This is John’s research report on Adoniram Judson that he wrote as part of the 6th grade curriculum of A Beka Academy DVD Homeschool, program 1.
Adoniram Judson: Missionary Pioneer
Adoniram Judson is the first famous missionary from the United States to another country. He is also known to be the first major missionary to Burma, a country in south-east Asia.
Judson was born on August 9, 1788, in Malden, Massachusetts. His father, who was a Congregationalist preacher, named his new son after himself. Adoniram had three younger siblings whose names were Mary, Abigail, and Elnathan. Soon he became known to them as the greatest thinker in their family.
After spending his childhood solving puzzles and arithmetic problems, Mr. Judson went to Rhode Island College to study how to make speaches. When he arrived there, he met Jacob Eames, who was a Deist. This man eventually convinced Judson to follow his beliefs. Back home, Judson had a long discussion with his Congregationalist father over religion. This and his mother’s begging soon forced him to leave home.
Even though Judson was originally confident about Deism, he began to have some doubts. One night, he went to a hotel. He found out from the clerk that the only room left was beside a dying man’s room. Adoniram quickly accepted it because he was tired. During most of that night, he listened to the sick person’s moaning. On his way out, he asked the clerk about how the man was doing, and the clerk told him that the person had died. The clerk also told him that the man was Jacob Eames, the Deist from Rhode Island College. Jacob Eames’s uncertainty about death made Judson doubt Deism even more.
Soon after that event, Adoniram was invited to study Christianity at Andover Theological Seminary. He eventually accepted this invitation. At this school, Judson started to understand the Gospel. Finally on December 2, 1808, Adoniram was saved and later decided to become a missionary.
In 1806, several men formed the American Missionary Society. This Congregationalist group helped Judson become a missionary. In return, he helped them by going to England to ask for help with sending missionaries. On the way to England, he was captured by a French ship and put in prison. An American rescued him and, after a few weeks, put him on a ship headed for London. There he told the London Missionary Society about America’s plan to cooperate in sending American missionaries to foreign lands, and they agreed.
At the same time, Judson had started to be in love with Ann Hasseltine. They were married on February 5, 1812. She later became almost as famous as Adoniram himself because of her bravery.
On February 19, 1812, the Judsons and another missionary couple went aboard a ship that was going to India. While Judson was on this ship, he discovered that his Congregationalist beliefs about baptism were wrong and became a Baptist. Because of this change, the Judsons had to leave the American Missionary Society, and they needed the support of a Baptist society, In 1813, the American Baptist Missionary Society was formed to meet Adoniram’s and Ann’s needs.
Once the missionaries arrived in India, they were forced to leave by the government officials. The Judsons escaped aboard the Creole. This ship took them to an island named Mauritius. They preached there for a little while. Soon, though, they decided that the only people that would be able to listen were from England. The Judsons also tried Madras, but India’s government had control over that island. They then had to escape to Rangoon, Burma. This was the place where they finally decided to stay and preach.
It took six long years of work for Adoniram to see his first convert to Christianity. This man’s name was Maung Nau. Another notable Burman convert was Mah Men-lay, who was the first Burman woman to become a Christian.
Judson was imprisoned on June 8, 1824, because the Burmese government thought he was a spy. He was tortured terribly in the prisons. One famous torture he endured was having to be hung upside-down while sleeping. Another trial he faced was having a hungry lion in a cage nearby. Eventually the lion starved and had not eaten anyone. Meanwhile, Ann was trying to free her husband. She eventually was successful, and the government released him.
After Judson was freed from prison, one of his frends gave him a Karen servant named Ko Thah Byu. Adoniram soon learned about the Karens’ traditional legend of a white man bringing a book of truth. Eventually, this servant realized that Judson was this white man and that the Gospel is true. He believed in Jesus Christ. This Karen witnessed, and thousands of his people were saved.
Finally, on April 12, 1850, Judson died because of a lung disease. This happened on a ship in the Sea of Bengal.
Adoniram Judson was a great man who left a legacy of faithfulness. He started two missionary societies. He was also a great example to us and missionaries by being brave for God. This man witnessed to many people.
This was a very interesting report. You made the report easy to understand with your excellent sentence structure. This is very good work. Love, Grandma O’Brien