A statue immortalizing the late Rev. Billy Graham was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with members of Graham's family, including his son Franklin Graham, in attendance.
Johnson and Franklin Graham talked to Newsmax in an exclusive interview with "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" and they both said it was the first time they saw the 7-foot-tall bronze sculpture. The statue is one of two that North Carolina and each state gets to place on display inside National Statuary Hall or elsewhere in the Capitol to honor their historical figures.
Franklin Graham said he appreciated that the statue depicts his father gesturing while holding an open Bible.
"I like the fact that he's holding the word of God in his hand," said Franklin Graham, who leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse. "And my father always took the Bible to the pulpit with him. Even though he may have had the passage typed out in front of him in his notes, he still held the Bible because he wanted that to remind people of the authority of the scripture.
"Everything that my father said, everything that he believed, it came from the Bible and the word of God. And so, he believed it from cover to cover, as I do, and as our family does, but he would hold the Bible. So here he is, now in Statutory Hall, holding the word of God in his hand."
Johnson, a deeply religious person, said he was nervous about speaking at the dedication ceremony.
"I really was, and we've even done some other unveiling of statues at Statuary Hall and other things that I don't typically get nerves about speaking," Johnson said. "But today I did because it's Billy Graham and right before we walked in, they handed me his study Bible with his notes in it.
"I mean, my hands were shaking. I'm like, this is a priceless artifact here, but it says 'Bible.' So I had a few moments at my desk in the speaker's office and just flipped through to see some of the notes he had written on some of my favorite passages of Scripture. Just a surreal thing," Johnson continued.
"I tell you what. The ceremony, as I'm sure people will see if they didn't watch it live, was just so fitting for him. The people that spoke, everybody had a heartfelt, just a real genuine emotion about what he meant to them and what he meant to our nation, and I just thought it was very well done."
Billy Graham, who died at age 99 in 2018, was the most widely heard Christian evangelist, preaching in person to nearly 215 million people worldwide, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He knew every U.S. president since Harry Truman and influenced the political and spiritual realms as a minister.
At the dedication ceremony, Johnson read a passage from Galatians 6:14 from Billy Graham's study bible: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
It happens to be where the Bible on the statue is opened to and, unbeknownst to Johnson, happened to be the last planned sermon Billy Graham was going to preach, according to Franklin Graham.
Franklin Graham said his father wanted "Preacher of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" on his tombstone, and he said he was pleased to see those words on the back of the sculpture.
"That's who he is," Franklin Graham said, "a preacher of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE -- See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.