Robert Moffat

Even in the face of many dangers, Robert Moffat was dedicated to obeying the Lord’s call on his life. Today, Stephen Nichols recounts the life and adventures of this Scottish missionary and Bible translator.

Welcome back to another episode of 5 Minutes in Church History. On this episode, we are talking about Robert Moffat. He was a Scottish missionary to Africa, he was a Bible translator, and he was the husband of Mary and their oldest daughter, their first child, was named Mary, and that daughter went on to marry another missionary to Africa, none other than the legend, David Livingstone. But back to Robert Moffatt. He was born in Scotland in 1795, he moved to England, and he worked as a gardener in the town of High Legh, pretty much right in between Liverpool and Manchester. He soon felt the call of God to be a missionary, and he applied to the London Missionary Society. The London Missionary Society was founded in the same year that Moffat was born. It came about through correspondence between John Ryland and the missionary to India, William Carey. The London Missionary Society began with a handful of donors and a handful of missionaries, and they were assisted by a ship’s captain who offered his services to take missionaries to these far-flung lands, gratis.

Well, in 1816, the London Missionary Society commissioned Robert Moffatt and sent him off to South Africa. He and his wife Mary, and their first daughter, Mary, would eventually settle and work among the Botswana people. These were not easy years at all. The times were very difficult, very challenging, full of trials and dangers for the Moffat family. Moffat records times of going without food, and there was even one occasion where they went without water for a couple days, and at the end of that time, Moffat could not even speak, but Moffat and his family persevered. Over the course of their ministry there, they set up a mission. He translated the entire Bible into the language of the Botswana people, and he also translated that beloved book in the English language, Pilgrim’s Progress. Moffat also wrote a catechism. It had one hundred and thirty-six questions and answers in total. It was based on John chapter three, the Lord’s Prayer, and a few other select biblical passages as just a basic introduction to Christian faith and doctrine.

He also wrote a number of books in English, chronicling the history of missions in Africa, and these books went on to inspire others to become missionaries. His first book was, Scenes and Adventures in Africa. It was published in 1844 and in it, and the preface to it, he addresses Queen Victoria, and he writes, “Your Royal Highness is well aware that all methods of affecting the civilization of Africa, apart from the Gospel of Christ, have hitherto proved a failure. But it is presumed that the present narrative will demonstrate that in every instance where the Gospel has been introduced, it has affected a complete revolution in the character and habits of its people. Philosophy must eventually confess her impotence. The pride of science must be humbled, and this fact must be universally acknowledged that the Gospel of Christ is the only instrument which can civilize and save all kindreds and nations of the earth.”

Well, the Moffat family had many decades of service there in Africa. The Moffat’s had ten children in all. We’ve already mentioned Mary, who married David Livingston in 1845. One of their sons followed in Robert’s footsteps and led the mission work there. The Moffats spent their final years touring England, raising interest in missions and support for the mission work that was going on really around the world through the efforts of the London Missionary Society. Mary died in 1873 and ten years later in 1883, Robert Moffat died. There have been many biographies, the first one was published in 1885 by those who knew him and many since, telling the life and adventures of Robert Moffat, missionary in Africa. Well, that’s Robert Moffat, and I’m Steve Nichols, and thanks for joining us for in 5 Minutes Church History.