The digital copies of this book are available for free at First Fruits website.

place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruits

INTRODUCTION

For more than half a century the name Henry Clay Morrison was a familiar one in the holiness movement. From my early youth he was upheld by members of my family as an exemplary preacher. It was as his name was mentioned in prayer at our family altar that I received my personal call to the Christian ministry. Brief acquaintance with Morrison during his intermittent visits to the campus while I was a student at Asbury Theological Seminary increased my interest in knowing more about this man.

The two full-length books purporting to tell his life’s story left me feeling as though I had been presented torn fragments of a picture, many parts of which were still missing. The discovery, in 1946, of Morrison’s diaries opened the door of research in an effort to answer my questions. This research culminated in a doctoral dissertation, The Life, Theology, and Influence of Henry Clay Morrison, presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Oklahoma. The present publication is based entirely upon the previous research.

I am greatly indebted to the officials of the Pentecostal Publishing Company, Asbury College, and Asbury Theological Seminary for the many courtesies they have shown me. I also wish to express appreciation to my major professor, Dr. John S. Ezell and to Dr. Alfred B. Sears, also of the history department of the University of Oklahoma. My greatest debt, however, is to my wife, Marjorie MacKellar Wesche. Without her moral support and encouragement both in the original research and now during the period of re-writing, the work could not have been brought to completion.

Percival A. Wesche
Nampa, Idaho
July, 1963