't got time for you all to preach." He said, "Just walk by and say who you are and where you're from."
Well, it come my time, I said, "William Branham, Baptist. Jeffersonville, Indiana," walked by.
I'd hear all the rest of them call themselves, "Pentecostal, Pentecostal, Pentecostal, P.A. of W., P.A. of J.C., P.A. of W., P…"
I walked by. I thought, "Well, I guess I'm the ugly duckling." So I sat down, waited.

Han sa: "Alle forkynnerne, uansett konfesjon, kom opp på plattformen." Det var omtrent to hundre av oss der oppe, jeg gikk opp. Han sa: "Nå har vi ikke tid til at dere alle kan preke. Bare gå forbi og si hvem dere er og hvor dere kommer fra."
Da det ble min tur, sa jeg: "William Branham, Baptist. Jeffersonville, Indiana," og gikk videre.
Jeg hørte de andre si: "Pinsevenn, Pinsevenn, Pinsevenn, P.A. of W., P.A. of J.C., P.A. of W., P…"
Jeg gikk forbi og tenkte: "Vel, jeg antar at jeg er den stygge andungen." Så jeg satte meg ned og ventet.

And that day they'd had fine young preachers out there, and they had preached powerfully. And then they said, "The one's going to bring the message tonight is…" I believe they called him, "Elder." And the ministers, instead of "Reverend," it was "Elder." And they brought an old colored man out there, and he had one of these old-fashioned preacher's coats. I don't guess you ever seen one. Long pigeontail in the back, you know, with a velvet collar. And he had just a little white rim of hair around his head. Poor old fellow, he come out like this, you know. And he stood there and he turned around. And where all the preachers had been preaching about Jesus and the great … how great He was, and so forth, that old man took his text from over in Job. "Where was you when I laid the foundation of the world, or when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy?"
And the poor old fellow, I thought, "Why didn't they put some of them young fellows up there to preach?" The place was packed and jammed. And I thought, "Why didn't they do that?"

Den dagen hadde de noen dyktige unge forkynnere, og de forkynte med stor kraft. Så sa de: "Den som skal bringe budskapet i kveld er…" Jeg tror de kalte ham "Elder." Ministerene brukte "Elder" i stedet for "Reverend." De førte frem en gammel farget mann som hadde på seg en av disse gammeldagse forkynnerfrakkene. Jeg tviler på om du noen gang har sett en slik. Lang frakk med duehale bak og fløyelskrage. Han hadde bare en liten hvit hårkrans rundt hodet. Den gamle, stakkars mannen kom frem på denne måten, du vet. Han stilte seg opp og snudde seg rundt. Mens alle de andre forkynnerne hadde talt om Jesus og hvor stor Han var, valgte denne gamle mannen sin tekst fra Job: "Hvor var du da Jeg la jordens grunnvoller, eller da morgenstjernene sang sammen og Guds sønner jublet av glede?"
Jeg tenkte: "Hvorfor satte de ikke opp noen av de unge mennene til å forkynne?" Plassen var fullstappet. Jeg undret meg: "Hvorfor gjorde de ikke det?"

So then this old fellow, instead of preaching what was going on down here on earth, he begin to preach what was going on in heaven all the time. Well, he took Him up at the beginning at the beginning of time, and brought Him back in the second coming down the horizontal rainbow. Why, I never heard such preaching in my life! About that time the Spirit hit him, he jumped about that high and clicked his heels together, throwed his shoulders back and went tipping off that platform, said, "You haven't got room enough up here for me to preach." And he had more room than I got here.
I thought, "If that'll make an old man act like that, what would it do if it got on me?" I thought, "Maybe I need some of that!" Why, he come out here, I felt so sorry for the old fellow, but, when he left, I was feeling sorry for myself. And I looked at him go off there.

Denne gamle karen, i stedet for å forkynne om det som skjer her på jorden, begynte å forkynne om det som skjer i himmelen hele tiden. Han startet med begynnelsen av tiden og brakte Ham tilbake i den andre komme ned den horisontale regnbuen. Jeg har aldri hørt slik forkynnelse i mitt liv! Akkurat da ånden traff ham, hoppet han høyt og klasket hælene sammen, rettet ryggen og gikk vaggende bort fra plattformen, mens han sa: "Dere har ikke nok plass her oppe for at jeg skal kunne forkynne." Og han hadde mer plass enn jeg har her.
Jeg tenkte: "Hvis det får en gammel mann til å oppføre seg slik, hva ville det gjøre med meg?" Jeg tenkte: "Kanskje jeg trenger noe av det!" Da han kom ut her, følte jeg meg så synd på den gamle mannen, men da han dro, følte jeg meg synd på meg selv. Og jeg så på ham gå av gårde.

I went out that night, and I thought, "Now, the next morning I'm not going to let nobody know who I am," so… I went, and that night I pressed my trousers. I took … went out in the corn field to sleep. And I went down and bought me some stale rolls. You … bought a whole bunch of them for a nickel. There was a hydrant down there, I got some water. So I knowed that would last me a little while, so I got me some water and drank it, and went and eat my rolls, and come back and got another drink of water, went out in the corn field; took the two seats and laid my little seersucker trousers in there, pressed them on the seat.
And that night I prayed pretty near all night. I said, "Lord, what is this I got into? I never seen such religious people in my life." And I said, "Help me to know what this is all about."

Den kvelden gikk jeg ut og tenkte: "I morgen skal jeg ikke la noen vite hvem jeg er." Jeg presset buksene mine, gikk ut i maisåkeren for å sove, og kjøpte noen stive rundstykker. Du kunne få en hel bunt for en femøring. Jeg fant en vannkran, fylte opp noen flasker, og visste at det ville holde en stund. Jeg drakk vannet, spiste rundstykkene, og tok nok en slurk vann før jeg dro tilbake til maisåkeren. Jeg brukte to seter til å presse seersucker-buksene mine.
Den natten ba jeg nesten hele tiden. Jeg sa: "Herre, hva er det jeg har kommet oppi? Jeg har aldri sett så religiøse mennesker før i mitt liv." Jeg la til: "Hjelp meg å forstå hva alt dette dreier seg om."

And the next morning I got down there. Invited us for breakfast. Of course I wouldn't come and eat with them, because I had nothing to put in the offering. And I just went back. And the next morning when I went in, why, I eat some of my rolls, and sat down. And they got on a microphone. And I'd never seen a microphone before, and I was scared of that thing. So they… And it had a little string hanging up here, and hanging down. One of them drop mikes, like. And he said, "Last night, on the platform, there was a young preacher here, a Baptist."
I thought, "Uh-oh, I'm good for a working-over now."
And he said, "He was the youngest preacher on the platform. His name was Branham. Does anybody know any whereabouts of him? Tell him to come on, we want him to bring the morning message."

Neste morgen gikk jeg dit. De inviterte oss til frokost. Selvfølgelig ville jeg ikke spise med dem, fordi jeg ikke hadde noe å legge i kollekten. Så jeg gikk tilbake. Neste morgen, da jeg kom inn, spiste jeg noen av bollene mine og satte meg ned. De begynte å bruke en mikrofon. Jeg hadde aldri sett en mikrofon før, og var redd for den. Den hadde en liten snor som hang ned, en av de mikrofonene som kan henges fra taket. Han sa: "I går kveld var det en ung forkynner, en baptist, her på plattformen."
Jeg tenkte: "Å nei, nå blir jeg satt på plass."
Han fortsatte: "Han var den yngste forkynneren på plattformen. Han het Branham. Er det noen som vet hvor han er? Fortell ham at vi vil at han skal holde morgenens budskap."

Oh, my! I had a little T-shirt on, and seersucker trousers, you know. And we Baptists believe you had to have a suit on, to get in the pulpit, you know. And I just sat real still. And during the time… They had it up in the North then because (their international convention) the colored people couldn't come to it if it was in the South. They had the colored there, and I was a Southerner, had starch in my collar yet, you see, thought I was a little better than somebody else. And it happened to be that morning, set right down by me was a colored man. I sat and looked up at him. I thought, "Well, he's a brother."
And he said, "Anybody know the whereabouts of William Branham?" I scooted down in the seat like this. So he said, announced it the second time, said, "Anybody on the outside (he pulled this little mike in) know the whereabouts of William Branham? Tell him we want him on the platform for the morning message. He's a Baptist preacher from southern Indiana."

Åh, kjære! Jeg hadde på meg en liten T-skjorte og seersucker-bukser. Som baptister mener vi jo at man må ha dress for å komme opp på talerstolen. Så jeg satt helt stille. På den tiden holdt de stevnet i Nord fordi fargede ikke kunne delta dersom det var i Sørstatene. De hadde med de fargede der, og jeg, som var en sørlending med stiv stivelse i kragen, følte meg litt bedre enn andre. Den morgenen skjedde det at en farget mann satte seg rett ved siden av meg. Jeg så opp på ham og tenkte: "Vel, han er en bror."
Han sa: "Er det noen som vet hvor William Branham befinner seg?" Jeg sank ned i setet. Han annonserte det en gang til og sa: "Er det noen utenfor som vet hvor William Branham befinner seg? Fortell ham at vi ønsker ham på plattformen for morgenens budskap. Han er en baptistpredikant fra Sør-Indiana."

I just set real still and ducked down, you know. Nobody knowed me, anyhow. That colored boy looked over at me, said, "Do you know where he is?"
I either had to lie or do something. So I said, "Hold down here."
He said, "Yes, sir?"
I said, "I want to tell you something." I said, "I'm him."
He said, "Well, go on up there."
And I said, "No, I can't. See," I said, "I got on these little old seersucker trousers and this little T-shirt." I said, "I couldn't go up there."
He said, "Them people don't care how you dress. Go on up there."
I said, "No, no." I said, "Keep still, don't say nothing now."
And they come back to the phone a minute, said, "Anybody know the whereabouts of William Branham?"
He said, "Here he is! Here he is! Here he is!" Oh, my! There I got up with that little T-shirt on, you know. And here…

Jeg satte meg helt stille og dukket ned, vet du. Ingen kjente meg uansett. Den fargede gutten så bort på meg og sa, "Vet du hvor han er?"
Jeg kunne enten lyve eller gjøre noe. Så jeg sa, "Hold deg nede her."
Han sa, "Ja, sir?"
Jeg sa, "Jeg vil fortelle deg noe." Jeg sa, "Det er meg."
Han sa, "Vel, gå opp dit."
Og jeg sa, "Nei, det kan jeg ikke. Se," sa jeg, "jeg har på meg disse små, gamle seersucker-buksene og denne lille T-skjorten." Jeg sa, "Jeg kan ikke gå opp dit."
Han sa, "De folka bryr seg ikke om hvordan du kler deg. Gå opp dit."
Jeg sa, "Nei, nei." Jeg sa, "Hold deg rolig, ikke si noe nå."
Og de kom tilbake til telefonen etter et øyeblikk og sa, "Er det noen som vet hvor William Branham befinner seg?"
Han sa, "Her er han! Her er han! Her er han!" Å, du min! Der reiste jeg meg med den lille T-skjorten på, vet du. Og her…

He said, "Come on up, Mr. Branham, we want you to bring the message." Oh, my, before all them preachers, hmm, all them people! And I went slipping up, you know. My face red, and my ears burning. And I slipped up, seersucker trousers and T-shirt (preacher, Baptist preacher), going up to the microphone, never seen one before, you see.
I stood up there, I said, "Well, I---I---I don't know about this." I was fumbling, real nervous, you know. And I got over here around Luke 16, and I thought, "Well, now…" And I got on the subject, "And he lifted up his eyes in hell, and cried." Then I got… So I begin to preach, you know, and I got to preaching, I felt a little better. And I said, "The rich man was in hell, and he cried." That little three words, like I have a lot of sermons like that. "Believest Thou This?" and "Speak To The Rock," you've heard me preach that. And I had, "And then he cried." And I said, "There's no children there, certainly not in hell, then he cried." I said, "There's no flowers there, then he cried. There's no God there, then he cried. There's no Christ there, then he cried." Then I cried. Something got ahold of me. My! Oh, my! I don't know what happened. When I kind of got to myself, I was standing on the outside. Them people got screaming and shouting and crying, and… We had an awful time.

