Moody lived solely for the glory of God and for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the earnest prayer of his family that in this record of his career his life's purpose may be conserved. Mr. Moody was a born teacher. He was also a great learner. His capacity for drawing out information from people with whom he came in contact was marvelous. Early in his public speaking he would gather around him Bible teachers, evangelists, and pastors, secure their best thoughts on some subject upon which he was to speak, and then go directly from such a conference to a meeting to deliver a heart-searching sermon, the actual material for which he had secured from his friends, absorbed, and made his own. In answer to an inquiry how far a young man was at liberty to use other men's thoughts, he “Always give due credit if you can, and if you can't, or if you don't want to mention the man's name, say, `Someone has said.' Don't be afraid of using other men's thoughts. The chances are that the man you get it from read it in some other form. There is practically very little that is original, and it's better to give the best of others' thoughts than what is poor, even if it is original.” As a preacher D.L. Moody was much criticized from the standpoint of academic homiletics. Nor would any think of defending his preaching method on that ground. But the fact that for thirty-five continuous years, in the centers of culture and of active practical thought in the English-speaking world, this self-taught preacher drew the greatest audiences which have faced any modern speaker on any theme, this fact, should suggest to teachers of homiletics that possibly they might learn something from him.
