Bible Found Untouched Amid Tornado Damage In Mississippi

A deadly tornado hit southern Mississippi on Jan. 22, leaving William Carey University's Hattiesburg campus with uprooted trees and damaged buildings. As debris of a smashed glass window scattered all over the floor, a King James Version Bible was found intact on the pulpit of a devastated school chapel.

CNN reported that a tornado that killed four people in southern Mississippi brought tennis ball-sized hails and strong winds at a maximum speed between 136 and 165 mph. While the disaster brought deaths and huge damage to properties, a reminder from an untouched Bible sparked a light to the hearts of the victims.

Staffers at William Carey University were astonished to see the chapel's Bible undisturbed under the broken glass window. While the tornado could have blown it off and damaged its pages, its open page explains how it remained on top of the pulpit unharmed.

The Bible's open page displays strengthening verse in Psalm 46, which reads: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Art Professor Rick Wilemon from the private Christian college was among those who found the book. He took several photos of the Bible and posted them on his Facebook page.

"It was a surreal moment," Professor Wilemon told WHLT 22 News. "An awe-inspiring moment, perhaps it is the best way to put it."

He added that there were a few skeptics who bashed his post, too.

"And whether again you are a believer or not, and there are some that aren't," he added. "We are believers and it brings us great comfort and joy to know that our God is there for us, and our God reminds us that He is there for us."

Wilemon said that the Bible's condition has lifted the spirits of those in the campus and beyond.