JENNY MOORE SEYMOUR – Music from Heaven (part 2)

William Seymour’s Marriage to Jenny Moore

On May 13, 1908, Seymour married Jenny Evans Moore, a little over two years after the revival began. It is possible that Seymour sensed that there might be a reaction to his marriage. One of the prevailing ideas in the Holiness movement was that ‘the imminent return of the Lord left no room for marriage.’ In several of The Apostolic Faith newspaper articles, Seymour addressed the issue of marriage, possibly to combat these ideas among the Holiness people. In a sermon titled, “The Sermon Tie,” he wrote that marriage is “honorable in all” and that “the forbidding of marriage is a doctrine of devils.”

Impact on Azusa Street Mission

Secondly, it appears that Clara Lum might have been holding out expectations that Seymour would marry her. There is no way to confirm if this is true; but Lum, who was the secretary for the Azusa Street Mission, was angry when the marriage took place. Clara left Los Angeles and moved to Portland, Oregon, where she joined with minister Florence Crawford.

Later Years

In the declining years of Azusa, the Seymours served together in directing the work, and when William died in 1923, Jenny carried on the work until three years before her death in 1936.

Tale Tuesday 039

Date:   9th May 2023
Title:  JENNY MOORE SEYMOUR – Music from Heaven (part 2)
Source: The Azusa Street Revival
Author: Roberts Liardon