Han sa: "Kom opp, Mr. Branham, vi ønsker at du skal bringe budskapet." Å, du store, foran alle de forkynnerne, hmm, alle de menneskene! Jeg gikk forsiktig frem, skikkelig nervøs, med ansiktet rødt og ørene brennende. Jeg sneik meg opp i seersucker-bukser og T-skjorte (Baptistforkynner), og stilte meg ved mikrofonen, en slik hadde jeg aldri sett før.
Jeg sto der oppe og sa: "Vel, jeg---jeg---jeg vet ikke om dette." Jeg fomlet, virkelig nervøs. Jeg begynte på Lukas 16 og tenkte: "Vel, nå..." Så begynte jeg på emnet: "Og han løftet blikket i helvete og ropte." Etter hvert begynte jeg å forkynne og følte meg litt bedre. Jeg sa: "Den rike mannen var i helvete og han ropte." Disse tre små ordene ble til mange prekener. "Tror du dette?" og "Tal til klippen," dere har hørt meg predike det. Og jeg hadde: "Og han ropte."
Jeg sa: "Det finnes ingen barn der, selvfølgelig ikke i helvete, da ropte han." Jeg sa: "Det finnes ingen blomster der, da ropte han. Det er ingen Gud der, da ropte han. Det er ingen Kristus der, da ropte han." Så begynte jeg å gråte. Noe tok tak i meg. Å, du store! Jeg vet ikke hva som skjedde. Da jeg kom til meg selv, sto jeg utenfor. Folk skrek og ropte og gråt. Vi hadde en helt utrolig tid.

When I come outside there was a fellow walked up to me with a great big Texas hat on, big boots, walked up, said, "I'm Elder So-and-so." Preacher; cowboy boots, cowboy clothes on.
I thought, "Well, my seersucker trousers ain't so bad, then."
Said, "I want you to come down to Texas and hold me a revival."
"Hmm. Let me put that down, mister." And I put it down like that.
Here come a fellow up with one of these little, kind of a golf trousers on, where they used to play golf, you know, had them little blouse pants. He said, "I'm Elder So-and-so from Miami. I'd like to…"
I thought, "My, maybe dressing isn't so much of it." I looked at it, and I thought, "All right."

Da jeg kom ut, kom en mann bort til meg med en stor Texas-hatt og store støvler. Han sa: "Jeg er Elder Så-og-så." Forkynner; cowboy-støvler og cowboy-klær.
Jeg tenkte: "Vel, da er ikke mine seersucker-bukser så ille."
Han fortsatte: "Jeg vil at du skal komme til Texas og holde en vekkelse for meg."
"Hm. La meg notere det, mister." Og jeg skrev det ned.
Så kom en annen mann bort med golfbukser av den typen man brukte før, med korte bukseben. Han sa: "Jeg er Elder Så-og-så fra Miami. Jeg vil gjerne..."
Jeg tenkte: "Kanskje påkledning ikke er så viktig." Jeg så på det og tenkte: "Greit."

So I grabbed these things, and home I went. Wife met me, she said, "What do you sound so happy about, Billy?"
I said, "Oh, I met the cream of the crop. My, it's the best you ever seen. Them people ain't ashamed of their religion." And, oh, I told her all about it. And I said, "And looky here, honey, a whole string of invitations. Them people!"
She said, "They're not holy rollers, are they?"
I said, "I don't know what kind of a rollers they are, but they got something that I needed." See? I said, "That's one thing I'm sure." I said, "I seen an old man, ninety years old, come young again." I said, "I never heard such preaching in my life. Why, I never seen a Baptist preach like that." I said, "They preach till they get out of breath, and bend their knees plumb to the floor, come back up, catch their breath. You can hear them two blocks away, still preaching." And I said, "I never heard such in my life." And I said, "They speak in an unknown tongue, and the other one tells what they're talking about. Never heard such in my life!" I said, "Will you go with me?"
She said, "Honey, when I married you, I will stick with you until death shall separate us." She said, "I will go." She said, "Now, we will tell the folks."
And I said, "Well, you tell your mama and I will tell my mama." So we … I went and told Mama.
Mama said, "Well, sure, Billy. Whatever the Lord's called you to do, go do."

Så jeg tok med meg disse tingene og dro hjem. Kona møtte meg og sa: "Hvorfor er du så glad, Billy?"
Jeg svarte: "Å, jeg møtte de beste av de beste. De menneskene skjemmes ikke over sin tro." Jeg fortalte henne alt om det. "Og se her, kjære, en hel rekke invitasjoner fra dem!"
Hun spurte: "Er de ikke sånne hellige rullere, er de vel?"
Jeg svarte: "Jeg vet ikke hva slags rullere de er, men de har noe jeg trengte." Jeg sa: "Det er én ting jeg er sikker på. Jeg så en gammel mann, nitti år gammel, bli ung igjen. Jeg har aldri hørt slik forkynnelse i mitt liv. Aldri sett en baptist preke på den måten. De preker til de mister pusten, bøyer knærne til gulvet, reiser seg igjen og fortsetter å preke. Du kan høre dem to kvartaler unna." Jeg sa: "De snakker i ukjente tunger, og en annen oversetter hva de sier. Aldri hørt slikt i mitt liv!" Så spurte jeg: "Vil du bli med meg?"
Hun svarte: "Kjære, da jeg giftet meg med deg, lovet jeg å stå ved din side til døden skiller oss. Jeg blir med deg." Hun fortsatte: "Vi må fortelle det til familiene våre."
Jeg sa: "Vel, du forteller det til din mamma, så forteller jeg det til min." Jeg gikk til mamma og fortalte det.
Mamma sa: "Selvfølgelig, Billy. Hva enn Herren har kalt deg til å gjøre, gå og gjør det."

And so Mrs. Brumbach asked for me to come up. Went up, she said, "What's this you're talking about?"
And I said, "Oh, Mrs. Brumbach," I said, "but you all never seen such people!"
She said, "Quieten down! Quieten down!"
I said, "Yes, ma'am." I said, "I'm sorry."
And she said, "Do you know that's a bunch of holy rollers?"
I said, "No, ma'am, I didn't know that." I said, "They sure are fine people."
She said, "The very idea! Do you think you'd drag my daughter out amongst stuff like that!" Said, "Ridiculous! That's nothing but trash that the other churches has throwed out." She said, "Indeed! You'll not bring my daughter out like that."
I said, "But, you know, Mrs. Brumbach, down in my heart I feel that the Lord wants me to go with them people."
She said, "You go back up to your church until they are able to afford a parsonage for you, and act like a man that's got some sense." Said, "You're not taking my daughter out through there."
I said, "Yes, ma'am." I turned around and walked out.

Mrs. Brumbach ba meg komme opp. Da jeg gikk opp, sa hun: "Hva er det du snakker om?"
Jeg svarte: "Å, Mrs. Brumbach, dere har aldri sett slike mennesker!"
Hun sa: "Ro deg ned! Ro deg ned!"
Jeg sa: "Ja, frue. Jeg beklager."
Så sa hun: "Vet du at det er en gjeng med hellige rullere?"
Jeg svarte: "Nei, frue, det visste jeg ikke. Men de er virkelig hyggelige mennesker."
Hun sa: "For en idé! Tror du virkelig at du skal dra min datter blant slike folk!" Og sa: "Latterlig! Det er bare søppel som andre menigheter har kastet ut." Og fortsatte: "Så absolutt ikke! Du skal ikke ta med datteren min dit."
Jeg sa: "Men, vet du, Mrs. Brumbach, innerst inne føler jeg at Herren vil at jeg skal gå med disse menneskene."
Hun svarte: "Du går tilbake til din menighet til de kan tilby en prestebolig til deg, og oppfører deg som en fornuftig mann." Og sa: "Du tar ikke med datteren min dit."
Jeg svarte: "Ja, frue." Og snudde meg og gikk ut.

And Hope started crying. She come out, she said, "Billy, regardless of what Mama says, I will stay with you." Bless her heart!
And I said, "Oh, that's all right, honey."
And I just let it go. She wouldn't let her daughter go with such people as that because "it wasn't nothing but trash." And so I just kind of let it go. It was the worse mistake I ever made in my life, one of the worst.

Hope begynte å gråte. Hun kom ut og sa: "Billy, uansett hva mamma sier, vil jeg være med deg." Velsigne hennes hjerte!
Jeg sa: "Å, det går bra, kjære."
Jeg lot det bare passere. Hun ville ikke la datteren sin være sammen med slike folk fordi de "ikke var annet enn søppel." Så jeg bare lot det være. Det var den verste feilen jeg noen gang har gjort i livet, en av de verste.

A little later, few years after the children come, and one day we was … there come up a flood, in 1937. There came a flood. And I was on patrol at that time and I was trying my best to bring the people out of the flood, houses tearing down. And my own wife took sick, and she was real, real sick with pneumonia. And they took her out… The regular hospital was so full we couldn't put her in there, so we taken her out to the government where they had a room out there. And so then they called me back out. And I always lived on the river, and quite a boatman, so I was trying to get the people, rescue them from the flood. And then I'd…

Noen år senere, etter at barna kom, var det en dag ... da kom det en flom i 1937. Jeg var på patrulje den gangen og gjorde mitt beste for å redde folk ut fra flommen, mens hus raste sammen. Min egen kone ble alvorlig syk med lungebetennelse. Sykehuset var så fullt at vi ikke kunne få henne inn der, så vi måtte ta henne til en avdeling de hadde på myndighetenes lokale. Deretter ble jeg kalt tilbake ut igjen. Jeg hadde alltid bodd ved elven og var en dyktig båtfører, så jeg forsøkte å redde folk fra flommen. Og så ...

