“This self-confident generation has produced more alcoholics, more drug addicts, more criminals, more wars, more broken homes, more assaults, more embezzlements, more murders, and more suicides . . .it is time all of us . . . begin to take stock of our failures, blunders, and costly mistakes. It is about time that we place less confidence in ourselves and more trust and faith in God.”

American evangelist and Southern Baptist minister

Billy Graham was an American evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and civil rights advocate, active in the 20th century. Born William Franklin Graham Jr., he became widely known for broadcasts and world tours built around live sermons. Over a career that lasted more than six decades, Graham rose to prominence as an evangelical Christian figure in the United States and abroad. His public work made him a familiar voice in religious broadcasting and large-scale preaching, and his influence extended well beyond the pulpit.