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Mordecai Ham (1877-1961) was an American evangelist and temperance movement supporter. He entered the ministry in 1901 and in 1936 began his long radio evangelistic career. He evangelized until shortly before his death in 1961. Also in the early 1900s Ham was a pastor at Burton Memorial Baptist Church, located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Ham was the son of Tobias and Ollie (McElroy). He was born on a farm in Allen County, Kentucky near Scottsville, Kentucky. He could claim eight generations of Baptist preachers. He once stated that "From the time I was eight years old, I never thought of myself as anything but a Christian. At nine I had definite convictions that the Lord wanted me to preach...." Ham married Bessie Simmons in July of 1900. In December of that year he quit his business and began to preach.

One target of his sermons was the drinking of alcohol, which he disdained. He also once said, "If you vote for Al Smith, you're voting against Christ and you will all be damned". Ham did not approve of Al Smith's candidacy, because Smith was a Roman Catholic.

Billy Graham was converted under Mordecai Ham's preaching, in a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina in November 1934.

Family

Five years after Ham married Bessie Simmons, she died. Several years later at the age of 30 he married Annie Laurie Smith who was 15 at the time. Their marriage lasted over 50 years. They had three daughters: Martha Elizabeth, on September 16, 1912; Dorothy, December 16, 1915; and Annie Laurie, Jr., born December 11, 1924.

Works

• The Second Coming of Christ and Revelation.
• Believing a Lie,
• Light on the Dance,
• The Jews, and
• The Sabbath Question.

References

• Billy Graham Center

External links

• Biography from Christian History Institute
• Biography from Swordofthelord.com
• Biography by Ruckman
• Biography from HigherPraise.com
• Sermons by Mordecai Ham
• Biography by Edward E. Ham