[applause] [applause] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, would you please remain standing if you would while we introduce our distinguished guests to the podium in order of the seating. And let me ask you to please hold your applause until all have been introduced. First, mr. George beverly. Second, mr. Cliff barrows. Next mr. Franklin graham. Former president s of the United States, the honorable george h. W. Bush, the honorable bill clinton, the honorable jimmy carter and finally, special welcome to the man that we are here to honor today, the reverend billy graham. [cheers and applause] good afternoon, everyone and welcome today to this historic event. From the book of psalms, the scripture says this is the lord doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Give thanks unto the lord for he is good. Lord, his mercy is everlasting. Mr. President s, governor, mr. Mayor, platform guests, members of our board of directors, and ladies and gentlemen, from all across the nation and overseas, we do welcome you and you as well that are joining us by media through the radio and television not only here in charlotte but across the country. This is a very significant day in the life of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. And in a few moments were going to present Bishop George battle of the ame, pastor of the ame zion church, then special words from mr. Graeme keith. The first of all we want to say a special thanks to you on behalf of dr. Graham and mrs. Ruth graham, would love to be here today, and she is by her prayers, her love and her conviction and encouragement of her husband and the family. And ruth, if youre listening, we want you to know that we here in this big ten and the thousands that gathered sent to you are heartiest greetings cant and we thank you for all that you have met for this ministry and were it not for you, we wouldnt be here today. So lets tell her how glad we are. [applause] we want to express our thanks to the band and to our good friend, the man with the guitar. [laughing] i know we will. Give me his name. [laughing] and our good friend and love brother john who is been mr. Grams musician for 40 years. We worked together, all of us have, for many years and we appreciated the Prelude Music and will be hearing more from them later. Its my privilege to present to you now mr. George battle whos going to lead us in prayer, after which mr. Graeme keith and one of charlottes prominent businessmen and the developer of this Campus Property of the Billy Graham Association, he along with the Building Committee, the chairman of which is mr. Bill paul was a member of our board as is mr. Keith mr. Keith is also an executive committee. He and melodrama have had the responsibility mel graham responsibly of making these beautiful facilities in every way possible, and we appreciate it. One of the miracles is that it is done on time and on budget, and we do thank him for that. So we will be hearing from them first. Lets listen to our dear brother as he prays with us and for us. Bishop george battle and then mr. Graeme keith with the program he will move right along. Bishop battle. You all better sit down because ive got a long prayer. [laughing] i had one written but im not going to do that. Im going to speak from my heart. Let us pray. Eternal god, we thank you for this auspicious occasion. We thank you for the legacy of a man who has come full circle. You taught us that you can be a farmer, and you can call him to preach, and preaching can make him a man of world renown. Who has touched so many lives, not for himself, but for our king and our coming king, jesus the christ. We thank you for his commitment, his legacy, his faith. For it was in los angeles when he ran that tent revival with his friends that started. Isnt it amazing that we are here today in front of the barn where he used to milk cows, under the tent where he preached a sol stern revival for weeks and months, that we come full circle to say thank you, jesus, for the life of billy graham. For billy graham, he would tell us its not about him, but its about you. But we know that you have no hands but our hands. You have no feet our feet, no eyes but our eyes. And certainly dr. Graham has been all of those things for all of us. We thank you for Wheaton College that gave him his wife. We thank you for her love and her tenacity in pushing him on, and wearing this rearing this wonderful family in spite of franklin. [laughing] we thank you for all of the family and all of the friends that are here. We thank you for his special friend, graeme keith, and others who are here to celebrate this day. May billy grams legacy live and make any person that walks through that library, may they know what we feel in our heart, that jesus christ blood that was shed on calvary was not done for just a few that was done for all. And we thank you for billy graham not only preaching to the rich and famous and the mighty, but he preached to the poor and to the underprivileged. And we thank you for that. So now today we, on holy ground to witness and to be part of this historical celebration where three president s, and none of them are running for anything, here today, not because of us and not because of anything that we have done but because of the life and the work of dr. Graham. To you o lord, we give you the glory and we give you the honor, and we say thank you. Thank you, thank you. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much, bishop battle. And good afternoon to all of you. This is truly a great day for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, for charlotte, and for the entire state of North Carolina. And id like to take just a moment to recognize several special guests that we have with us today. First, please join me in welcoming the former first lady of the United States, ms. Barbara bush. [applause] id also like to recognize the board of directors of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and those that are with us today, please stand and be recognize briefly, would you . [applause] as most of you know, several years ago the board made the decision to relocate their Corporate Headquarters from minneapolis to charlotte. After that decision it literally took a series of miracles to acquire this land, which incidentally was already under contract with a ten year option. And then some of the other approvals that were necessary in order to construct all the buildings on this property. And i can assure you that god was our partner in