Abraham Lincoln challenges a Friend to consider God as a friend in his Telegram From Heaven. Welcome to Telegrams From Heaven. We’ve translated his telegram into an easier to read experience. We hope you enjoy it. Thanks for dropping by.
Friend, I once said, “I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down.” At the time, there was speculation about who I was talking about. It really doesn’t matter. But I have a challenge for you today. Consider God as your friend and live your life in a manner that will not let Him down. That is a worthwhile goal. Abraham Lincoln
Is Abraham Lincoln in Heaven?
Throughout Abraham Lincoln’s life he was questioned about his Christian faith. Since his death in 1865, skeptics claim he was just about anything but a Christian. But those within the Christian faith who knew him best refute their accusations that he was an infidel.
So, is Abraham Lincoln in heaven? Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln; the Chaplain of the Senate Phineas Gurley; two of Lincoln’s pastors; a journalist; and many others past and present claim Lincoln was a believing Christian when he was assassinated. If so, the 16th President of the United States exchanged his residence at the White House with a blessed residence in heaven.
Abraham Lincoln grew up in a religious family. He often quoted the Bible and referenced scripture in his public speeches, especially during the Civil War. But Lincoln did not make a public profession of faith. His willingness to keep his allies, enemies and the public at bay concerning his belief in Jesus Christ has added fuel to the debate for decades.
Two of his most public detractors concerning his faith were Col. Ward Hill Lamon and William Herndon. After Lincoln’s death, Lamon began gathering information for his biography of Lincoln titled, Life of Lincoln. Herndon served as a valued source for his research.
But Lincoln’s pastor in Springfield, Illinois, Reverend J.A. Reed, often lectured to audiences concerning the religious beliefs of Abraham Lincoln. Scribner’s Monthly published his lecture titled, “The Religious Sentiments of Abraham Lincoln” in July 1873.
The primary purpose of his lectures and the article was to refute the accusations by Lamon and Herndon. According to Reed, the biographer’s intent was too “impute to him (Lincoln) the vilest sentiments,” and to “establish certain allegations injurious to the good name of that illustrious man, whose tragic and untimely death has consecrated his memory in the hearts of a grateful nation. Two charges in this biography are worthy of especial notice and disproof,—the charge that he was born a bastard, and the charge that he died an infidel.”
Reed uses letters written by important sources soon after Lincoln’s death to prove his point. In the first letter below, James Smith, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, responds to a request by Herndon to provide information about Lincoln’s faith.
East CAINNO, SCOTLAND, 24th Jan. 1867.
W. H. HERNDON, Esq. :
SIR – Your letter of the 20th Dec. was duly received. In it you ask me to answer several questions in relation to the illustrious President, Abraham Lincoln. With regard to your second question, I beg leave to say it is a very easy matter to prove that while I was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church Springfield, Mr. Lincoln did avow his belief in the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures, and that I hold that it is a matter of the last importance not only to the present, but all future generations of the Great Republic, and to all advocates of civil and religious liberty throughout the world, that this avowal on his part, and the circumstances attending it, together with very interesting incidents illustrate of the excellence of his character, in my possession, should be made know to the public.
My intercourse with Abraham Lincoln convinced me that he was not only an honest man, but preeminently an upright man—ever ready, so far as in his power, to render unto all their dues.
It was my honor to play before Mr Lincoln arguments designed to prove the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures, accompanied by the arguments of infidel objects in their own language. To the arguments on both sides Mr. Lincoln gave a most patient, impartial and searching investigation. To use his own language, he examined the arguments a a lawyer who is anxious to reach the truth investigates testimony. The result was the announcement by himself that the argument in favor of the vine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures has unanswerable…
The assassin Booth, by his diabolical act, unwittingly sent the illustrious martyr to glory, honor and immortality; but his false friend has attempt do send him down to posterity with infamy branded on his forehead, as a man who, notwithstanding all he suffered for his country’s good, was destitute of those feelings and affections without which there can be no real excellency of character. Sir, I am with due respect your obedient servant,
JAS. SMITH.
A second letter written to Reverend Reed shares a conversation with Lincoln.
SPRINGFIELD, Dec. 24th, 1872.
REV. JAS. A. REED:
DEAR SIR—A sort time after the Rev. Dr. Smith became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in this city, Mr. Lincoln said to me, I have been reading a work of Dr. Smith on the evidences of Christianity, and have heard him preach and convey on the subject, and I am now convinced of the truth of the Christian religion.”
Yours truly,
N.W. EDWARDS
Noah Brooks, a journalist with the New York Tribune at the time, wrote a letter to Reverend Reed.
NEW YORK Dec. 31st, 1872
REV. J.A. REED:
MY DEAR SIR—In addition to what has appeared from my pen, I will state that I have had many conversations with Mr. Lincoln, which were more or less of a religious character, and while I never tried to draw anything like a state of his views from hi, ye he freely expressed himself to me as having”a hope of blessed immortality through Jesus Christ.” His view seemed to settle so naturally around that statement, that I considered no other necessary. His language seemed not that of an inquirer, but of one who had a prior settled belief in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion.
Reverend Reed concludes his article with information Mrs. Lincoln shared with the Reverend Dr. Miner, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springfield about her husband’s final night with her at Ford’s Theater.
“She said that the last day he lived was the happiest of his life. The very last moments of his conscious life were spent in conversation wither about his future plans, and what he wanted to do when his term of office expired. He said he wanted to visit the Holy Lead and see the places hallows by the footprints of the Saviour. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem; and with that word half spoken on his tongue, the bullet of the assassin enter his brain, and the should of the great and good President was carried by angels to the New Jerusalem above.”
If this evidence isn’t good enough to believe that Abraham Lincoln is in heaven, then who can know, other than God?
Purpose of Telegrams From Heaven
The “authors” of each Telegram From Heaven are men and women of accomplishment who lived in the ancient or recent past. Each were known for their faith. They are from around the globe, from every walk of life, and their life stories are inspiring and encouraging. We believe these stories offer powerful messages that might help change your life in some small or meaningful way, even if just to improve your walk with God.
The word “heaven” inspires limitless definitions among the religious and non-religious. A few examples include “the home of God,” “a setting of ultimate perfection in the clouds,” or “a place where the resurrection bodies and departed souls of believers spend eternity.” Most often the word conjures up images of ornate, opulent buildings and streets paved with gold. Of beauty, of paradise, of a heavenly kingdom.
Most Christians believe it is a real place, separate from Earth. Others are convinced it is close enough for its inhabitants to reveal themselves miraculously to the living.
Through brief, focused and topical messages, Telegrams From Heaven intends to encourage, entertain and inspire our neighbors around the world. We want to provide hope and inspiration.
Telegrams from Heaven are not intended to provoke or offend, but if you feel distressed in any way by one of our telegrams, we apologize.
Thanks for dropping by.