Through Gates of Splendor

Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Elisabeth Eliot’s first memoir of her foray into the mission field recounts her husband’s and 4 fellow missionaries’ death at the hands of the native tribe they were trying to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Written in 1956, within a year of the event, Eliot gives the background of each young couple feeling called to missions, heading to the field, learning the language, and much more. One was wondering if he was even called by God to be there in the first place.

The missionary zeal assumed by all was quite startling. Much has changed in the missions world in the last 60 years! Then it was a crusade to undertake for the Lord. Now we seem to worry more about paternalism and the side effects of Western interaction with isolated tribes than we do about their salvation. These missionaries had an innocent, clear goal to reach people for Christ. Yes, there were times a condescending attitude came through: those poor savages need the Lord. But they thought long and hard about why they viewed the tribes as savages, and it wasn’t because they didn’t have electricity. They considered carefully why they went to all the trouble they did. Was it the thrill of flying planes through the jungle? No, they truly sought to make contact and communicate so they could bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. Their excitement for the mission was evident, as was their single-minded focus on the mission.

And so much planning was needed! Eliot spends most of the book recounting preparations and plans. Half of that was the internal battle within each missionary, each wife, surrendering plans to the Lord, purifying motives, setting aside pride or haste. But the other half was the external logistics involved. Making a list of what to fly where, gathering supplies to get ready to clear a new landing strip, or build a new mission station. It reminded me of the coordinated effort that mission work requires. Several mission aviation ministries carry on this work today. While the random one-on-one evangelistic interaction has its place, most mission efforts involve a cultural exchange. The seeker comes into the church and observes a Christian culture different from his own. Or the missionary takes his technology and his Bible, things he’s gleaned from his own culture, and goes to learn a new language and live a new way.

Part of the story I didn’t know before was the 5 men’s decision to keep secret from their missions supervisors their efforts to contact the Aucas. When do you go it alone and when do you coordinate with supervisors? Perhaps their zeal took them too far in this case. We can certainly admire their courage to lay down their lives to reach others. Watch out for armchair, Monday morning quarterbacking, second guessing their decisions! But I’m sure there are important lessons missionaries are learning from Eliot and many others, too.

Elisabeth’s wife Jim wrote in his journal in college: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” This book is part of the testimony of these men’s willingness to risk all to bring Christ to the world. An important read for all believers in the Lord.



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