Tonight I watched the video Candle in the Dark, the story of William Carey. It was an inspiring story of the hardships he endured, his humility and determination, and his desire to spread the gospel in place that was very much a mission frontier. The acting in the video is not quite up to Hollywood standards, and comes off as a bit cheesy at times, but nevertheless it is a moving and powerful tale that seems reasonably close to the actual events.

Through an unfortunate string of circumstances, William and his family were left nearly destitute when they arrived in India from England. They had to abandon their original English home in Calcutta for a much humbler abode. Later they moved far from Calcutta and set up residence with a new acquaintance.

One of the pivotal moments in William’s life was witnessing sati. The prohibition of sati became one of his three personal goals for his mission in India.

William being restrained from rescuring a woman compelled to commit sati:

Relocating upriver with his family:

Because the British East India Company wanted the best possible relations with the natives, missionary work was forbidden. William and his fellow missionaries were harassed by the British government, and to some extent had to work in secret, until they came under protection of the Dutch colony at Serampore.

One of the great tragedies in William’s story is the emotional breakdown and eventual insanity of his wife, after the loss of their youngest son to sickness. However, William believed commiting his wife to an asylum would be a violation of his marriage vows, and despite an attempt by her to kill him, he refused to leave her. Eventually she died, which must have come as a bittersweet relief.

William’s wife Dorothy in one of her insane fits:

Despite the hardships at home, William pressed on. He was greatly encouraged when a new batch of missionaries arrived and invited him to join with them.

William baptizing a Hindu convert:

William’s missionary partners established schools for both boys and girls:

A year after his first wife’s death, William married Charlotte, who turned out to be a much more suitable partner:

Undoubtedly the pinacle of William’s achievements was the translation of the Bible into Bengali and other languages, and the printing of it in the local languages and dialects:

This is a video I’d freely recommend. It’s about 1 hour and 30 minutes in length, so would make a nice evening vespers movie. I cannot vouch for its historical accuracy in detail, but it seems to align well with some other accounts I’ve heard and read.