this venture, or it would never have happened. In fact, he became so involved on one occasion, my wife had to remind me of a favorite quote of ours, which says attempt something so impossible that unless the lord intervenes it will surely fail fortunately, he intervened and we have been successful. After occupying the Headquarters Building in december of 2004, the board decided that it would be appropriate to build a a new facility on this property, one that could how some of doctor grahams memorabilia as well as a series of exhibits that would tell the story of how god took a young man off of a dairy farm in charlotte, North Carolina, and made him the most famous evangelists thats ever lived. The new library will not, however, be a memorial to billy graham. He would not allow that, nor will it be a museum. The building that you see behind us today will be a ministry. It will be a living crusade that we believe will touch and change the lives of thousands of people in the years ahead as they visit this facility. We are grateful to all of you for being here with us today for this dedication ceremony. Many of you have made donations to this library, for which we are very grateful. In fact, people all over the United States have been very generous. However, we have not quite finished the final goal as yet, but we know that god will provide the funds in the future to complete this building and also establish an endowment to support the operations of the building, because we do not ever intend to charge anyone to go through this facility. The building is unique and its special, and i hope all of you will enjoy your tour either later today or possibly early next week. Im now to a fissionable commute to our city, its my pleasure to present to you the mayor of the city of charlotte, the honorable pat mccrory. [applause] welcome to this beautiful sanctuary here to celebrate one mans journey of faith and spreading the gospel. As mayor of the city of charlotte im proud to say that billy graham is indeed the favorite son of charlotte, North Carolina. He grew up in this house just four miles from where we stand today off of park road. However, he never strayed far from his roots as the son of a charlotte dairy farmer, even as he went on to preach to more than 210 Million People across this country and across this world. Not only has he been friend to president s and kings and queens, but to the downtrodden and also to the everyday citizen, including right here in charlotte. Now, my First Encounter with reverend graham was in 1996 when he brought thousands upon thousands of people to bank of america football stadium. And i learned a lesson from him of humility and modesty, which i think is his greatest strength. As reverend graham and myself and a former governor wrote out on a golf cart to the football stadium onto the field, thousands of people cheered and the lights and cameras went on. The two politicians, including myself, were waiting. Reverend graham, you whisper to me and said, im embarrassed. This isnt about me. This is about the message. And thats the strength of reverend graham come his modesty, is not being selfrighteous, and we are proud of that here in charlotte, North Carolina. The last thing i want to say is of this, is that when we did the wonderful dedication and groundbreaking a month ago, or a year ago, i was in a back room before we came up to the stage and i was with the entire graham family around a table and everyone was calling themselves cousin and uncle and aunt. And i felt rather left out. And i said can you call me something . Instead of mayor. And franklin with, you are now officially a cousin. [laughing] so cousin franklin, uncle billy [laughing] my new cousins from arkansas in georgia and texas [laughing] we are all part of god family, and one reason is because of this man behind us, and the way he conveyed this message. May god bless each one of you, and may god bless billy graham. [applause] thank you, mr. May. Now to the extent an official welcome to the state of North Carolina, we are delighted to have with us the number one elected official of our state, ladies and gentlemen, the governor of the state of North Carolina, the honorable mike easley. [applause] thank you, for all your hard work and your kind introduction. Good afternoon to all of you and welcome, mr. President , mr. President , and mr. President. I always wanted to say that. How many governors get to say that three times . There are three president s and to grant your steaks i will not take a whole lot of time. I want to thank all of you who are here today, welcome to 1500 people who have, from all across the United States and other nations to be a today to participate in the celebration. I remember when we broke ground here in 2002 and today shows what a vision with hard work and faith can accomplish in a short time. So on behalf of all who have worked so hard on this historic site, let me say thank you for your hard work. Billy graham has preached to over 210 Million People in 185 countries on six different continents. He can call a lot of places home, but weve got him paying taxes in North Carolina. [laughing] and were so excited, so excited that he chose this site as the location for this great historic library. His former childhood farm, a dairy farm under carolina blue sky, is now going to be one of the most Historic Sites of the world. Hes gone from the silo to chasing the halo, and i say he just about got it. Millions have witnessed his sermons and preachings in person, through television, through radio, and now with this library and the technology that comes with it right down to the talking cow, everybody in the world will get to know billy graham and his message the way that we do. Hes a man who has advised president s, international leaders, and just the least of our brethren. With different backgrounds and nationalities and brought together people of different faiths from all over the world. So when we visit this library, when we walk through those double doors and under that great cross that you see behind me, let us all stop and think for a minute and be reminded of such things as honor, integrity, decency, and character, and be inspired with energy and not with courage to carry on his message of kindness, gentleness, goodness and compassion. For that is the true purpose of this site. Now, we in North Carolina recognize that with this great honor comes a great responsibility for this library, also serves as a symbol of milligrams heart. Both belong billy graham