The Reformation Series: Peter Waldo

Peter Waldo was the Morning Star of the Reformation. Here is his story.

Early Life

Peter Waldo lived in a home that was always busy. His father was a silk maker. He made silk from silk worms. The process can take months. First the farmers have to fatten up the worms. Then the worms spin a cocoon. You may be looking at the silk tie lying on the floor, thinking you are never going to wear it again. But only the finest silk is made from silk worms. Anyway, after the cocoons are spun, the farmer cuts open the Styrofoam textured cocoon. This may seem gross, but the farmer scoops out the half worm half moth bug out of the cocoon. They boil the silk until it because stringy. Then one by one the farmers unstringed the lines of silk. Most of the process is done by machines now but imagine how hard it was to do in the 1100’s!  His house was very close to the European River, Saone.



Peter’s life



Peter had a life full of work and fun in his eyes. One night while drinking at a party, one of Waldo’s friends’s dropped dead. This had a profound effect on Peter’s life. Since Peter was a catholic, he went to his priest to ask what he should do. The priest gave him a number of ideas. Peter tried them all, but his conscience still bothered him. During the course of his life, he discovered a Bible. This was a very rare coincidence because Bibles were extremely rare. Peter was so impressed by the book that he wanted to buy it. Since its rareness, Bibles costed quite a hefty price. But not overcome by this fact, Peter raised money to buy a bible. Finally, enough money was scratched up to buy a bible. One of Waldo’s beliefs was that it was wrong to be rich. But this is not true. God blesses us by giving us good gifts. Anyway, he gave large amounts of his income to the poor.



Accomplishments of Peter's Life



 Peter was then saved and began a ministry of preaching.  Peter was a very good preacher. He cared very much for the souls of the lost. He also wanted everyone to be able to read the bible. The priests were very angry when they heard of Peter’s Desire. So Peter got some of his friends to help him translate the bible from Latin to the common language of the people. The invention of the printing press had not taken place. They had to do hours of frustrating writing in order to get the work done. Finally they finished. As each one of their faces lit up with victory, they wrote the last words of the bible:  "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen." The task was finished. Finally. After this Waldo gave bibles FREE! And occasionally sold them. His tactic was this: "Hello there. Yes, I have the best thing in the world you could possibly buy." After this, he started a missionary society, called the Waldancians. They the Arminian Doctrine. I hope you enjoyed this Report.