MARS HILL, N.C. (ABP) — Across the centuries, across the ocean, through bombings and world wars, a sacred bit of history has emerged from the distant past to find a home at Mars Hill College.
The North Carolina Baptist school has received a 1686 copy of Martin Luther's Bible translation. It was donated by Elfriede Ludwig Wilde, a resident of Texarkana, Texas, and former resident of Hendersonville, N.C.
She gave the rare book in memory of her late husband, Harold Wilde, and in honor of the Wilde family of Western North Carolina, where Mars Hill is located.
Elfreide Wilde has been in possession of the Bible since 1967. “The time has come for this Bible to find a new and permanent home, Mars Hill College,” she said, in presenting the gift.