L. Nelson Bell

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Lemuel Nelson Bell Medical missionary to China Born July 30, 1894 Longdale, Virginia, USA Died August 2, 1973 Montreat, North Carolina, USA Spouse Virginia Leftwich Bell

Lemuel Nelson Bell (July 30, 1894-August 2, 1973)^[1] was a medical missionary in China and the father-in-law of famous evangelist Billy Graham. Few people had more influence on Billy Graham than Bell.^[2]

[edit] Life

Bell was born in Longdale, Virginia.^[1] Bell and his wife, Virginia McCue Bell, served as Presbyterian medical missionaries in China from 1916-1941 with the American Southern Presbyterian Mission. They lived on the compound of Love and Mercy Hospital in Qingjiangpu, China in the eastern Chinese province of Northern Jiangsu, 300 miles north of Shanghai. They had four children: Ruth, Rosa, Virginia, and Clayton.

Bell kept a busy schedule as surgical chief and administrative superintendent at the hospital. Although the hospital had a pastor on staff, Bell made the healing of souls a priority in his work, gently explaining the Gospel to his patients.^[3]. He never minimized the importance of addressing the spiritual needs of the people as well as their physical needs.

The Bells returned to the United States before Pearl Harbor in 1941 and retired in Montreat, North Carolina, across the street from their daughter Ruth and Billy Graham.

Bell was the one who suggested to Billy Graham the idea of the periodical that would eventually be named "Christianity Today." He became its executive editor, commuting regularly to Washington from his home in Montreat and writing "A Layman and His Faith," a regular column in the magazine.^[4] Bell received seven awards from the conservative Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania for articles and editorials.^[5] He died in Montreat, North Carolina.^[1]

Part of a series on Protestant missions to China
Robert Morrison
Background Christianity Protestantism Chinese history Missions timeline Christianity in China Nestorian China missions Catholic China missions Jesuit China missions Protestant China missions
People Karl Gützlaff J. Hudson Taylor Lammermuir Party Lottie Moon Timothy Richard Jonathan Goforth Cambridge Seven Eric Liddell Gladys Aylward (more missionaries)
Missionary agencies China Inland Mission London Missionary Society American Board Church Missionary Society US Presbyterian Mission (more agencies)
Impact Chinese Bible Medical missions in China Manchurian revival Chinese Colleges Chinese Hymnody Chinese Roman Type Cantonese Roman Type Anti-Footbinding Anti-Opium
Pivotal events Taiping Rebellion Opium Wars Unequal Treaties Yangzhou riot Tianjin Massacre Boxer Crisis Xinhai Revolution Chinese Civil War WW II People's Republic
Chinese Protestants Liang Fa Keuh Agong Xi Shengmo Sun Yat-sen Feng Yuxiang John Sung Wang Mingdao Allen Yuan Samuel Lamb
Christianity in China Portal
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Bell's biography is entitled, "A Foreign Devil in China: The Story of Dr. L. Nelson Bell," by John Charles Pollock.^[6]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Shavit, David (1990). The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 39. ISBN 031326788X. 
2. ^ The Billy Graham Museum; Wheaton, Illinois
3. ^ Decision Today - Special Commemorative Issue - Ruth Bell Graham, 2007, p.6
4. ^ Graham, B., Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham, 1997, p.288, HarperCollins Worldwide, ISBN 0-06-063387-5
5. ^ Papers of Lemuel Nelson Bell - Collection 318
6. ^ Pollock, John Charles. A Foreign Devil in China: The Story of Dr. L. Nelson Bell. (World Wide Publications, 1989.)