Bethel University - Spire Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

Page 8 text:

In Memory of Dr. Arvkl Gordh, Th. D. Who car. record the work and worth of a Spirit-led man? Such a life sheds its influence, not only to the generation it serves, but also to posterity. In ever widening circles, that influence continues to the shores of eternity, leaving in its wake the blessings of a consecrated man of God. This can well be said of Dr. Arvid Gordh, who was taken from this life at the Midway Hospital, St. Paul, shortly after noor. on January 4, 1940. Dr. Gordh was born November lb, 1872, in Gothenburg, Sweden, and came to America while still a young man. He was converted and joined the First Swedish Baptist Church of Brooklyn. New York, under the ministry of Dr. O. Hedeen. Having answered the cell to the Christian ministry, he studied at the Swedish Baptist Theological Seminary of Morgan Park, Chicago, and at the Seminary in Stockholm, Sweden. He began his pastoral work in Orebro, Sweden, serving a Baptist church there for two years. Returning to the United States, the young Gordh spent two years at Newton Theological Institution and one year at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville. Kentucky. In 1903, he became editor of the Baneret, a privately owned denominational paper published in Minneapolis. Throughout his life, he made contributions in the literary field. His works of poetry and prose contain much food for thought end inspiration. From 1905 to 1911, Dr. Gcrdh served as principal of the newly-founded Bethel Academy. The next ten years were spent again in pastoral service in Brockton, Massachusetts, and New York City. For lour years he served as dean of the Theological Seminary, being successor to Dr. C. G. Lagergren. Since 1925, he continued teaching New Testament Greek. Because our beloved teacher was closely identified with the Swedish Baptists in America, he has left a vacancy which cannot easily be refilled. The testimony of the work he accomplished and of the plans he cherished have come to us as a sacred trust and an active challenge.

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Pn tiAesifci MeAicuje G. Arvid Hagstrom, D. D. The Camera of Life With Its Bethel Exposures Tho Camera is an imitalion, though an imperfect one, of the human cyo. Cur eyos are wonderful cameras, which God has given us so that as we pass thrcuqh life we can be constantly taking beautiful picturos, looking at them not only for tho instant, but storing them up in our memories and making them the rich treasures and joyous heritage of coming years. The pictures the eye takes are imprinted upon the brain and tho soul; hence the soul of man may be compared to a sensitized plate. If it is properly exposed to the light, the picture will be good. If the plate be incorrectly exposed, the picture will be ruined. So the impressions v hich ere being made upon the soul will either save or ruin it. Tho developing day is coming. This day is the exposing time. In order that we may in coming years have pleasing picturos hung in the art gallery of the soul, it is needful that considerate and constant attention bo given to the exposures made in these days of the impressionable period. Of course, it is impossible to keep out every disagreeable sight, but one can cultivate the habit of looking at beautiful things. God .who has given us our camera of life intended that it should have beautiful pictures to photograph Everything He hos made is beautiful The hills, the valleys, tho brooks, the flowers, the trees, the fields, the birds, the animals, the sky. the clouds, the moor., the stars —all these are the work of His hands and are beautiful to behold. They arc free. They are making impressions upon our soul's camera constantly. Some things we see are so new and startling that we feel the effect of them all at once. But the most lasting images are the daily sights of ordinary life. Hor.cc, it is most important to bo surrounded by beautiful things. Everything made by man is c copy of God'3 work. That i3 the reason there is so little that is really beautiful in large cities. The works of God are hidden by the imitations o: men. Our friends, our fellow students, our parents and loved ones, and our teachers, among whom we mingle and from whom we receive impressions by what they say and do as well as by what they ere. become the pictures v hich, by the camera of life, will leave their indelible imprint upon us. If we look for virtues and favorable things in thorn, those picturos will become a beautiful and lasting horitage to be kopt in memory's treasure chest for future years. These will make their valuable contributions to our lives, thus making the future brighter, more peaceful, secure and prosperous for all of us. I am a part of all I have met, end a part o: all 1 have received from others, said one author. How true this is. It is God’s wonderful provision for us God's heart yearns over us in great tenderness, and v hile v e live in the midst of an evil world, v e arc constantly to remember that God has made us millionaires in the possession of these faculties v ith v hich ho has endowed us for use here upon the earth, and also that v e are children of the King of Heaven, and that we are heirs of everlasting life and glory. We are heirs of God, and joint heirs v ith Je3us Christ, to an inheritance v hich is incorruptible, undefined, and that fedeth not away. May our Camera bo ever busy accumulating impressions that v ill contribute to this eternal inheritance. C-. ARVID HAGSTROM