Sam Jones Ryman Auditorium

This is from chapter 12 of Sam Jones' A New Biography regarding the Grand Old Opry and Sam Jones' relationship to Ryman Auditorium. Tom Ryman was also the man responsible for building the famous auditorium in Nashville, which for years held the Grand Old Opry. Here is the history behind the Ryman Auditorium.

He was brought to Christ by the preaching of Mr. Jones, and he became a Christian in dead earnest. He cleaned out the bars on his steamers, tossed his liquors overboard, his saloon was converted into a hall for religious and tempest meetings, and he was Christian, and they were Christian Sam Jones Hall. He also changed the name of one of his largest and finest steamers to the Sam Jones.

In his mission hall, there was held a service every night. Captain Ryman employed mission workers to preach the gospel to the fallen. The mission was located in one of the worst districts of Nashville, and drunkards and gamblers and the fallen assembled night after night to hear the simple story of redeeming love.

He put forth as much effort to save the erring and fallen after his conversion as he did to drag down and debauch and damn them before he found the Savior. Instead of having cords and liquor on the steamers, he made room for the Bible and found time for prayer meetings. The gospel was preached as effectively by example and precept on the steamers, day by day, as in the mission hall by night.

The great building known as the Jones-Ryman Auditorium, which is considered the finest and handsomest auditorium in the South, was built by the inspiration of Mr. Jones and the financial aid of Mr. Ryman. Sam Jones would comment in his future meetings, there has been no more wonderful convert to God in the 19th century than Tom Ryman of Nashville, but one of the most incredible stories of Tom Ryman is related by Sam Jones in his famous sermon entitled, Sudden Death. When I was preaching in the most memorable meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, 10 years ago, the most marvelous and grace I ever looked upon in my life.

I believe more men were converted and more people joined the church from that memorable meeting than any work of grace almost in this 19th century. It was marvelous to behold at that meeting that grand man, Captain Tom Ryman of Nashville, Tennessee, than whom there has been no grander convert to Christianity in this 19th century. He came to the meeting as others did.

He came up to the altar, knelt down like a little child, and gave his heart to God. The day after his conversion, he walked up to me and said, Brother Jones, I want you to go to my home. I said, Captain, I can't go before Friday.

Well, he said, I'll be glad to have you then. I want my wife and children to see you who have won me to God. And will you give me that pledge? I said, Yes, Captain, on Friday after the preaching.

On that morning, I went with him over to his home. And when we walked into his elegant home in Nashville, he carried me into the parlor. And there were 13 guests, his friends gathered in the parlor.

He invited them there on that occasion. And he introduced me to them one at a time. We sat down a few moments, and his noble wife came to the door and said, Gentlemen, dinner is ready.

And we walked across the hall into his dining room and sat down at the long table. He put me at the head of the table and said, I want you to occupy that place, the post of honor. Sir, take this place here.

And he put his friends to my right and left of the four men that sat next to me. Two of them steamboat captains were immediately to my left. The one to my right was the mayor of the city.

And the one immediately by his side was another one of his steamboat captains, for Captain Ryman owned several boats flying up and down the Cumberland River. Just as we crossed the hall going into the dining room, he had said, I have invited my friends to meet you. And whenever a question arises, you can put in some word and you can press the question of surrender to God upon my friends.

As we eat, you might not have another chance to do personal work with them. And I sat there at the table. And as we ate, I pressed the great question of eternity upon those men, and especially the four who sat next to me.

Now, listen, not one of those four men was ever, as I knew, moved at all in that meeting. Now results. I don't think it was three months after I left that town till Captain Ryman wrote me.

Brother Jones, the steamboat captain who said immediately to your left, fell over on his boat the other day and was dead when his friends got to him. It wasn't many weeks till he wrote me again. Another one of our steamboat captains came up the river, came into his home and died suddenly.

And his wife and children gathered about him, but he was gone. And he said, Oh, what a fearful fact that those men wouldn't come to God in that meeting. It wasn't many weeks till I saw where the mayor of the city of Nashville was up in Wisconsin, out hunting, and his friend's gun went off accidentally and put a great load of shot into his head, and he fell forward and spoke not another word.

It wasn't long after that, till Captain Ryman wrote me. Brother Jones, the steamboat captain who sat next to the mayor at the table, has been swept suddenly and awfully into eternity. And those four men, whether they were prepared or not, I'm not here to say, but those four men who sat next to me at the table, all went suddenly into the presence of God.

And these are just instances that have occurred all along the line. Oh, my countrymen, I say that this man, who talks to you tonight, has pressed the gospel with its weight and power upon hundreds of men who have died suddenly and awfully after the gospel has died out in their ears. Those four untimely deaths of Tom Ryman's close friends would leave an impression upon the evangelist to preach Christ with even more urgency to a world of perishing souls.

Well, this has been an excerpt from chapter 12 of my new biography on Sam Jones entitled Sam Jones, A New Biography. You can get your copy at amazon.com.