Review: Uldine Utley

Uldine Utley: Why I am a Preacher, compiled by T. J. Lavigne. Kissimmee, FL: Cloud of Witnesses Publishing Co., 2006.

Ted Lavigne has developed a passion for discovering and researching child evangelists and their unique role in presenting the gospel. To my knowledge, this topic of child evangelists has never been discussed in a book or dissertation. This makes his research all the more important. It is significant that just as child preachers of yesteryear filled a vital role in communicating the gospel, there are still child evangelists today in the U.S. and abroad. You will be blessed by reading some of their stories.

In this volume, which is the opening text in a child and teen preacher series, he focuses on the life of a well-known girl evangelist, Uldine Utley. She preached in Madison Square Garden in 1926 at the age of 14 and ministered other places across the U.S. She was also featured in American Magazine, the Boston Sunday Post, the New York Times and many other publications.

Lavigne includes a timeline of significant events concerning her ministry, rare photographs, an extensive bibliography, and interesting bits of information about Utley and her family that previously were unpublished. This book includes excerpts from Uldine Utley’s book, Why I am a Preacher: A Plain Answer to an Oft-repeated Question (1931), and from her Petals from the Rose of Sharon newsletters, with related information about some key evangelists connected with her ministry.

The serious reader of church history will be delighted and inspired by the testimony of this girl evangelist and will look forward to additional volumes in this series.

Reviewed by Glenn Gohr

Paperback, 149 pages (8.5×11 in.), illustrated. $29.95, plus $6.00 shipping.

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Roberta Semple Salter (1910-2007), Sister Aimee’s daughter, with the Lord

Roberta Star Semple Salter was born in Hong Kong on September 17, 1910, the daughter of Rev. Robert James Semple and Aimee Semple McPherson. Her father passed away with malaria shortly before her birth, and her mother, who later became the founder of Angelus Temple and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, returned to the United States, marrying Harold S. McPherson in 1912 and then David L. Hutton in 1931. At the tender age of 12, Roberta and her younger brother, Rolf McPherson, were preaching in the Children’s Church at Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she continued to preach during her teenage years. Roberta married Harry Salter, who became an orchestra conductor for radio and television programs, and they made their home in Manhattan, New York. She passed away January 25, 2007 at the age of 96 and is survived by her brother, Dr. Rolf McPherson of Los Angeles, her daughter, Victoria Salter, two granddaughters, and three great-grandchildren. A private service was held. Donations may be sent to the Goddard Riverside Community Center in New York City.

An obituary appeared in the New York Times, January 28, 2007, Late Edition, p. 23, and in the Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2007, Home Edition, p. B-12.

See also “Roberta Semple Salter–In the presence of the Lord” from Foursquare News Service.

Posted by Glenn Gohr