They called me, said, "There's a house over on Chestnut Street, it's about ready to go in. There's a mother and a bunch of children in there," said, "if you think your boat, your motor, can get in to them."
I said, "Well, I will do all I can."
And I was shooting those waves; the dike had broke up there, and, oh, my, just washing the city out. And I would give it all the juice that I could, and finally down across the alleys and through the places. And I got there close to where the old levee was, the water pouring through; and I heard someone scream, and I seen a mother standing out on the porch. And there was them big rollers going through like that. Well, I went on up this way as far as I could, and hit the stream and come back and got on that side. I had got my boat stopped just in time to tie it around the pillar, of the post of the door, post, or porch post. And I run in and grabbed the mother and got her in there, and two or three of the children. And I undone my boat and got her back. Come out way down below, and got her over to the shore, about a mile and a half across the city, till I got her to the shore. And then when I got over there, she had fainted. And she had begin … she was screaming, "My baby! My baby!"

De ringte meg og sa: "Det er et hus i Chestnut Street, det er i ferd med å bli oversvømt. Det er en mor og flere barn der inne. Tror du at båten og motoren din kan komme fram til dem?"
Jeg svarte: "Jeg skal gjøre alt jeg kan."
Jeg kjørte gjennom bølgene; demningen hadde brutt sammen der oppe, og vannet strømmet inn i byen. Jeg ga båten full gass og navigerte mellom smugene og husene. Jeg kom så nær den gamle leveen som mulig, med vannet flommende gjennom, og hørte noen rope. Jeg så en mor stå på verandaen, mens store bølger skyllet gjennom området. Jeg kjørte oppstrøms så langt jeg kunne, snudde og kom tilbake på den andre siden. Jeg klarte å stoppe båten og binde den fast til en stolpe på verandaen. Jeg løp inn, grep moren og to eller tre av barna, og fikk dem ombord. Jeg løste båten og førte dem gjennom byen, omtrent en og en halv kilometer, til vi nådde trygt land.
Da vi kom dit, hadde moren besvimt. Hun begynte å skrike, "Min baby! Min baby!"

Well, I thought that she meant she had left the baby in the house. Oh, my! I took back again while they was trying to take care of her. And, I come to find out, she was wanting to know where her baby was there. There was a little fellow about three years old, and I thought she meant a little nursing baby or something.
And so I took back and got over there. And when I got that boat and got on the inside and couldn't find no baby, and the porch give away and the house went in. And I run real quick and grabbed the piece there that was floating my boat, got into the boat, and pulled that and loosed it up.

Jeg trodde først at hun mente at hun hadde etterlatt babyen i huset. Å, kjære vene! Jeg trakk meg tilbake mens de prøvde å ta seg av henne. Dermed fant jeg ut at hun ønsket å vite hvor babyen hennes var. Det var en liten gutt på rundt tre år, og jeg trodde hun mente en liten ammende baby eller noe lignende.
Så jeg snudde og dro tilbake dit. Da jeg nådde båten og kom inn i huset, kunne jeg ikke finne noen baby. Plutselig gav verandaen etter, og huset raste sammen. Jeg løp raskt og grep tak i en del som satte båten ut av kurs, kom meg tilbake til båten og løsnet den.

100

And it done got me out into the current of the main river then. And it was about eleven-thirty at night, just sleeting and snowing. And I grabbed a hold of the starter string and I tried to pull the boat, and it wouldn't start; and I tried and it wouldn't start, and I tried again. Getting farther in that current, the falls just below me. And I was trying real hard, and I thought, "Oh, my, here's my end! This is it!" And I'd try real hard. And I said, "Lord, please don't let me die a death like this," and I'd pull and I'd pull.
And it come back to me, "What about that bunch of trash that you wouldn't go to?"

100

Jeg ble ført ut i strømmen av hovedelven. Klokken var omtrent halv tolv om natten, og det sleet og snødde. Jeg grep tak i startstrengen og prøvde å starte båten, men den ville ikke starte. Jeg forsøkte igjen og igjen uten hell, mens jeg drev lenger ut i strømmen, med fossen rett nedenfor meg. Jeg prøvde desperat og tenkte: "Åh, kjære, dette er slutten! Dette er det!" Jeg slet virkelig og ropte: "Herre, vær så snill, la meg ikke dø på denne måten." Jeg dro og dro i startstrengen.
Da kom det tilbake til meg: "Hva med den gjengen med søppel som du ikke ville gå til?"

101

I put my hand back on the boat, and I said, "God, be merciful to me. Don't let me leave my wife and baby like this, and them out there sick! Please!" And I just kept pulling like that, and it wouldn't start. And I could hear the roaring down there, because I… Just a few minutes, and, oh, my, that would be it. And I said, "Lord, if You'll forgive me, I promise You I will do anything." Kneeling in that boat there and the sleet hitting me in the face, I said, "I will do anything that You want me to do." And I pulled again, and it started. And I turned all the gas on it I could, and finally got into the shore.
And I went back to find the truck, patrol truck. And I thought of… There was some of them said, "Say, the government just washed away." My wife and baby in there, both babies.

101

Jeg la hånden tilbake på båten og sa: "Gud, vær meg nådig. Ikke la meg forlate min kone og baby på denne måten, mens de er der ute og syke! Vær så snill!" Jeg fortsatte å dra i snoren, men den ville ikke starte. Jeg kunne høre brølet der nede, fordi det bare var noen få minutter til ferdig, og det ville vært det. Jeg sa: "Herre, hvis Du tilgir meg, lover jeg at jeg skal gjøre hva som helst." Knelende i båten, med sludd som traff meg i ansiktet, sa jeg: "Jeg skal gjøre hva som helst Du vil at jeg skal gjøre." Jeg dro igjen, og motoren startet. Jeg skrudde på all gassen jeg kunne, og kom meg endelig til land.
Jeg gikk tilbake for å finne patruljebilen. Noen sa: "Si, regjeringen bare vasket bort." Min kone og baby var der, begge barna.

102

And I took out for the government as hard as I could, and water was standing about fifteen feet deep all through it. And there was a major there, and I said, "Major, what happened to the hospital?"
Said, "Now, don't be worried. You'd have anyone in there?"
And I said, "Yes, a sick wife and two babies."
He said, "They all got out." Said, "They're in a freight car and they've headed towards Charlestown."
I run, got my boat … or, got my car, and my boat in the back of it, and run out there to… And then the creeks had come down about two and a half or three miles wide. And all night long I tried to… Some of them said, "The car, the freight car, washed off the tracks out there on the trestle."
Well, find myself marooned out on a little island, set there three days. I had plenty of time to think about whether that was trash or not. Just beating, "Where's my wife?"

102

Jeg skyndte meg bort til myndighetene så raskt jeg kunne, men vannstanden var omtrent femten fot dyp overalt. En major var der, og jeg spurte: "Major, hva har skjedd med sykehuset?"
Han svarte: "Ikke vær bekymret. Har du noen der inne?"
"Ja," sa jeg, "en syk kone og to barn."
Han svarte: "Alle kom seg ut. De er i en godsvogn og har dratt mot Charlestown."
Jeg løp, hentet bilen min og båten som lå bak i den. Jeg kjørte ut, men se da, bekkene hadde vokst til å bli mellom to og tre mil brede. Hele natten forsøkte jeg å finne ut hva som hadde skjedd. Noen sa: "Godsvognen ble vasket av sporet der ute ved broen."
Jeg endte opp strandet på en liten øy i tre dager. Jeg hadde rikelig med tid til å tenke over om det var tull eller ikke. Jeg funderte konstant, "Hvor er kona mi?"

103

Finally when I found her, in a few days after I got out and got across, she was way up to Columbus, Indiana, in the Baptist Auditorium where they had made a hospital-like, sickrooms on little government cots. And I ran to her as hard as I could, trying to find where she was, screaming, "Hope! Hope! Hope!" And I looked, and there she was laying on a cot, and TB had set in.
She raised her little bony hand, and she said, "Billy."
And I run to her, and I said, "Hope, honey."
She said, "I look awful, don't I?"
I said, "No, honey, you look all right."

103

Etter noen dager, da jeg endelig hadde kommet meg ut og over, fant jeg henne langt oppe i Columbus, Indiana, i Baptist Auditorium. Der hadde de satt opp sykerom lignende et sykehus med små regjeringkløver. Jeg løp så fort jeg kunne for å finne henne, ropte "Håp! Håp! Håp!" Og der lå hun på en køye, med tuberkulose.
Hun løftet sin lille, beinete hånd og sa, "Billy."
Jeg løp til henne og sa, "Håp, kjære."
Hun sa, "Jeg ser forferdelig ut, gjør jeg ikke?"
Jeg sa, "Nei, kjære, du ser helt fin ut."

104

For about six months we worked with everything that was in us, to try to get to save her life, but she kept getting lower and lower.
One day I was on patrol and I had my radio turned on, and I thought I heard them say, make a call on the radio, said, "For William Branham, wanted at the hospital at once, wife dying." I rushed back to the hospital as quick as I could---turned on the red light and the siren and took off. And then I got up at the hospital, and I stopped, run in. Coming down through the hospital, I seen a little buddy of mine that we fished together, we run together as boys, Sam Adair.
Doctor Sam Adair, he's the one that was the vision come not long ago and told him about the clinic. And he said, if anybody doubted the vision, just call him collect, if they want to know about whether it was right or not.

104

I omtrent seks måneder jobbet vi intenst for å redde hennes liv, men hun ble stadig svakere.
En dag var jeg på patrulje og hadde radioen på, da jeg trodde jeg hørte en melding som sa: "For William Branham, ønskes på sykehuset straks, kone døende." Jeg skyndte meg tilbake til sykehuset så fort jeg kunne - slo på sirenen og rødt lys og satte av gårde. Da jeg ankom sykehuset, løp jeg inn. Mens jeg hastet gjennom gangene, så jeg en god venn av meg, Sam Adair, som jeg pleide å fiske og tilbringe tid med som gutt.
Doktor Sam Adair, samme mann som ikke lenge siden hadde mottatt et syn som bekreftet klinikken. Han sa at hvis noen tviler på synet, kan de ringe ham og få bekreftelse på om det stemmer.

105

And so then here he come out like that, and he had his hat in his hand. He looked at me and he just started crying. And I run up to him, throwed my arms around him. He put his arms around me, said, "Billy, she's going." He said, "I'm sorry. I've done all I could do; I've had specialists and everything."
I said "Sam, surely she's not going!"
Said, "Yeah, she's going."
And he said, "Don't go in there, Bill."
And I said, "I got to go in, Sam."
And he said, "Don't do it. Don't, please don't."
I said, "Let me go in."
Said, "I will go with you."
I said, "No, you stay out here. I want to stay with her in her last minutes."
Said, "She's unconscious."