is hard. Both belong in North Carolina and both will be taken care of for ever. Thank you all for what you have done. Thank you, reverend billy graham for all that you have done and continue to do. We look forward to calling Billy Grahams library home in North Carolina. Thank you. [applause] thank you emma governor easley. We are fortunate to have with us today a longtime friend of the graham family who has sung at many billy graham crusades and Franklin Graham festivals all over the world. Hes a 12 time grammy award winner. Ladies and gentlemen, lets please welcome nashville recording star ricky skaggs. [applause] i wanted to be here today for this historic event and i just want to thank dr. Graham for being the man of god that he is. This is not about what one man has done for jesus christ. This is what jesus christ has done for one man. We are not called to be famous. We are called to be faithful. I just want to thank billy graham for being an example of a man that is, that is given holy, has given his holy self to a holy god, and this is what can happen. We can change lives. When we give ourselves holy to the lord. Theres a little change in the plant song today. This is called we all bow down. Brian did want to go in and change the program so there you go. We can start that. You know, jesus asked maddie, john, in the book of revelation when he saw jesus, he fell [inaudible] princes and poppers, sons and daughters have the throne of grace losers and winners, saints and sinners one day will see his face and we all bowed down kings will surrender their crown and worship jesus for he is the love, unfailing love, he is the love of god summer and winter, mountains and their rivers whisper the saviors name awesome and holy, a friend to the lonely forever his love will rain and we all bow down kings will surrender their crown and worship jesus, for he is the love, unfailing love, he is the love of god hes the light of the world and lord of the cross and we all bow down they kings will surrender their crowns and worship jesus worship jesus worship jesus for he is the love, unfailing love, he is the love of god a yes, you are, lord. [applause] thank you very much, ricky. Its now my pleasure to present to you the man who initiated the idea of relocating the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association headquarters to charlotte. It was also his vision to bring his Fathers Ministry back home. He convinced his father and the board of directors that this library would be a continuation of Billy Grahams ministry for many years in the future. Ladies and gentlemen, the president and chief executive officer of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Franklin Graham. [applause] mr. President s, daddy, mrs. Bush, governor, cousin mayor, the board of directors, to my family and friends, i want to thank you for coming today. I want a special thanks to the donors, the people that have backed this organization financially, that have also paid for the completion of this library, and we are very grateful and thankful to you, and thank god for your generosity. The library as we were looking at the library, the concern that my father had, i i had, as wels the board of directors, that this debt be a monument to billy graham. He goes at this is going to be monument to billy graham my father wanted nothing to do with it. As a matteroffact when we go to the library he says it has too much billy graham in it. I think he said his name was mentioned one time he would say there was too much billy graham. This library is not about billy graham but about a message that billy graham has preached the last six years and that is the message of the cross. And if you look at the library, what you see is a prospect my fathers name is not on the building. But the cross and only way that you can come into the library is to the foot of the cross. And as you go to the library over and over again its the message of the cross. Of gods love for us that he sent his one and only son, the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth to take our sins and to die on a cross to shed his blood, to be buried, but on the third day god raised him to life. Jesus christ is not on the cross. Cross. Hes not dead in the great, and he is alive. And he will come into each and every heart if we confess our sins and repent, and by faith receive jesus christ as lord and savior. And the message of this library is gods love for us. Jesus christ, whom he gave, gs son, for this world. And so its a privilege to be a part of this today. Either very special thanks not only to the board of directors but to the Building Committee that was headed by mr. Bill pauls. Bill falls is a land developer out of colorado who spent hundreds of hours giving direction on this project. We certainly could not have built our headquarters or could we had this Library Without his help and that of the Building Committee of the board of directors. Many people that we want to thank today, but most of all the want to thank my father, my mother who is not with us today who is not in good health. And all of us in the family are praying for her and very concern for her and love her very much. And were grateful for the heritage and for the example that our parents have set. Many people have asked me the last few days, what is a like being the son billy graham . Well, i dont know because i dont have another father to compare him to, but one thing ive appreciated about my father, that billy graham that the world has seen, publicly, is that billy graham that weve seen at home. There is not to people. This is about a man who took gods gospel and he took it to the ends of the earth and this library is about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is my prayer that every person who comes to that door will hear and understand that jesus christ died for their sins. I want every person who comes to the library to know that god can change a light, he can forgive them and cleanse them and set them free of their guilt and shame it they are willing to bow their knee and surrender their life to jesus christ. He will come into their hearts into the life and he will change them, cleanse them, and they can leave this library forgiven knowing that theyre on their way to heaven. But this is what this library is about. Its a tool for ministry for years to come. Its a tool for evangelism, and long after my father and mother are in heaven, people are going to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ because of the message