Rhetoric and Civilization: Adoniram Judson, D.D. "The Burman Apostle"

A message of missionary work had sunk "down into [Judson's] heart, as lead goes down into the ocean... and led him to abandon home, country, and all the joys of civilized life, for chains, and dungeons and torture." Adoniram Judson was on his way to Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) to preach the Gospel of Christ to a 'heathen' nation. He left as a Congregational theologian and arrived to Calcutta as a Baptist convert because he tried to use scripture to prove the baptists wrong and when he realized his belief was mistaken he had the humility to change even though rejecting his own organization meant the loss of funding and support for his 40 year long mission. He is a hero to me.

'The Departure' of Rev. Adoniram Judson, D.D.

(found in BYU Library 'Judson Offering' 1847)

200 years later I was leaving Thailand and the Thai language behind as one of the first twenty missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve in Myanmar and I thought few could understand my position. I felt like I was starting from scratch until I began to learn of the man who was the reason behind the Burmese Bible which I now held.

Who was this 'Rev. A Judson'? I chuckled when I saw "translated from the original tongues" thinking that it must be a mistake on the part of some Burman who thought the original tongue was English. I learned what I could about this Judson and found myself humbled. An accomplished American linguist and theologian who spent over 40 years here in Myanmar writing a grammar, the first useful English-Burmese dictionary, and translating the Bible 'ad fontes' style from Hebrew, Greek, and English copies. Judson buried children, and spouse here for this work. His wife Ann and he suffered derision, illness, torture and imprisonment. Judson also died in Myanmar still working to bring souls unto Christ.

I learned that this Judson of whom I was so ignorant was the giant renaissance man upon whose shoulders I was opportune to sit. I was not left to start from scratch with sharing the Gospel or learning the language that Judson said was "...perhaps the most difficult to a foreigner of any on the face of the earth..." Now I am a translator, interpreter and teacher of this odd language and can only fathom how hard it was for him.

Judson’s humility to change his beliefs after a sincere study of scripture revealed that he was mistaken, his dedication to spend most of his life in a foreign land suffering much abuse to translate the Bible, and his humility to the point of burning his own records in hope that glory would go to God instead of him showed me an incredible example of piety, devotion, bravery, and love for the people of Myanmar whom I also love. I am grateful for Judson’s sacrifices and I will be thinking of him as I prepare to translate and interpret the word of God this weekend at General Conference.

p.s. I included some of my favorite memoir excerpts below if you want to read his own words.