105

Da kom han ut med hatten i hånden. Han så på meg og begynte å gråte. Jeg løp opp til ham og kastet armene rundt ham. Han holdt rundt meg og sa: "Billy, hun er på vei bort." Han fortsatte: "Jeg er lei for det. Jeg har gjort alt jeg kunne, hatt spesialister og alt mulig."
Jeg sa: "Sam, hun kan da ikke være på vei bort!"
Han bekreftet det: "Jo, hun er på vei bort."
Han la til: "Ikke gå inn der, Bill."
Jeg sa: "Jeg må, Sam."
Han ba meg: "Ikke gjør det. Vær så snill, ikke gjør det."
Jeg svarte: "La meg gå inn."
Han sa: "Jeg blir med deg."
Jeg sa: "Nei, bli her. Jeg vil være med henne i hennes siste minutter."
Han svarte: "Hun er bevisstløs."

106

I walked in the room. And the nurse was sitting there, and she was crying because she and Hope was schoolmates together. And so I looked over, and she started crying, put her hand up, and started walking over.
And I looked over, and shook her. There she was, she had went down from about a hundred and twenty pounds to about sixty. And I shook her. And if I live to be a hundred years old, I will never forget what happened. She turned over, and those great big pretty eyes looked up at me. She smiled. She said, "Why did you call me back, Billy?"
I said, "Honey, I just got the cash."

106

Jeg gikk inn i rommet. Sykepleieren satt der og gråt fordi hun og Hope hadde gått på skole sammen. Da hun så meg, begynte hun å gråte, løftet hånden og kom mot meg.
Jeg gikk bort og ristet henne forsiktig. Hun hadde gått ned fra rundt femtifem kilo til omtrent tretti. Hvis jeg lever til jeg blir hundre år, vil jeg aldri glemme det som skjedde. Hun snudde seg over og de store, vakre øynene hennes så opp på meg. Hun smilte og sa: "Hvorfor kalte du meg tilbake, Billy?"
Jeg svarte: "Kjære, jeg hadde akkurat fått pengene."

107

I had to work. We was way in debt and hundreds of dollars of doctor bill, and nothing to pay it with. And I just had to work. And I seen her two or three times a day, and every night, and then when she was in that condition.
I said, "What do you mean, 'Call you back'?"
She said, "Bill, you've preached about it, you've talked about it, but you don't have no idea what it is."
I said, "What are you talking about?"
She said, "Heaven." She said, "Look," she said, "I was being escorted home by some people, men or women or something that was dressed in white." And she said, "I was at ease and peace." Said, "Big pretty birds flying from tree to tree." She said, "Don't think I'm beside myself." She said, "Billy, I'm going to tell you our mistake." She said, "Sit down." I didn't; I knelt down, took her hand. She said, "You know where our mistake is?"
And I said, "Yes, sweetheart, I do."
She said, "We should have never listened to Mama. Them people were right."
And I said, "I know it."
She said, "Promise me this, that you'll go to those people," said, "because they're right." And she said, "Raise my children like that." She said, "I want to tell you something." She said, "I'm dying, but," said, "I don't dread going." Said, "It's beautiful." She said, "The only thing, I hate to leave you, Bill. And I know you got these two little children to raise." She said, "Promise me that you'll not stay single and let my children be pulled about from pillar to post." That was a sensible thing for a twenty-one-year-old mother.
And I said, "I can't promise that, Hope."
She said, "Please promise me." Said, "One thing I want to tell you." Said, "You remember that rifle?" I'm just crazy about guns. And she said, "You wanted to buy that rifle that day and you didn't have enough money to make the down payment."
I said, "Yes."
She said, "I've been saving my money, my nickels, to try and make that down payment on that rifle for you." She said, "Now, when this is over, you go back home, look up on the duofold … or, the folding bed, under that piece of paper on top, and you'll find the money there." She said, "Promise me that you'll buy that rifle."
You don't know how I felt when I seen that dollar seventy-five cents (in nickels) laying there. I got the rifle.

107

Jeg måtte jobbe. Vi var dypt i gjeld, med hundrevis av dollar i legeutgifter, og ingenting til å betale med. Jeg måtte bare jobbe. Jeg så henne to eller tre ganger om dagen og hver kveld, spesielt når hun var i den tilstanden.
Jeg sa: "Hva mener du med å 'ringe deg tilbake'?"
Hun sa: "Bill, du har preket om det, du har snakket om det, men du har ingen anelse om hva det er."
Jeg spurte: "Hva snakker du om?"
Hun svarte: "Himmel." Hun fortsatte: "Se her, jeg ble eskortert hjem av noen mennesker, menn eller kvinner, kledd i hvitt." Hun sa: "Jeg var rolig og i fred. Store vakre fugler fløy fra tre til tre." Hun la til: "Ikke tro at jeg har mistet vettet." Så sa hun: "Billy, jeg skal fortelle deg vår feil." Hun sa: "Sett deg ned." Jeg satte meg ikke ned; jeg knelte ned og tok hånden hennes. Hun spurte: "Vet du hvor vår feil var?"
Jeg svarte: "Ja, kjære, det vet jeg."
Hun sa: "Vi skulle aldri ha lyttet til Mama. De folkene hadde rett."
Jeg sa: "Jeg vet det."
Hun sa: "Lov meg dette, at du vil gå til de folkene," og sa: "for de har rett." Hun sa: "Oppdra mine barn slik." Hun fortsatte: "Jeg vil fortelle deg noe." Hun sa: "Jeg dør, men," sa hun, "jeg gruer meg ikke til å reise." Hun sa: "Det er vakkert." Hun sa: "Det eneste, jeg hater å forlate deg, Bill. Og jeg vet at du har disse to små barna å oppdra." Hun fortsatte: "Lov meg at du ikke vil forbli singel og la mine barn bli dratt fra sted til sted." Det var fornuftig sagt av en tjueen år gammel mor.
Jeg sa: "Jeg kan ikke love det, Hope."
Hun ba: "Vær så snill, lov meg." Hun sa: "En ting jeg vil fortelle deg." Så sa hun: "Husker du den rifla?" Jeg er veldig glad i våpen. Hun fortsatte: "Du ønsket å kjøpe den rifla den dagen, men du hadde ikke nok penger til å betale depositumet."
Jeg svarte: "Ja."
Hun sa: "Jeg har spart pengene mine, nikkel for nikkel, for å prøve å betale det depositumet for deg." Hun la til: "Når dette er over, gå hjem, se opp på den sammenleggbare senga, under det papiret på toppen, og du vil finne pengene der." Hun sa: "Lov meg at du vil kjøpe den rifla."
Du aner ikke hvordan jeg følte meg da jeg så de ett dollar og syttifem cent (i nikkels) liggende der. Jeg kjøpte rifla.

108

And she said, "You remember that time that you were going downtown to buy me a pair of stockings, and we was going to Fort Wayne?"
I said, "Yes."
I had come in from fishing, and she said… We had to go to Fort Wayne, I had to preach that night. And she said, "You know, I told you…" There's two different kind. One called "chiffon." And what's the other one? Rayon? Is that right? Rayon and chiffon? Well, ever which is, chiffon was the best. Is that right? And she said, "Now, you get me some chiffon, the full style." You know that thing that's got that little thing in the back of the stocking, at the top? And I didn't know nothing about women's clothes, so I…
And I was going down the street and saying, "Chiffon, chiffon, chiffon, chiffon," trying to keep thinking, saying "chiffon, chiffon, chiffon."
Somebody said, "Hello, Billy!"
I said, "Oh, hello, hello." "Chiffon, chiffon, chiffon, chiffon, chiffon."
And I got to the corner and I met Mr. Spohn. He said, "Hey, Billy, do you know the perch is biting now over on the side of that last pier?"
I said, "Sure enough, is that right?"
"Yeah."
I thought now, when I left him, "What was that stuff?" I forgot it.

108

Hun sa: "Husker du den gangen du skulle til byen for å kjøpe strømper til meg, og vi skulle til Fort Wayne?"
Jeg sa: "Ja."
Jeg hadde kommet hjem fra fisketur, og hun sa … Vi måtte dra til Fort Wayne fordi jeg skulle preke den kvelden. Og hun sa: "Jeg fortalte deg…" Det er to forskjellige typer. En kalles "chiffon". Hva er den andre? Rayon? Er det riktig? Rayon og chiffon? Vel, chiffon var best, ikke sant? Og hun sa: "Nå må du få tak i noen chiffon, den fullstendige stilen." Du vet, den som har den lille detaljen på baksiden av strømpen, øverst? Og jeg visste ingenting om dameklær, så jeg …
Jeg gikk nedover gaten og gjentok: "Chiffon, chiffon, chiffon, chiffon," prøvde å huske det, sa "chiffon, chiffon, chiffon."
Noen sa: "Hei, Billy!"
Jeg sa: "Å, hei, hei." "Chiffon, chiffon, chiffon, chiffon, chiffon."
Jeg kom til hjørnet og møtte Mr. Spohn. Han sa: "Hei, Billy, vet du at abboren biter nå ved den siste bryggen?"
Jeg sa: "Er det sant, er det riktig?"
"Ja."
Da jeg gikk fra ham, tenkte jeg: "Hva var det igjen?" Jeg glemte det.

109

So Thelma Ford, a girl that I knew, worked at the ten-cent store. And I knowed they sell women's stockings over there, so I went over. I said, "Hi, Thelma."
And she said, "Hi, Billy. How are you? How's Hope?"
And I said, "Fine." I said, "Thelma, I want a pair of socks for Hope."
She said, "Hope don't want socks."
I said, "Yes, ma'am, she sure does."
Said, "You mean stockings."
"Oh," I said, "that's what it is." I thought, "Uh-oh, I done showed my ignorance."
And she said, "What kind does she want?"
I thought, "Uh-oh!" I said, "What kind you got?"
She said, "Well, we got rayon."

109

Thelma Ford, en jente jeg kjente, jobbet på en billigbutikk. Jeg visste at de solgte dame-strømper der, så jeg gikk bort. Jeg sa: "Hei, Thelma."
Hun svarte: "Hei, Billy. Hvordan står det til? Hvordan har Hope det?"
Jeg sa: "Fint." Deretter: "Thelma, jeg vil kjøpe et par sokker til Hope."
Hun svarte: "Hope trenger ikke sokker."
Jeg sa: "Jo, det gjør hun."
Hun sa: "Du mener strømper."
"Åh," svarte jeg. "Ja, det er det." Jeg tenkte: "Oi da, der avslørte jeg min uvitenhet."
Deretter spurte hun: "Hvilken type vil du ha?"
Igjen tenkte jeg: "Oi da!" og sa: "Hvilke typer har dere?"
Hun svarte: "Vi har rayon."

110

I didn't know the difference. Rayon, chiffon, it all sound the same. I said, "That's what I want." She said… I said, "Fix me a pair of them, full style." And I got that wrong. What is it? Full fashion. "Full fashion." And so I said, "Fix me a pair of them."
And when she went to give them to me, they was only about thirty cents, twenty cents or thirty cents, about half-price. Well, I said, "Give me two pair of them." See?