they hear inside those doors. Thank you for being here. God bless you. [applause] its well known throughout dr. Grahams years evangelism his wisdom and counsel has been sought, appreciate by many of the United States president s. Starting even back with president harry truman. We are honored to have three of those president s with us today. It gives me great pleasure to present to you the 39th president of the United States, the honorable jimmy carter. [applause] thank you very much. First of all i want to say how delighted i am and how honored i am to be a part of this celebration in recognition of a man who is transformed the world in many ways. I want to point out that my wife was planning to come into last night to be with me, but her dearest friend and the motherinlaw of my oldest son and a grandmother of my grandchildren died last night, and roslyn had to be with family but shes here as is ruth in spirit. I want to point out just a few things. I just came yesterday from south africa, and billy and franklin, i bring personal greetings from Bishop Desmond tutu and from president Nelson Mandela to billy graham and everything thats going on here which is a good indication of the Billy Grahams message has permeated the whole world. Now i want to go back just a few minutes, 40 years, the first, became associate with billy graham in absence you. He was absent. I was not absent. I was in georgia, anyone who knows anything about georgia would recognize Sumter County as the headquarters of americas which had the strongest John Birch Society in the south, and which was almost 100 100 memp in those days among white men and White Citizens Council in which andy young and Martin Luther king, jr. Said it was the worst place in the United States to be put in jail. Well, billy graham called and asked if i would come somebody call for them and asked if i would lead a billy graham crusade. And i said yes, i will if billy graham comes. They said hes not coming but he will send a Motion Picture and you want you to put together. I said okay, ill do it. He said the first thing you have to realize is all over the world the billy graham crusades are absolutely and totally racially integrated. I agreed still somewhat but reluctantly but i agreed and then we try tried to find a ple for us to have a biracial planning meeting. We took a seat in the theater then, two hours each night. Showed that film. At the end of which i gave a short presentation about the gospel message and during that, saw completely integrated ceremony. 615 people accepted the call to accept jesus christ. And [applause] this event sponsored by and orchestrated by billy graham was a major breakthrough in severing the distinctive separation about africanamerican and white citizens and integrated to a major degree our county because whenever anyone went forward in the theater, black or white, they were embraced by the leaders of the segregation groups as Christian Brothers andsisters. So that was the first acquaintance i had. The first time i met him was when i became governor later on and invited him to come down and lead a Prayer Breakfast. He came and i was very delighted. We had to turn away a crowd as you can well imagine and next time i saw billy graham was when he was invited by governor to go to the white house for the Prayer Breakfast sponsored by president nixon. That was a special deal for me not only to see billy graham but it was the first time i ever met a president , richard nixon. By the way, you would have a hard time guessing the first emigrant president i ever met. Bill clinton. I never met a democratic president until i left office and bill clinton was inaugurated. Well, billy graham, when i was president performed another service of a combined secular and religious way. He was the first evangelist of any stature that penetrated the iron curtain. He went to hungary and 1977 and he preached to the cia told me hundreds of thousands of people who came forward to hear his message. The Bulgarian Government said maybe 1000 showed up and later he did another thing that was profoundly significant. He met with Pope John Paul ii and both of these things were criticized by many christians. As going to the communists and going to the x but that was a better thing that billy graham did. In 1994, i decided to go to north korea and it was very difficult to obtain any accurate or responsible information from the cia or the state department. So i had a conversation with ruth and billy who had just before that on to visit themselves. Ruth received her High School Education in pyongyang in north korea and that was a wonderful occasion for me to see that even kim il sung, a communist dictator who i despised ever since i served in the pacific on a submarine during the korean war had a great affinity not only for billy graham but he stressed several times his appreciation for christians, who he said save his life when he was in prison by the japanese. Well, ill conclude by giving a report on one interview i had with i hesitate to say foster television, theyve only invited me once to be on fox television. [laughter] and it was a special program about billy graham. And the question was who has been most influential in your Spiritual Life . And my response and im reading it, billy graham. He was constantly broadminded, forgiving, humble in his treatment of others. He has reached out equally for opportunities to serve god to all people, black or white, american or foreign. Man or woman. Well, my testimony today is that im just one of tens of millions of people whose spiritual lives have been shaped by billy graham. [applause] thank you very much mister president. Ladies and gentlemen, its now my honor to present to you the 42nd president of the United States, the honorable bill clinton. [applause] thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, distinguished platform guests. Mister bush, mrs. Graham. We are thinking about you. Billy, i am very honored to be here. Grateful to have been asked. It today i wouldnt have missed for the world. I was listening to jimmy carter talk, thinking you know, they put the odd couple together. They used to say bush and i were the odd couple but here, we may be the odd couple. Two Southern Baptist democrats. [laughter] who were both profoundly influenced by billy graham. Billy graham has known me since 1985, but i have known him for nearly 50 years. I am here because of the public billy graham and the private billy graham. Im here because beginning in 1989, i have seen firsthand