University Bible Fellowship

ADONIRAM JUDSON : by Augustine Jesmer

Adoniram Judson was a very smart person. When he was 9 years old, he could solve complex math problems in the local paper that were only for adults because they were hard. But Adoniram solved them and his parents were impressed.

            Adoniram’s father enrolled him to Captain Morton’s school of Navigation. Adoniram loved school a lot. Later, Adoniram’s younger sister Mary died at 6 months old. Adoniram decided he wanted nothing to do with this God that would do this.

            Mr. Judson also became sick and had to quit preaching. They then went to Braintree which is a city.

            Adoniram then went to Rhode Island College at Providence. He was so good that he could skip freshman year and became a sophomore right away. He then met Jacob Eames and John Bailey and became friends.

      Jacob was a Deist and after talking about religion with Jacob, Adoniram became a Deist without telling his dad. At his school Adoniram became the valedictorian. After college Adoniram opened the Plymouth Independent Academy to teach. He also published textbooks. But Adoniram didn’t like his father’s beliefs or teaching at his school so he left. He went to New York to be a playwright. But he didn’t find any openings so he left. He went west and stayed at an inn next to a dying man. The next day Adoniram asked who was dying and it turned out it was his friend Jacob Eames from college.

On September 22^nd, 1808, Adoniram went back home where he met 2 visitors named Dr. Stuart and Dr.Griffin. They invited Adoniram to Andover Theological Seminary as someone who wanted to study Christianity because Adoniram had a lot of questions for them.. On October 12^th, 1808, he enrolled to the seminary. While he was there he studied the bible in Hebrew and Greek.

On December 2^nd, 1808, Adoniram committed his life to God because he came to the conclusion that the bible was correct. Adoniram was at the library and checked out a pamphlet called the Star of the East. It talked about how the people of India needed to hear the gospel. Adoniram knew he was staring at his destiny. He felt God was calling him to the Buddhist people in Burma.

Adoniram went back home. His family wanted him to be a pastor at Park Street, some church by their house, but Adoniram told them about being a missionary. They didn’t take it well at all. But Adoniram was more determined than ever.

When Adoniram went back to school, he told every one of his plans. Then Samuel Mills came to him and asked him to be part of his group called the Brethren. They pledged themselves to mission and to be ready when God calls them.

On June 28^th, 1810 Adoniram asked the Congregational Church and asked them to set up a missionary organization. The next day they approved. There was lots of celebration. There, Adoniram met Ann who he fell in love with and eventually married.

 On September 24^th, 1810 Adoniram graduated from Andover and went to the London Missionary Society to ask for money to support the missionaries. While he was sailing, he was captured by a French privateer ship. They took him to Bayonne, New Jersey and he was taken prisoner. While he was in line to go to the prison, he met a stranger who broke him out of jail later. Adoniram went to the London Missionary Society and they agreed to sponsor Adoniram and the Brethren as missionaries.

Adoniram and Ann went with Samuel and Harriett Newell on one boat. Samuel and Roxanna Not, Gordon Hall, and Luther rice went in a different boat. Adoniram and Ann were in danger of being deported so they went to the Isle of France and met up with Samuel Newell who told them that Harriet and their baby died of illness. So Samuel left and Luther went back to the U.S. to recover from liver sickness. Adoniram and Ann were alone. 

            They set sail for Burma on June 22^nd, 1813 and on that trip, Ann gave birth to a dead baby. They then went to their friend Felix Carry’s house where they learned Burmese. Felix’s family died so he left and then George and Phoebe Hough cam to join Adoniram and Ann.

Ann had another baby named Roger but he died at seven months old. Adoniram and George made a pamphlet that explains the gospel and they distributed it. A bad disease broke out and tensions were high between the British and Burma so George and Phoebe left.

 The Coleman’s and the Wheelock’s came to join them but James Coleman and Edward Wheelock got tuberculosis. James recovered but Edward and his wife “escaped” and Edward died at sea.

James and Adoniram opened a zayat to invite people to bible study on the streets and one guy named Maung Nau came and became a Christian and moved into their bible house. They eventually raised 10 bible students.

The new king of Burma didn’t like Christianity so James and Mary Coleman left.

Ann became really sick and had to go back to Boston. But Jonathan and Hope Price came and joined Adoniram and unfortunately Hope died within 6 weeks there. Ann came back and the Hughes also joined them again. Jonathan, Adoniram, and Ann moved to the royal city Ava while the Hughes stayed in Rangoon where Adoniram was all along in Burma.

            There, Adoniram was taken prisoner. While he was in prison, Ann had another baby. They named her Maria Elizabeth Butterworth Judson. Britain beat Burma in the war and Adoniram was set free.

            Adoniram finished printing the whole bible in Burmese with the help of George Hughes.

Ann died of sickness and Adoniram went back to the U.S. He had a lot of press conferences, meetings, speeches, and things like that. He married a writer named Emily Chubbuck. Adoniram and Emily went back to Burma and on April 12^th, 1850, Adoniram passed away.

            Adoniram’s translation of the bible to Burmese is the only one of its kind to date.

So Adoniram was a really great man. He listened to God’s will in his life and stuck with it to death and even though people were dying all around him.

updated: May 4, 2009