110

Jeg visste ikke forskjellen. Rayon, chiffon, det høres alt det samme ut. Jeg sa: "Det er det jeg vil ha." Hun sa... Jeg sa: "Lag et par til meg, full stil." Og jeg fikk det feil. Hva er det? Full fashion. "Full fashion." Så jeg sa: "Lag et par til meg."
Da hun skulle gi dem til meg, kostet de bare rundt tretti øre, tjue øre eller tretti øre, omtrent halv pris. Vel, jeg sa: "Gi meg to par av dem." Skjønner?

111

And I went back home, and I said, "You know, honey, you women shop all over town to find bargains." You know how you like to crow. And I said, "But here, look here, I bought two pair for the price that you buy one pair with. See?" I said, "Oh, that's my personal ability." See, I said, "You know, Thelma sold me these." I said, "She might have let me have them at half price."
She said, "Did you get chiffon?"
I said, "Yes, ma'am." It all sounded the same to me, I didn't know there was any difference.

111

Jeg dro hjem og sa til kona mi: "Du vet, kjære, dere kvinner leter over hele byen etter gode tilbud." Du vet hvor glad du er i å skryte. Og jeg fortsatte: "Men se her, jeg kjøpte to par for prisen av ett!" Jeg sa: "Å, det er min personlige ferdighet." Og fortsatte: "Du vet, Thelma solgte dem til meg. Kanskje hun ga meg dem til halv pris."
Hun spurte: "Fikk du chiffon?"
Jeg svarte: "Ja, det gjorde jeg." Alt hørtes likt ut for meg; jeg visste ikke at det var noen forskjell.

112

And she told me, she said, "Billy (I thought strange when she got to Fort Wayne she had to get another pair of stockings), she said, "I give them to your mother." Said, "They're for older women." Said, "I'm sorry I did that."
And I said, "Oh, that's all right, honey."
And she said, "Now, don't live single." And she said… She didn't know that what was fixing to happen in a few hours from then. And I held her darling hands while the angels of God packed her away.

112

Hun sa til meg: "Billy, (jeg syntes det var merkelig at hun måtte kjøpe et nytt par strømper da hun kom til Fort Wayne), jeg ga dem til din mor. De er for eldre kvinner. Jeg beklager at jeg gjorde det."
Jeg svarte: "Det går bra, kjære."
Hun sa: "Lev ikke som en enslig." Hun visste ikke hva som skulle skje bare noen timer senere. Jeg holdt hennes kjære hender mens Guds engler bar henne bort.

113

I went home. I didn't know what to do. I laid down there at night and I heard… I think it was a little mouse, was in the old grate where we had some papers in there. And I shut the door with my foot, and there hung her kimono on the back (and laying down there in that morgue). And just in a little bit someone called me, said, "Billy!" It was Brother Frank Broy. He said, "Your baby's dying."
I said, "My baby?"
Said, "Yes, Sharon Rose." Said, "Doc's up there now, and said she's got tubercular meningitis, she nursed it from her mother." And said, "She's dying."

113

Jeg dro hjem. Jeg visste ikke hva jeg skulle gjøre. Jeg la meg ned om natten og hørte noe... Jeg tror det var en liten mus i den gamle peisen der vi hadde noen papirer. Jeg lukket døren med foten, og der hang hennes kimono på baksiden (og jeg lå der i det som føltes som et likhus). Etter en liten stund ringte noen meg og sa: "Billy!" Det var Bror Frank Broy. Han sa: "Din baby er døende."
Jeg spurte: "Min baby?"
Han svarte: "Ja, Sharon Rose. Doktoren er der nå og sier at hun har tuberkuløs meningitt som hun fikk fra moren sin. Hun er døende."

114

I got in the car, went up there. And there she was, the sweet little thing. And they rushed her to the hospital.
I went out to see him. Sam come up and said, "Billy, don't you go in that room, you got to think of Billy Paul." Said, "She's dying."
I said, "Doc, I got to see my baby."
He said, "No, you can't go in." Said, "She's got meningitis, Billy, and you'd pack it to Billy Paul."

114

Jeg satte meg i bilen og kjørte dit. Der var hun, den søte lille tingen. De hastet henne til sykehuset.
Jeg gikk ut for å se ham. Sam kom opp og sa: "Billy, ikke gå inn i det rommet, du må tenke på Billy Paul." Han sa, "Hun er døende."
Jeg sa: "Doktor, jeg må se babyen min."
Han sa: "Nei, du kan ikke gå inn." Han sa: "Hun har hjernehinnebetennelse, Billy, og du kan smitte Billy Paul."

115

And I waited till he got out. I couldn't stand to see her die, and her mother laying down there in the undertaker's establishment. I tell you, the way of a transgressor is hard. And I went, slipped in the door, and when Sam went out and the nurse went out, I went down into the basement. It's a little bitty hospital. She was in an isolated place, and the flies was in her little eyes. And they had a little what we call a "mosquito bar," or little netting, over her eyes. And she'd … with little spasm, her little fat leg was moving up and down like that, and her little hands, with that spasm. And I looked at her, and she was just big enough to be cute, about eight months old.

115

Jeg ventet til han gikk ut. Jeg orket ikke å se henne dø, og hennes mor lå nede på begravelsesbyrået. Jeg sier deg, en overtrederens vei er hard. Jeg snek meg inn døren da Sam og sykepleieren gikk ut, og gikk ned i kjelleren. Det var et lite sykehus. Hun lå på et isolert sted, og fluene var i de små øynene hennes. De hadde en liten myggnetting over øynene hennes. Med små spasmer beveget det lille, tjukke benet hennes seg opp og ned, og hendene hennes rykket også. Jeg så på henne, akkurat stor nok til å være søt, omtrent åtte måneder gammel.

116

And her mother used to set her out there with her little three-corners on, you know, in the yard, when I'd come up. And I'd toot the horn, and she'd go, "goo-goo, goo-goo," reaching for me, you know.
And there laid my darling, dying. I looked down to her, and I said, "Sharry, you know Daddy? You know Daddy, Sharry?" And when she looked, she was suffering so hard till one of them pretty little blue eyes had crossed. It liked to have tore my heart out of me.
I knelt down, I said, "Lord, what have I done? Have not I preached the Gospel on the street corners, I've done everything that I know to do? Don't hold it against me. I never called them people trash, it was her that called them people trash." I said, "I'm sorry it all happened. Forgive me. Don't take my baby!" And while I was praying, looked like a black like a sheet or a cloth come down. I knowed He had refused me.

116

Hennes mor pleide å sette henne ut i hagen med den lille trekantede kjolen sin, når jeg kom. Jeg tutet i hornet, og hun svarte med "goo-goo, goo-goo," mens hun rakte ut etter meg.
Der lå min kjære, døende. Jeg så ned på henne og sa, "Sharry, kjenner du igjen pappa? Kjenner du igjen pappa, Sharry?" Hun led så mye at det ene av de vakre, blå øynene hennes hadde blitt skjeling. Det føltes som om hjertet mitt skulle briste.
Jeg knelte ned og sa, "Herre, hva har jeg gjort? Har jeg ikke forkynt Evangeliet på gatehjørnene og gjort alt jeg kunne? Ikke hold det mot meg. Jeg kalte aldri de menneskene søppel; det var hun som gjorde det." Jeg sa, "Jeg beklager at alt dette skjedde. Tilgi meg. Ikke ta barnet mitt!" Mens jeg bad, føltes det som et svart laken eller klede kom ned. Jeg visste at Han hadde avvist meg.

117

Now, there was the hardest and the most treacherous time of my life. When I raised up and looked at her, and I thought… Satan put in my mind, "Well, you mean as hard as you've preached, and the way that you've lived, and now when it comes to your own baby, He will turn you down?"
I said, "That's right. If He can't save my baby, then I can't…" I stopped. I just didn't know what to do. And then I said this, I said, "Lord, You gave her to me and You taken her away. Blessed be the name of the Lord! If You take even me, I will still love You."
And I put my hand over on her, I said, "Bless you, sweetheart. Daddy wanted to raise you, with all my heart I wanted to raise you, and raise you to love the Lord. But the angels are coming for you, sweetheart. Daddy will take your little body down and lay it on the arms of Mama. I will bury you with her. And someday Daddy will meet you, you just wait up there with Mama."

117

Dette var den vanskeligste og mest forræderske tiden i mitt liv. Da jeg reiste meg opp og så på henne, tenkte jeg... Satan plantet en tanke i hodet mitt: "Vel, mener du at etter alt du har preket, og måten du har levd på, nå som det gjelder ditt eget barn, vil Han avvise deg?"
Jeg sa: "Det stemmer. Hvis Han ikke kan redde barnet mitt, så kan jeg ikke..." Jeg stoppet. Jeg visste bare ikke hva jeg skulle gjøre. Så sa jeg: "Herre, Du ga henne til meg og Du tok henne bort. Velsignet være Herrens navn! Selv om Du skulle ta meg, vil jeg fortsatt elske Deg."
Jeg la hånden på henne og sa: "Velsigne deg, kjære. Pappa ønsket å oppdra deg, med hele mitt hjerte ønsket jeg å oppdra deg og lære deg å elske Herren. Men englene kommer for deg, kjære. Pappa vil ta kroppen din og legge den på Mamas armer. Jeg vil begrave deg med henne. Og en dag vil pappa møte deg igjen, bare vent der oppe med Mama."

118

When her mother was dying, she said, last words she said, she said, "Bill, stay on the field."
I said, "I…" She said … I said, "If I'm on the field when He comes, I will get the kids and meet. If I'm not, I will be buried by you. And you go over on the right-hand side of the great gate, and when you see all of them come in, stand there and start hollering, 'Bill! Bill! Bill!' just as loud as you can. I will meet you there." I kissed her good-bye. I'm on the battlefield today. That's been nearly twenty years ago. I got my date with my wife, I'm going to meet her.

118

Da hennes mor lå for døden, sa hun som sine siste ord: "Bill, bli på marken."
Jeg svarte: "Jeg…"
Hun fortsatte: "Hvis du fremdeles er på marken når Han kommer, vil jeg samle barna og møte deg der. Hvis ikke, vil jeg bli begravet ved siden av deg. Gå til høyre ved den store porten, og når du ser dem alle komme inn, stå der og rop 'Bill! Bill! Bill!' så høyt du kan. Jeg vil møte deg der."
Jeg kysset henne farvel. I dag er jeg fortsatt på slagmarken. Det har gått nesten tjue år. Jeg har en avtale med min kone; jeg skal møte henne.