his kindness. When he preached the crusade in little rock then, a pastor who had known was dying was cancer and only had a couple months to live, all he had to do, billy graham let me take him to home which then laid weighed less than 90 pounds. And i listened to them talk about life and afterlife. It was a conversation that will stay with me until the day i die. They didnt have to do that. No one would have known if he hadnt. Not a single soul thought a bit less of him. He did it because of who he is. When i was in the white house on many occasions, billy would come by to visit with hillary or me or call and just write a letter when some foreign crisis or something was going on and always was incredibly kind. In the scripture, jesus tells us that the most important commandment is to love god with all our heart. The second is like unto it to love your neighbor as yourself. I have seen him do that in private when no one was looking. Every president truth be told is mostly grateful to him because of that personal kindness. When he prays with you, in the oval office or upstairs at the white house, you feel that hes praying for you, not the president. But i want to Say Something about the public billy graham , to echo something president carter said. Almost 50 years ago and i have been a christian for about three years, my sunday School Teacher took me to little rock to hear billy graham crusade. The schools were closed because of little rock several high schools and i had exactly the same experience jimmy carter did. The White Citizens Council tried to convince, even to pressure billy graham and all his people to preach to a segregated audience. Get this, at war memorial stadium. And he told them if they insisted on that he would cancel the crusade and tell the whole world wide. And they folded like dicks happen. And ill never forget, here we were. Neighbor, on the verge of violence and yet tens of thousand christians were there together and when he works i will never forget. Fastforward, 1971, i was pursuing my wife, i was in california and i took her to a billy graham crusade. One of the best dates we ever had. Fastforward 34 years later, billy graham came to new york. Two queens. For the last crusade in queens. And then we had a whole different divers in there. There musthave been people from 100 or more countries there. In this world today, most of the people getting killed who are totally innocent are being killed by politicians, often parading as religious people claiming that our common humanity is a fiction and all that matters is our differences. To have a man whose public mastery has reached hundreds of millions, simply because he believed god had called him to use his massive talents to show that he loves his neighbor as his savior told him. Its a great gift. Every life billy graham ever touched including people who never became president , never spoke at a crusade is better because he was a good and faithful servant of the two most importantcommandments. [applause] thank you president clinton. Im delighted to have with us this afternoon the world renowned vocal artist who has performed before a number of american president s including all three of thosewith us today , the founding president of the United States dream academy, this academy is for mentoring and academic tutoring of children of prisoners all over the United States. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome bentley tips. [applause] [music] i often say when im forced to remember how its a steppingstone. Along the trail that winding always upward, this troubled world is not my kind of role but im still there, my heart will go on always. Until then, with joy ill carry on. Until the day my eyes behold the vested gates. Until the day he calls me home. The things of this world will then lose their value as we recall are borrowed for a while and things of earth will cause the heart to tremble, remember their will only bring a smile. With in all the world with all its toil and struggle will take its toll of misery and strife. There is a man waiting always where it steps in for the sky, but until then, my heart will go on singing. Until then, with joy lets carry on until then until that day, our eyes behold king jesus, until the day god calls me home. Until the day god calls me home. God calls me home. [applause] thank you wesley. My father in looking at the service for today asked especially if the dictatorial address could be presented by a close friend. And its a privilege to be able to introduce to you the father, our president. The former president George Herbert walker bush,thank you for coming, sir. [applause] thank you all. Richard. Please be seated. We are very grateful for graham, from whom we received this wonderful tourto this library and you are all in a real treat. Just feel the strength and passion of billy graham in every room in the place. I want to acknowledge my members of the club, president clinton, president carter. How quickly clinton dumped me for carter, you notice that . [laughter] we traveled all over the world, come to charlotte and he dumps me. I dont understand. [laughter] id like to salute [applause] id like to salute the mayor and the governor, seeing the majesty of their wonderful offices to this event, we go back with him a long time, rich battle, a vote of thanks for all youve done for this magnificent project and of course ricky skaggs. He and i have been friends for many many years. To see him here meant a great deal to me and i know to bbq. That was fantastic singing you just put us through here. Very emotional, see all the tears out there . Well done. And all you billy graham admirers out there, we are thrilled to be with you here today. We gathered to celebrate the life and the accomplishments of a man who i do believe is americas plaster. A man whos been a constant gradient of life, the light of truth, in a world often clothing dark darkness, crowded and deceived. And on a personal note, a man who has comforted for generations of my family. For each life we trust our loving god has a divine plan. So looking back, its no coincidence that he left it up for a fresh faced preacher and set this song tomorrow and the frank graham on a path to greatness when he did. At the time of billys rise you may recall the clouds of fascism had gathered in europe and were on the horizon to our east and the storm theyunleashed would threaten the existence of free and open societies and after a Great Coalition of free people , who poured forth but a lot oftheir