My hero, William Branham: A Man Sent from God

My definition of heroism is when people go beyond what they would normally do to help others. Three characteristics of heroism are truthfulness, bravery, and honesty. A person who I think is a hero is William Marrion Branham.

William Branham (who was also called Billy) was born on April 6, 1909 in Burkesville, Kentucky. William grew up as the first of 10 children. His parents were Charles and Ella Branham. When Billy was barely fifteen minutes old a light came in the room and settled over the mother and her baby. It held there for only a minute when it spun around one more time then went out of the room. After that, everyone wondered what Billy would grow up to be.

When he was seven years old he was walking by an old tree and suddenly a whooshing sound came through the leaves even though the wind was not blowing. A voice came from the tree that said, “Don’t drink, smoke, or defile your body in any way. There will be a work for you to do when you get older.” Billy was very frightened and never walked by that tree again.

When William got older he became a minister. At the age of 24 he was baptizing people on the Ohio River in 1933. While he was baptizing someone, a light from heaven came down and a voice spoke that said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, your message will forerun the second coming of Christ.” The incident was reported in the local newspaper as about 300 people were present. Many people told Billy that these things were of the devil. Billy wanted to find out for himself so he went to a little cave he found as a boy and prayed. That night an angel came to him and told him that he was to take a gift of divine healing and preach to the whole world.

In 1951 while at Sam Houston stadium in Texas the light that had followed him all his life appeared over his head. A photograph was taken and later examined by the FBI and found to be the only authenticated photograph taken of a supernatural being. The photograph hangs today at the Library of Congress in the Hall of Religious Documents. He did indeed preach divine healing around the world. He also prayed for King George VI of England who was healed of multiple sclerosis and Florence Nightingale Shirlaw who had cancer and was healed. William Branham had also prayed for thousands of other people around the world. William Marrion Branham died on December 24, 1965 about a week after his car was hit head on by a drunk driver.

William Branham demonstrated heroism by being brave when all the critics said he was a fanatic. When some people said that it was mental telepathy how he could tell someone their name, address, what was wrong with them, or what they had been praying about he never turned his back on what the angel had told him to do. He also showed heroism by being truthful by saying that Jesus Christ had healed the people and not himself. He never tried to point people to himself but to God. Finally, he showed heroism by being honest in the life he lived. He showed his honesty one time when he and his son were coming back from Mexico to Arizona. At the checkpoint that would lead them to Arizona, they were asked by the authorities if they had any food that was from Mexico. They both said no and they drove home. When they got back to their house in Tucson, William found a bag of nuts in the car. He drove all the way back to the border to tell them that he was sorry and that he did not know that the nuts were in the car. This is only one of many stories where William showed his honesty.

From the life of William Branham, people can learn to live what they believe and to not be fearful because God is with them.