119

I took the little baby, and when it died, and put it on the arms of the mother, and we taken it out to the cemetery. And I stood there to hear Brother Smith, the Methodist preacher that preached the funeral, "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust." (And I thought, "Heart to heart.") There she went.
Not long after that, I took little Billy there one morning. He was just a little bitty fellow. He was…
That's the reason he sticks with me and I stick with him, I had to be both papa and mama (both) to him. I'd take his little bottle (we couldn't afford to have a fire at night to keep his milk warm), and I'd lay it under my back like this and keep it warm by the heat of my body.
We've stuck together like buddies, and one of these days when I go off the field I want to hand him the Word and say, "Go on, Billy. You stay with it." Some people wonders why I got him with me all the time. I can't give him up. He's even married, but I still remember she told me, "Stay with him." And we've stuck together like buddies.

119

Jeg tok den lille babyen, og da den døde, la jeg den i morens armer, og vi tok den med ut til gravlunden. Jeg sto der og hørte Bror Smith, metodistforkynneren som ledet begravelsen, si: "Aske til aske, og støv til støv." (Jeg tenkte: "Hjerte til hjerte.") Der gikk hun.
Kort tid etter tok jeg med lille Billy en morgen. Han var bare en liten gutt. Han er grunnen til at vi holder sammen; jeg måtte være både pappa og mamma for ham. Jeg tok flasken hans (vi hadde ikke råd til å ha varme om natten for å holde melken varm), og jeg la den under ryggen min for å holde den varm med kroppsvarmen.
Vi har holdt sammen som bestevenner, og en dag når jeg forlater tjenesten, vil jeg gi ham Ordet og si: "Gå videre, Billy. Hold fast ved det." Noen undrer seg over hvorfor han alltid er med meg. Jeg kan ikke gi ham opp. Selv om han er gift, husker jeg fortsatt at hun sa til meg: "Hold deg til ham." Og vi har holdt sammen som bestevenner.

120

I remember walking around town, the bottle under my arm, he'd get to crying. One night we was walking out in the back yard where… Just when she was fixing to have him, she was smothering---just a girl, you know---and I'd walk back and forth from the old oak tree in the back of the yard. And he was crying for his mama, and I didn't have any mama to take him to. And I'd pack him, I'd say, "Oh, honey." I said…
He said, "Daddy, where's my mama? Did you put her into that ground?"
I said, "No, honey. She's all right, she's up in heaven."

120

Jeg husker at jeg gikk rundt i byen med flasken under armen, mens han begynte å gråte. En natt gikk vi i bakgården. Akkurat da hun skulle føde ham, var hun i nød—bare en ung jente, vet du—og jeg vandret frem og tilbake fra det gamle eiketreet i bakgården. Han gråt etter sin mor, og jeg hadde ingen mor å ta ham til. Jeg bar ham og sa, "Å kjære, ikke gråt."
Han sa, "Pappa, hvor er mamma? La du henne i jorden?"
Jeg svarte, "Nei, kjære. Hun har det bra, hun er i himmelen."

121

And he said something there, liked to have killed me one afternoon. He was crying, was along late in the evening, and I was packing him on my back like that, packing him on my shoulder and patting him like this. And he said, "Daddy, please go get Mama and bring her here."
And I said, "Honey, I can't get Mama. Jesus…"
Said, "Well, tell Jesus to send me my mama. I want her."
And I said, "Well, honey, I … me and you going to go see her sometime."
And he stopped, said, "Daddy!"
And I said, "Yes?"
Said, "I seen Mama up there on that cloud."
My, liked to have killed me! I thought, "My! 'I seen Mama up there on that cloud.'" I just almost fainted. I hugged the little fellow up to my bosom like that, and just held my head down, went on in.

121

Han sa noe som nesten tok livet av meg en ettermiddag. Han gråt, det var sent på kvelden, og jeg bar ham på ryggen, holdt ham på skulderen og klappet ham forsiktig. Så sa han, "Pappa, vær så snill og hent Mama og bring henne hit."
Jeg svarte, "Vennen min, jeg kan ikke hente Mama. Jesus..."
Han sa, "Fortell Jesus å sende meg Mama. Jeg vil ha henne."
Jeg sa, "Vennen min, en dag skal vi dra og se henne."
Han stoppet og sa, "Pappa!"
Jeg svarte, "Ja?"
Han sa, "Jeg så Mama der oppe på den skyen."
Å, det var som om det skulle ta livet av meg! Jeg tenkte, "Jeg så Mama der oppe på den skyen." Jeg holdt nesten på å besvime. Jeg klemte den lille gutten inntil meg og bøyde hodet mens vi gikk videre inn.

122

Days passed. I couldn't forget it. I tried to work. Couldn't go back home, it wasn't home no more. I wanted to stay… We didn't have nothing but just that old tore up furniture, but it was something that she and I had enjoyed together. It was home.
And I remember one day I was trying to work in the Public Service. I had went up to fix an old secondary, was hanging down, it was real early of a morning. And I climbed up this cross. (And I couldn't give that baby up. I could see my wife going, but that baby going, just a little bitty thing.) And I was on there, and I was singing, "On the hill far away, stood an old rugged cross." And the primaries run down to the transformer and went out into (you know) secondary. And I was hanging up there on it. And I happened to look, and the sun coming up behind me, and there my hands stretched out, and the sign of that cross on the hillside. I thought, "Yes, it was my sins that put Him there!"

122

Dagene gikk, og jeg klarte ikke å glemme det. Jeg prøvde å jobbe, men kunne ikke dra hjem. Det føltes ikke som hjem lenger. Jeg ønsket å bli værende... Vi hadde ingenting annet enn det gamle, opprevne møblementet, men det var noe hun og jeg hadde gledet oss over sammen. Det var hjem.
Jeg husker en dag mens jeg prøvde å jobbe i offentlig tjeneste. Jeg hadde gått opp for å fikse en gammel sekundærledning som hang ned. Det var tidlig om morgenen. Jeg klatret opp på denne masten. (Jeg kunne ikke gi opp den babyen. Jeg kunne akseptere at min kone gikk bort, men ikke babyen som bare var en liten pjokk.) Mens jeg var der oppe, sang jeg, "På en høyde langt borte stod et gammelt, skurrende kors."
Primærledningene gikk ned til transformatoren og ut i sekundærledningen. Jeg hang der oppe og tilfeldigvis så jeg solen stige opp bak meg. Hendene mine var strukket ut, og skyggen av korset falt på bakken. Jeg tenkte: "Ja, det var mine synder som satte Ham der!"

123

I said, "Sharon, honey, Daddy wants to see you so bad, honey. How I'd like to hold you in my arms again, you darling little thing." I got beside myself. It had been weeks. I pulled off my rubber glove. There's twenty-three hundred volts running right by the side of me. I pulled off my rubber glove. I said, "God, I hate to do this. I'm a coward. But, Sharry, Daddy's going to see you and Mommy just in a few minutes." Started pulling off my glove, to put my hand on that twenty-three hundred. It'd break … why, you wouldn't even have no blood left in you. And so I started pulling that glove off, and something happened. When I come to, I was sitting on the ground with my hands up like this, to my face, crying. It was God's grace, or I wouldn't been having a healing service here, I'm sure of that. It was Him protecting His gift, not me.

123

Jeg sa: "Sharon, kjære, pappa savner deg så mye, lille venn. Hvordan jeg skulle ønske jeg kunne holde deg i armene mine igjen, du kjære lille ting." Jeg ble helt fortvilet. Det hadde vært uker siden sist. Jeg tok av meg den gummihansken. Det var tjuetre hundre volt som gikk rett ved siden av meg. Jeg tok av meg gummihansken. Jeg sa: "Gud, jeg hater å gjøre dette. Jeg er en feiging. Men Sharry, pappa skal se deg og mamma om noen minutter." Jeg begynte å ta av meg hansken for å legge hånden på de tjuetre hundre volt. Det ville øyeblikkelig ta livet av meg, det ville ikke engang være noe blod igjen. Jeg begynte å ta hansken av, og noe hendte. Da jeg kom til meg selv, satt jeg på bakken med hendene opp mot ansiktet og gråt. Det var Guds nåde; ellers ville jeg ikke ha kunnet holde helbredelsesmøter her. Det var Ham som beskyttet Sin gave, ikke meg.

124

I started home. I quit, put my tools away. And went back, I said, "I'm going home."
I started around the house, and I picked up the mail in the house. Kind of cold, and I went in. We had one little room, I was sleeping on a little cot there, and the frost coming up, and that old stove. I took the mail and I looked in the mail, and the first thing on there was her little Christmas saving, eighty cents, "Miss Sharon Rose Branham." There it was, all over again.

124

Jeg dro hjem. Jeg sluttet arbeidet, la bort verktøyene. Og dro tilbake, jeg sa: "Jeg skal hjem."
Jeg gikk rundt huset og hentet posten inne. Det var ganske kaldt, så jeg gikk inn. Vi hadde et lite rom der jeg sov på en feltseng, med frost som trengte opp og en gammel ovn. Jeg tok posten og så gjennom den. Øverst lå hennes julebesparelse på åtti øre, "Frøken Sharon Rose Branham." Der var det igjen, på nytt.

125

I had been game warden. I reached in there and got my gun, pistol, out from the holster. I said, "Lord, I can't go this anymore, I'm dying. I'm so tormented." I pulled the hammer back on the gun, put it up to my head, kneeling there on that cot in that dark room. I said, "Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thine will be done," and as I tried, and I squeezed that trigger as hard as I could, I said, "on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread." And it wouldn't go off!
And I thought, "O God, are You just tearing me to pieces? What have I done? You won't even let me die!" And I throwed the gun down, and it went off and shot through the room. And I said, "God, why can't I die and get out of it? I just can't go no farther. You've got to do something to me." And I fell over and started crying on my little old dirty bunk there.
And I must have went to sleep. I don't know whether I was asleep or what happened.
I've always longed to be out West. I've always wanted one of them hats. My father broke horses in his young days, and I always wanted one of them hats. And Brother Demos Shakarian bought me one yesterday, first one I've had (ever had) like that, one of them kind of western hats.

125

Jeg hadde vært viltvokter. Jeg tok frem pistolen fra hylsteret. Jeg sa, "Herre, jeg kan ikke mer, jeg dør. Jeg er så plaget." Jeg spente hanen på pistolen, satte den mot hodet, og knelte der på den feltsengen i det mørke rommet. Jeg sa, "Fader vår, Du som er i himmelen, helliget vorde Ditt navn. Komme Ditt rike, Skje Din vilje," og mens jeg presset avtrekkeren så hardt jeg kunne, fortsatte jeg, "som i himmelen, så også på jorden. Gi oss i dag vårt daglige brød." Men våpenet ville ikke avfyres!
Da tenkte jeg, "Å Gud, holder Du på å rive meg fra hverandre? Hva har jeg gjort? Du lar meg ikke engang dø!" Jeg kastet pistolen fra meg, og den gikk av og skøyt gjennom rommet. Jeg ropte, "Gud, hvorfor kan jeg ikke dø og slippe unna dette? Jeg orker ikke mer. Du må gjøre noe med meg." Jeg falt overende og begynte å gråte på min lille, skitne feltseng.
Jeg må ha sovnet. Jeg vet ikke om jeg sov eller hva som skjedde.
Jeg har alltid lengtet etter å være i Vesten. Jeg har alltid ønsket meg en av de hattene. Min far temmet hester da han var ung, og jeg har alltid ønsket meg en slik hatt. Og Bror Demos Shakarian kjøpte en til meg i går, den første jeg noensinne har hatt, en av de vestlige hattene.