sons to defeat this machinery of death , he faced another threat. The rising tide of tyranny. The soviet union. In both conflicts, during both the bloodletting of the world war and the sustained treachery of the cold war, freedoms victory was far from foreordained. It would require vigilance in the face of laxity, courage in the face of appeasement, oral clarity in the face of relativism and above all, in the face of despair. Some might listen to this and suggest the matters of state to which i am referring should be considered separately from those affairs of the church in which this good man billy graham has dedicated his life. I dont agree with that, i could not disagree more. I say this because the moral awakening that billy helps to ignite starting here in america then spread like a wildfire across the country and ultimately as you will see inside around the entire world but also it was the same spark that you united hope and kept itsembers burning in faraway places, behind an iron curtain. Just as it was a coalition of free nations that sit together in the face of this geopolitical threat, so to was there a brotherhood of great spiritual leaders including our honoree and john paul ii, hope whos unaffected charisma and purity of purpose played a decisive role in resolving the moral crisis of our time. No question these men together with other messengers who carry forth the word helped tip the balance in the cold war in freedom. And as much as billy has and continues to impact our nation and see the world, let me briefly note hes also had a profound impact, i know he had on your family and certainly has had a profound impact on mine in a personal way. My dear mother, towards the end of her life said one of the most glorious experiences of her lifetime was the day billy graham walked over to her college, her cottage in the summer and talk and read from the bible and talked to her about the bible. As for barbara and me, weve been blessed to visit with billy on many special occasions through the years, but the night he spent with us at the white house as desert storm was being launched stand out above the others. Like any president , i felt the decision to commit american troops into harms way which is a decision that only a president can make was also the hardest decision that i have to make when i was president and to be sure, i never even for a second out of the moral clarity of our mission that january night in 1991, but as someone who had lived through war and had seendeath up close , i was naturally concerned for the life of every man and woman wearing our uniform. And just as president lincoln had observed, i found myself driven to my knees in prayer and heres what he said, by the conviction that i had nowhere else to turn. And on a final personal note, as many here know, billy guided our kids and our daughter dora and the president through their own spiritual journey and billy is a very proud father in your own right who can understand that great family pride that is in my heart and in barbaras as we watch our son serving this nation with honor. It is with the same [applause] is with the same family pride that i tell you the family love that we feel, the bushes feel for you and ruth extends all the way into theoval office. I know how the president feels about you. Every president is different and as an upper civilian or what my friend bill clinton calls a member of the chosen frozen , he did. He did it in public. Ive always viewed my faith as a personal matter, and intensely personal matter. And thats just the way im wired, thats just me. Theres nothing conscious however about my relationship that he describes in Bank Stability ive come to understand this all important relationship in deeper and more meaningful ways. Anyone who has attended the billy graham crusade, and ive been privileged to witness some and even invited to participate, with trepidation i go up on the stage and say a few words and see this huge audienceout there waiting to hear from this man and there they shoved me onto the stage in florida someplace and it was a terrible trauma. [laughter] but ive been privileged to witness and see the christlike way that he invites persons of every faith to come together in prayer so we are gathered here today because billy graham , a man, preacher, the humble farmers son who helped change the world is a spiritual gift to all of us. [applause] is a blessing and today we not only celebrate his lifes inspiring work in carrying the gospel to billions around the world, we also give thanks to a loving god for the example that ruth and he had set with their singular lives so thank you billy forinviting barbara and me to be with you. Lynn, thank you for following up so warmly with us to be a part of this very special day. Good luck to you all and god bless ellie and ursula. [applause] thank you president bush. Were so grateful to you for being here with us on this historic occasion. All of us in charlotte and the entire graham family appreciates all three of you for participating in the significant event. Thank you again. [applause] now id like to call on two of doctor grahams closest friends. They have been a part of his ministry for 60 years. At this time i like to extend click barris andGeorge Beverly ship. [applause] it was 60 years ago, you may be seated, thank you. 60 years ago in november when we first came to charlotte and it was the first time our team, we had just five members at that time met together for the meeting. There was Mister Graham, yourself , my late wife billy and myself, and beloved colleague grady wilson. And three of them remain. At about and phil and me. And we all had canes we used. I met Mister Graham, i was in the Radio Station in chicago in the morning. He came in to say hello. He was 21 and i was 31 and theres still that same age difference. When he asked you to join us, what did you say . I said the only gospel ive ever heard of was seeing a little bit and talk a while. When i have to do that . He talked to me and said i hope not. I said id want to come with you, its been a long journey and its wonderful. I want to thank you and my beloved colleague Mister Graham for the privilege of traveling this journey with you. And what a privilege it has been for me and beth is going to sing with you the most requested him in the world today. He introduced it to america and the world in 1957 in Madison Square garden, you remember that . Yes indeed. How many times did you sing it . We were there three months. For months. Somebody said 