Feminist Pillar of Fire: The Life of Alma White

Feminist with its modern interpretation might not be the word Alma White would have chosen but there is no doubt that this strong and independent woman fought all the definitions of what a woman was supposed to be at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. When women were mostly consigned to the roles of wife and mother--and bitterly opposed as preachers--Alma White developed into a fierce and successful religious leader. A founder of the Pentecostal Union (later renamed the Pillar of Fire) she found biblical affirmation for her role as prophet and preacher. She was larger than life. A brilliant businesswoman she was one of the first church leaders to embrace technology with the purchase of multiple radio stations. Alma White was one of those great landmark American characters out of whom the richest of history is made.