126

And I thought I was going down along through the prairie, a-singing that song, "There's a wheel on the wagon broken, sign on the ranch, 'For Sale.'" And as I went along, I noticed an old covered wagon, like an old prairie schooner, and the wheel was broke. Course, that represented my broken family. And as I got close, I looked, and there stood a real pretty, young girl, about twenty years old, white flowing hair and blue eyes, dressed in white. I looked over at her, I said, "How do you do?" Went on.
She said, "Hello, Dad."
And I turned back, I said, "Dad? Why," I said, "how, Miss, can you … can I be your daddy when you're as old as I am?"
She said, "Daddy, you just don't know where you're at."
And I said, "What do you mean?"
She said, "This is heaven." Said, "On earth I was your little Sharon."
"Why," I said, "honey, you was just a little baby."
Said, "Daddy, little babies are not little babies here, they're immortal. They never get old or never grow."
And I said, "Well, Sharon, honey, you're a pretty young woman."
She said, "Mama's waiting for you."
I said, "Where?"
She said, "Up at your new home."
And I said, "New home?" Branhams are vagabonds, they don't have homes, they just… And I said, "Well, I never had a home, honey."
She said, "But you got one up here, Daddy." I don't mean to be a baby, but it's just so real to me. As I start to thinking of it, it all comes back again. Said, "You got one here, Daddy." I know I got one over there. Someday I will go to it. She said, "Where's Billy Paul, my brother?"
I said, "Well, I left him at Mrs. Broy's, just a few minutes ago."
Said, "Mother wants to see you."

126

Jeg tenkte jeg skulle gå gjennom prærien og synge den sangen, "Det er et knust hjul på vognen, skiltet på gården, 'Til salgs.'" Etter hvert la jeg merke til en gammel dekket vogn, som en gammel prærievogn, og hjulet var knust. Det representerte selvfølgelig min ødelagte familie. Da jeg kom nærmere, så jeg en vakker ung jente, omkring tjue år gammel, med hvitt, flytende hår og blå øyne, kledd i hvitt. Jeg så på henne og sa, "God dag." Og gikk videre.
Hun svarte, "Hallo, Pappa."
Jeg snudde meg og sa, "Pappa? Hvordan kan jeg være din pappa når du er like gammel som meg?"
Hun svarte, "Pappa, du vet bare ikke hvor du er."
Jeg spurte, "Hva mener du?"
Hun svarte, "Dette er himmelen." Hun sa, "På jorden var jeg din lille Sharon."
"Men," sa jeg, "kjære, du var bare en liten baby."
Hun sa, "Pappa, små babyer er ikke små babyer her; de er udødelige. De blir aldri gamle og vokser aldri."
Jeg sa, "Vel, Sharon, kjære, du er en vakker ung kvinne."
Hun svarte, "Mama venter på deg."
Jeg spurte, "Hvor?"
Hun sa, "Oppe ved ditt nye hjem."
Jeg sa, "Nytt hjem?" Branhams er vagabonder, de har ikke hjem, de bare ... Og jeg sa, "Vel, jeg har aldri hatt et hjem, kjære."
Hun svarte, "Men du har et her, Pappa." Jeg mener ikke å være sentimental, men det er bare så virkelig for meg. Når jeg begynner å tenke på det, kommer alt tilbake igjen. Hun sa, "Du har et her, Pappa." Jeg vet jeg har et der. En dag skal jeg dra dit. Hun spurte, "Hvor er Billy Paul, min bror?"
Jeg svarte, "Vel, jeg forlot ham hos fru Broy for bare noen få minutter siden."
Hun sa, "Mama vil se deg."

127

And I turned and looked, and there was great big palaces, and the glory of God coming up around them. And I heard an angelic choir singing, "My Home, Sweet Home." I started up a long steps, running just as hard as I could. And when I got to the door, there she stood, a white garment on, that black hair, long, holding down her back. She raised out her arms, as she always did when I come home tired from work or something. I caught her by the hands, and I said, "Honey, I seen Sharon down there." I said, "She made a pretty girl, didn't she?"
She said, "Yes, Bill." She said, "Bill (put her arms around me)," and she said (just around my shoulders, she started patting me), she said, "stop worrying about me and Sharon."
I said, "Honey, I can't help it."
She said, "Now Sharon and I are better off than you are." And said, "Don't worry about us no more. Will you promise me?"
And I said, "Hope," I said, "I've been so lonesome for you and for Sharon, and Billy cries all the time for you." I said, "I don't know what to do with him."
And she said, "It'll be all right, Bill." She said, "Just promise me you won't worry no more." And she said, "Won't you sit down?" And I looked around and there was a great big chair.

127

Jeg snudde meg og så store, praktfulle palasser, med Guds herlighet som omga dem. Jeg hørte et englekor synge "My Home, Sweet Home." Jeg begynte å løpe opp en lang trapp, så fort jeg kunne. Da jeg kom til døren, stod hun der, kledd i en hvit kjortel, med det lange, svarte håret hengende nedover ryggen. Hun strakte ut armene, slik hun alltid gjorde når jeg kom hjem sliten fra jobb eller noe. Jeg tok henne i hendene og sa: "Kjære, jeg så Sharon der nede. Hun har blitt en vakker jente, ikke sant?"
Hun svarte: "Ja, Bill." Hun la armene rundt meg, klappet meg på skuldrene og sa: "Slutt å bekymre deg for meg og Sharon."
Jeg svarte: "Kjære, jeg klarer ikke å la være."
Hun sa: "Nå er Sharon og jeg bedre stilt enn deg. Ikke bekymre deg for oss mer. Lover du det?"
Jeg sa: "Hope, jeg har vært så ensom uten deg og Sharon, og Billy gråter hele tiden etter deg. Jeg vet ikke hva jeg skal gjøre med ham."
Hun sa: "Det vil gå bra, Bill. Bare lov meg at du ikke vil bekymre deg mer. Vil du ikke sette deg?" Jeg så rundt meg og der var en stor stol.

128

And I remember I tried to buy a chair. Now, in closing. I tried to buy a chair one time. We just had them old common wooden-bottom chairs for that breakfast set. We had to use them, the only chairs we had. And we could buy one of these chairs that you let back in the back, like a … I forget what kind of an easy-rest chair. And it cost seventeen dollars, and you could pay three dollars down and a dollar a week. And we got one. And, oh, when I'd come in… I'd work all day, and preach till midnight around the streets and wherever I could preach.
And one day I got behind on my payments. We couldn't make it, and it got day after day, and finally one day they come and got my chair and took it. That night, I never will forget, she had me a cherry pie baked. Poor little old thing, she knowed I was going to be disappointed. And after supper I said, "What's you so good about tonight, honey?"
And she said, "Say, I had the boys over in the neighborhood to dig you some fishing worms. Don't you think we ought to go down to the river and fish a little while?"
And I said, "Yes, but…"

128

Jeg husker at jeg prøvde å kjøpe en stol. Nå, for å avslutte. Jeg prøvde å kjøpe en stol en gang. Vi hadde bare de gamle, vanlige trestolene til frokostbordet. Vi måtte bruke dem, de var de eneste stolene vi hadde. Vi kunne kjøpe en av disse stolene som kunne legges bakover, som en... jeg husker ikke hva slags hvilestol. Den kostet sytten dollar, og man kunne betale tre dollar i forskudd og en dollar i uken. Vi fikk en slik stol. Og, åh, når jeg kom inn... Jeg jobbet hele dagen og forkynte til midnatt rundt gatene og hvor enn jeg kunne forkynne.
En dag kom vi på etterskudd med betalingene. Vi klarte det ikke, dag etter dag gikk, og til slutt kom de og hentet stolen. Den kvelden, det vil jeg aldri glemme, hadde hun bakt en kirsebærpai til meg. Den stakkars lille, hun visste at jeg kom til å bli skuffet. Etter middagen sa jeg: "Hva er det som gjør deg så blid i kveld, kjære?"
Og hun sa: "Du, jeg fikk guttene i nabolaget til å grave opp noen fiskekroker til deg. Synes du ikke vi burde gå ned til elven og fiske litt?"
Jeg sa: "Ja, men..."

129

And she started crying. I knowed there was something wrong. I had an idea, because they had already sent me a notice they was coming to get it. And we couldn't make that dollar payment a week. We couldn't … just couldn't afford it. She put her arms around me, and I went to the door and my chair was gone.
She told me up there, she said, "You remember that chair, Bill?"
And I said, "Yes, honey, I remember."
Said, "That's what you was thinking about, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
Said, "Well, they won't take this one, this one's paid for." She said, "Sit down just a minute, I want to talk to you."
And I said, "Honey, I don't understand this."
And she said, "Promise me, Billy, promise me that you won't worry anymore. You're going back now." And said, "Promise me you won't worry."
And I said, "I can't do that, Hope."

129

Hun begynte å gråte. Jeg visste at noe var galt. Jeg hadde en anelse, fordi de allerede hadde sendt en melding om at de skulle komme og hente det. Vi klarte ikke å betale én dollar i uken. Vi klarte det bare ikke. Hun la armene rundt meg, og jeg gikk til døren og så at stolen min var borte.
Hun sa til meg, "Husker du den stolen, Bill?"
Og jeg svarte, "Ja, kjære, jeg husker."
Hun sa, "Det var det du tenkte på, ikke sant?"
"Ja," svarte jeg.
"Vel, denne gangen vil de ikke ta den, denne er betalt." Hun sa, "Sett deg ned et øyeblikk, jeg vil snakke med deg."
Jeg sa, "Kjære, jeg forstår ikke dette."
Hun sa, "Lover du meg, Billy, lover du meg at du ikke vil bekymre deg mer? Du skal tilbake nå. Lover du at du ikke vil bekymre deg?"
Jeg sa, "Jeg kan ikke gjøre det, Hope."

130

And just then I come to, it was dark in the room. I looked around, and I felt her arm around me. I said, "Hope, are you here in the room?"
She started patting me. She said, "You going to make me that promise, Bill? Promise me you won't marry … worry no more."
I said, "I promise you."
And when then she patted me two or three times, and she was gone. I jumped up and turned on the light, looked everywhere, she was gone. But she's just gone out of the room. She isn't gone, she's still living. She was a Christian.

130

Da jeg kom til meg selv, var rommet mørkt. Jeg så meg rundt og kjente armen hennes rundt meg. Jeg sa: "Hope, er du her i rommet?"
Hun begynte å klappe på meg og sa: "Vil du love meg noe, Bill? Lov meg at du ikke vil … bekymre deg mer."
Jeg sa: "Jeg lover deg."
Deretter klappet hun meg to eller tre ganger, og så var hun borte. Jeg spratt opp, skrudde på lyset og lette overalt, men hun var borte. Men hun har bare gått ut av rommet. Hun er ikke borte, hun lever fortsatt. Hun var en kristen.