99 times, somebody said 103. All right, its the great in, how great thou art and were going to ask the congregation to be the choir. You do the verses and lets all stand together. Here we go. [music] how great thou art. How great thou art. Then sings my soul, my savior god to be. How great thou art. How great thou art. Oh lord my god when i in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Via power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my saviorgod to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Then sings my soul my savior god to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. When christ shall come without permission and take me home, but joy shall fill my heart. And i shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim my god, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my savior god to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. Then sings my soul, my savior god to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art. [applause] i do. He is 98 years young, try that when you are 98. Thank you uncle cliff and uncle beth. I hope im in half the shape that uncle beth is and im afraid ill never make it anywhere close to 98. But its an honor for me as a son to be able to introduce my father, but how do you introduce someone like billy graham . A man that we love, a family we admire and im just very grateful to god that hes our father so on behalf of the graham family, id like to present to you my father, billy graham. [applause] i feel like ive been attending my own funeral. [laughter] to see all these speeches. And i know they all meant it. But i feel terribly small and humbled by it all. I feel i dont deserve it because its been a whole team of people that have worked together, prayed together, believed in god that was going to do wonderful things together. Ive been here to this library once before and im overwhelmed, its too much billy graham. You know, my whole life has been to please the lordand honor jesus. Not to see me. Or to think of me, youve already heard that theyve been a major part of our ministry and work. From meet the press and the media. I think of all the people that have worked and prayed through the years and i want to thank them all. And i want to thank my family who are here today, that i think all mychildren are here somewhere. We have 19 grandchildren and about 30 greatgrandchildren. I dont know how many of them are here but id love to see you after. [applause] but theyve always been agreat encouragement to me. I miss terribly today my wife ruth whos been dead now for six months. Was not able even to get up to go to the bathroom. She has to be turned by nurses to change position in the bed. I go in to see her several times aday. We have two rooms and a bathroom in between. And shell go to my door which is always open and go in and see her and remember all the great things weve said together. Today, i want to honor her and tell you how much i love you her. Tell you what a wonderful woman she has been. [applause] thank you. More than me, she deserves to be here today and im so glad that some of our friends are here that have known her. Barbara bush, one of wonderful friend you have been through these years. How many times you loved ruth , those speeches about ruth and one of your speeches is recorded here and when people go through that, they will hear what you have to say about her and im deeply grateful toyou. And to all former president bush whos, and given his magnificent remarks, im deeply grateful. And for former president carter, former president clinton, both have been long time friends that i knew long before they ever went to the white house and theyve been entertained in their homes many times. I love them all regardless of politics. And regardless of who stands for what. [applause] im sorry if circumstances forbade Rosalynn Carter from being here today. Id like to have seen her and hillary clinton, shes busy in other things. And im very grateful for the friendship of those wonderful people. And i think it would be appropriate if i said we need to pray for our president , for those in authority and he faces tremendous responsibilities. I got a hand written letter from him last week and we need to pray for him that god will give him strength and wisdom as he has already in many of the great decisions hes had to make. I also want to [applause] i want to also thank governor easley for coming and for the words that he spoke and for mayor mccrory, my longtime friends friend keith who i always think of as mister charlotte and i love him as a longtime friend. One day my father said i want you to meet a young fellow whose head of a branch bank here, many years ago. He introduced me to graham and he became my best friend in charlotte and in this area. Im deeply grateful to him and his wife gloria for their years of friendship and support and prayer. I recall so many of that name but i want to thank you all for coming today and pray that god will bless each one of you. This building behind me is just a building. Its an instrument. Its a tool for the gospel. The primary thing isthe gospel of christ. Which franklin has already outlined. Im very grateful for his leadership. I pray that god will use this to many people who come through this facility. And god needs your prayers and i want to thank you again for coming today. God bless you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, youve just heard a true disciple of god speak. We all know about the power of prayer. In order to ask for gods blessing, some of the ministry that will take place in this library, we are asking three ministers to deliver a prayer of dedication. The first is the reverend doctor richard muse, a retired rector of all soldiers in london england. Next will be rebel and ross rhodes who is chaplain of the Billy Graham Association and vice chairman of the board of directors. And third is sammy yeager, pastor of the church in beirut lebanon. And also president of the Alliance Churches in lebanon. From the book of revelations, chapter 10. I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said tome, take it and eat it. I took a little scroll from the angels hand and ate it. Then i was told you must prophesy again about many people, nations, languages. Let us pray. Oh god, who sent into our words prophets and evangelists to declare a new and living way through jesus christ our lord. We are speaking to you now from a tent in the city of charlotte, escorted as we are into your presence by the same christ your son, once crucified, now risen and ascended in glory. Youre our prayer as we ask that there may be for all of us are recurrence of what st. John the evangelist experienced as he accepted in his vision be scroll of personal reconditioning of further service and ministry. We give thanks to the agelong parade of truth evangelists who like john of old, are now through a dying world, not their own words, only those written in the scroll given them. First they are themselves and then faithfully proclaim to others. So in affection and trust, we now commit to you yourhonored servant billy graham. With thanksgiving for his own call as evangelist to the world, those 60 years ago and more. With him, we remember before you his beloved wife ruth and the family, gigi and ruth. And ned. And all who are close to him. Together with those grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. We pray for your blessing. On this marvelous new building, the library. That the events this day may mark yet new phase and a fresh commissioning in the work and trusted over the years to billy graham, cliff burroughs, George Beverly shea and a host of team workers around them. To you or lord we give all praise for keeping these are Friends United and effectiveness in their Service Across every continent during these momentous years. Make this library fulfill your purposes as it extends the prophetic world of salvation in many peoples, nations, languages and games. Reminding us all your work knows no and until the close of a gospel age itself. As with john the evangelist, may your service here received the scroll of a recommissioning and here the biblical exultation once again, go work in my vineyard. We pray this for your holy names sake, amen. Let our prayers continue. Oh lord, yours is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. To all in heaven and earth is yours. We praise your glorious name, holy and just. Full of mercy and grace to all generations. On this day of dedication oh lord, we thank you for your love. But while we are in the center, you sent your son into the world to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification. That he would become the propitiation and the satisfaction for our sins, but not for our sins only lord for the sins of the whole world. And we say to you holy father, worthy is your son of honor and glory forever. And on this day of dedication dear lord, we thank you for your servant billy graham. For his unswerving allegiance to the gospel of your son. For his integrity. For his contrite and humble spirit. Or the way in which he has managed and directed and led his ministry. And in his personal life has been such a model. His love for the word ofgod, the bible. His commitment to the proclamation of the glorious gospel of jesus christ. We give you singularpraise. And lord, we now give you thanks for billy graham. A great women of wisdomand counsel and love. A godly woman of the scripture. A wonderful mother and grandmother as well as a faithful wife. We pray for the entire family , for the continuation of your blessing in years and years to come. And now lord, we thank you for the privilege of this dedication. For the ministry and its continued in the gospel of jesus christ. Where not only the continuation but for the extension of generations , as the announcement of thegospel jesus christ is made to all who will hear , until your son the Lord Jesus Christ returns, we say to the glory of god in jesus precious and holy name. Amen. Father, we thank you in the name of jesus for your goodness and for your love. We thank you for the life of doctor billy graham. Who has kept the dignity and integrity of the word of god and he lives as an example for us. But i thank you for him that he has worked in my life and you have told from his ministry, and i do race father that bless him and his family. And father, as we dedicate this to you today and people will go inside and see billy graham there, father, we know that these are things that we know he has conscripted through you and we know the blood of christ as cleansed him from all unrighteousness and we know he is a prophet, but father, you have taught us that we do not disdain and we do not worship properly and father, we pray in jesus name that the spirit of god will be inthat building , that everyone will go inside, he will see christ and feel our lord and he will know that billy graham is only carrying a message from the lord jesus. And we cannot operate the message from the messenger. Father, we pray that the spirit of the living god will be in that place and everyone will answer. We will see the spirit of christ there and he will know that the whole aim of the billy graham family is that christ will be known to everyone and father, we know that the whole world needs the lord christ. Not only america but even the whole world and we thank you for doctor graham that he has been a profit not only for america but for the whole world and even for the middle east. We pray in jesus name that you will bless him and you will honor him dear lord and greatly and we thank you in the name of jesus for all that he has done. In jesus name we pray, amen. I believe the words of fanny crosby him, to god be the glory, great things he has done. They expressed the desire and petition and the praise of all of our hearts. You have the words in your program. We are going to stand and sing it together until we get to that chorus, raise the lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Let our hearts and our voices resound. The praise and gratitude of our heart together. Here we go. To god be the glory. We raise our hearts. [singing] [singing]. [singing] praise the lord, praise the lord. [singing] please be seated if you would. Let again express to all of you how grateful appreciation is for being with us here today and the vacation of the billy graham library. I like to ask if you would please if you remain seated a few minutes until our guest leaves for the platform. Some people will not be to maybe take a tour today. Those of you who would like to take the tour, please go directly to the library and there will be refreshments there. Others have a rain check i believe as you received when you came in and you can return on monday and have a privatetour of the library time and it will only be reserved for those who have a rain check. And if you would please stay in her seat for a moment and thank you all so much for being with us today. [applause] [piano playing]. [ piano playing]. [piano playing]. [music]