131

Billy and I went to the grave here sometime ago, packing a little flower for his mother and sister, just on an Easter morning, and we stopped. The little fellow started crying, he said, "Daddy, my mommy's down there."
I said, "No, honey. No, she ain't down there. Sister ain't down there. We got a folded over grave here, but way across the sea there's an open grave where Jesus rose. And someday He will come, He will bring sister and mama with Him."
I'm on the battlefield today, friends. I just can't tell any more. I… God bless you. Let's bow our heads a minute.

131

For en tid tilbake dro Billy og jeg til graven, medbrakt en liten blomst til hans mor og søster, en påskemorgen. Vi stoppet, og den lille gutten begynte å gråte. Han sa, "Pappa, mamma ligger der nede."
Jeg svarte, "Nei, kjære. Nei, hun ligger ikke der nede. Søster ligger heller ikke der. Vi har en lukket grav her, men langt der borte på den andre siden av havet er det en åpen grav hvor Jesus stod opp. Og en dag vil Han komme tilbake, og Han vil bringe søster og mamma med seg."
Jeg befinner meg på slagmarken i dag, venner. Jeg klarer ikke si mer. Gud velsigne dere. La oss bøye hodene et øyeblikk.

132

O Lord! Many times, Lord, I'm sure people don't understand, when they think these things come easy. But there's a great day coming when Jesus shall come and all these sorrows will be wiped away. I pray, Heavenly Father, that You'll help us to be prepared.
And that last promise, when I kissed her on the cheek that morning, that I'd meet her there that day, I believe she will be standing at that post screaming my name. I've lived true to that promise since, Lord, around the world, in all kinds of places, trying to bring the Gospel. Getting old now, and tired, I'm wore out. One of these days I'm going to close this Bible for the last time. God, keep me faithful to the promise. Keep your grace around me, Lord. Let me not look at the things of this life, but live for the things that's beyond. Help me to be honest. I don't ask for a flowery bed of ease, no, Lord, when my Christ died there under suffering. And all the rest of them died like that. I don't ask for any easy thing. Just let me be honest, Lord, truthful. Let people love me so I can lead them to Thee. And someday when it's all over and we gather around under the evergreen trees, I want to get her by the hand and walk her up, to show the people of Angelus Temple and all the others. It'll be a great time then.
I pray that Your mercies rest upon each of us here. And those who are here, Lord, may not even know You, maybe they've got some little loved one across the sea yonder. If they've never fulfilled their promise, may they do it now, Lord.

132

Å Herre! Mange ganger, Herre, forstår nok ikke folk, når de tror at disse tingene kommer lett. Men det kommer en stor dag når Jesus skal komme, og all sorg vil bli visket bort. Jeg ber, Himmelske Far, at Du vil hjelpe oss å være forberedt.
Og det siste løftet, da jeg kysset henne på kinnet den morgenen og sa at jeg skulle møte henne der den dagen, tror jeg vil bli oppfylt. Jeg tror hun vil stå på den posten og rope navnet mitt. Jeg har holdt meg trofast til det løftet siden, Herre, rundt om i verden, på alle slags steder, og prøvd å bringe Evangeliet. Jeg begynner å bli gammel og sliten, jeg er utmattet. En dag skal jeg lukke denne Bibelen for siste gang. Gud, hold meg trofast til løftet. Hold Din nåde rundt meg, Herre. La meg ikke fokusere på livets ting, men leve for det som er utover. Hjelp meg å være ærlig. Jeg ber ikke om en blomsterkledt lett vei, nei, Herre, når Kristus døde under lidelse. Og alle de andre døde på samme måte. Jeg ber ikke om noe lettvint. Bare la meg være ærlig, Herre, sannferdig. La folk elske meg så jeg kan føre dem til Deg. Og en dag, når alt er over og vi samles under de eviggrønne trærne, vil jeg ta henne i hånden og lede henne frem for å vise henne til folkene ved Angelus Temple og alle de andre. Det vil bli en stor tid da.
Jeg ber om at Din nåde hviler over hver og en av oss her. Og for de som er her, Herre, som kanskje ikke kjenner Deg, kanskje de har noen kjære et sted bortenfor havet. Hvis de aldri har innfridd sitt løfte, la dem gjøre det nå, Herre.

133

While we have our heads bowed, I wonder in this great, huge auditorium this afternoon, how many of you say, "Brother Branham, I want to meet my loved ones, too. I've got some loved ones just across the river yonder?" Maybe you made a promise that you'd meet them, maybe when you told Mother "good-bye" up there at the grave that day, maybe when you told little sister "good-bye," or Dad, or some of them at the grave, promised you'd meet them, and you've never made that preparation yet. Don't you think it's a good time now to do it?
Excuse my breaking down. But, oh, my, you don't realize, friends. You don't know what sacrifice! That's not a spot, hardly, of the life story.

133

Mens vi har hodene bøyd, undrer jeg meg over hvor mange av dere i dette store, enorme auditoriet i ettermiddag som vil si: "Bror Branham, jeg vil også møte mine kjære. Jeg har noen kjære rett over elven der borte." Kanskje du ga et løfte om at du skulle møte dem, kanskje da du sa "farvel" til Mor ved graven den dagen, eller til lillesøster, eller Far, eller noen andre ved graven, lovet du at du skulle møte dem igjen, men du har enda ikke tatt det steget. Tror du ikke det er en god tid å gjøre det nå?
Unnskyld at jeg bryter sammen. Men, å, kjære venner, dere skjønner ikke. Dere vet ikke hvilket offer! Dette er knapt en flekk av livshistorien.

134

How many of you would like to raise up now and walk up here for prayer, say, "I want to meet my loved ones?" Raise up out of the audience and come down here. Will you do it? If somebody has never made that preparation yet. God bless you, sir. I see an aged colored man coming out, others coming. Move yourself, you in the balconies up there, just move right out into the aisle. Or stand up, you who wants to be remembered in a word of prayer just now. That's it. Stand right up to your feet. That's good. Stand up, everywhere, you who would say, "I've got a father over yonder, I've got a mother or a loved one over yonder. I want to go see them. I want to meet them in peace." Will you raise up, just stand up to your feet, anywhere in the audience. Stand up to your feet, say, "I want to accept."

134

Hvor mange av dere ønsker å reise dere nå og komme frem for bønn og si: "Jeg vil møte mine kjære?" Reis dere fra publikum og kom ned hit. Vil dere gjøre det? Hvis noen ennå ikke har gjort den forberedelsen, Gud velsigne deg, herre. Jeg ser en eldre farget mann komme frem, andre følger. Beveg dere, dere som er på balkongene der oppe, gå ut i midtgangen. Eller stå opp, dere som ønsker å bli husket i en bønn akkurat nå. Slik ja. Stå rett opp på føttene. Det er bra. Stå opp, overalt, dere som vil si: "Jeg har en far der borte, jeg har en mor eller en kjær der borte. Jeg vil se dem. Jeg vil møte dem i fred." Vil dere reise dere, bare stå opp hvor som helst i publikum. Stå opp, og si: "Jeg vil ta imot."

135

God bless you, lady. God bless you back there. And bless you up there. Lord bless you here, sir. That's right. Up in the balcony, the Lord bless you. All around, everywhere, stand up to your feet now to have a word of prayer, while the Holy Spirit is here and moving upon our hearts, to break up.
You know, what the church needs today is a breaking up. We need to go down to the Potter's House. Our stiff homemade theology sometimes doesn't work so good. What we need is an old-fashioned breaking up, repentance in our hearts, getting mellow towards God. Is that all now that's ready to stand?
Let us bow our heads then for prayer.

135

Gud velsigne deg, frue. Gud velsigne deg der bak. Og velsigne deg der oppe. Herren velsigne deg her, herr. Det stemmer. Oppe på balkongen, Herren velsigne deg. Overalt, stå nå opp for å ha en bønn, mens Den Hellige Ånd er her og virker på våre hjerter.
Dere vet, menigheten trenger i dag en oppmykning. Vi trenger å gå ned til Pottemakerens Hus. Vår stive hjemmelagde teologi fungerer noen ganger ikke så godt. Det vi trenger er en gammeldags oppmykning, omvendelse i våre hjerter, og bli mykere mot Gud. Er alle klare til å stå?
La oss bøye våre hoder for bønn.

136

O Lord, who brought again Jesus from the dead, to justify all of us by faith, believing, I pray, Lord, that these who are standing now to their feet to accept Thee, I pray that forgiveness will be to them. And, O Lord, I pray that they will accept You as their Saviour and King and lover. And maybe they got a mama or a papa or somebody just across the sea. There's one thing sure, they got a Saviour. May they be forgiven of their sins, and all their iniquity blotted out, that their souls may be washed in the blood of the Lamb, and they live in peace from hereafter.
And some glorious day when it's all over, may we gather at Your house, and be there as unbroken families, to meet our loved ones that's waiting on the other side. This, we commit them unto Thee, that "Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose heart is stayed upon Him." Grant it, Lord, as we commit them to Thee, in the name of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus. Amen.

136

Å Herre, Du som oppreiste Jesus fra de døde for å rettferdiggjøre oss alle ved tro, jeg ber, Herre, at de som nå står for å ta imot Deg, må få tilgivelse. Og, å Herre, jeg ber at de vil akseptere Deg som sin Frelser, Konge og elsker. Kanskje har de en mor eller en far, eller noen nær, et sted langt borte. Det er en ting som er sikkert, de har en Frelser. La dem bli tilgitt for sine synder, og alle deres misgjerninger bli utslettet, så deres sjeler kan bli vasket i Lammets blod, og at de kan leve i fred heretter.
Og på en strålende dag når alt er over, la oss samles i Ditt hus som udelte familier, for å møte våre kjære som venter på den andre siden. Dette overgir vi til Deg, at "Du vil holde ham i fullkommen fred, hvis sinn er festet på Deg." Gi det, Herre, når vi overgir dem til Deg, i Ditt Sønns navn, Herren Jesus. Amen.

137

God bless you. I'm sure the workers see where you're standing, and they will be right with you in a few minutes.
And now to those who are going to receive prayer cards. Billy, where's Gene and Leo? They in the back? They're here to give out the prayer cards just in a few minutes. Brother will dismiss the audience in prayer, and the prayer cards will be given out. We will be back here just in a little bit, to pray for the sick. All right, Brother.

137

Gud velsigne deg. Jeg er sikker på at arbeiderne ser hvor du står, og de vil være hos deg om noen få minutter.
Til de som skal få bønnekort: Billy, hvor er Gene og Leo? Er de bak? De vil snart dele ut bønnekortene. Bror vil avslutte forsamlingen med bønn, og bønnekortene vil bli delt ut. Vi kommer tilbake om litt for å be for de syke. Greit, Bror.