Donald Trump will be sworn in as President with his hand on two Bibles today. The swearing-in ceremony is the culmination of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. One of the two Bibles will be his personal copy of the scriptures, the other will be the Lincoln Bible, first used in 1861 to swear in the 16th U.S. president. This bible is highly historic and has only been used in a few ceremonies.
Trump’s bible, was given to him by his mother in 1955, to “mark his Sunday Church Primary School graduation at First Presbyterian Church, in Jamaica, New York.” The text is a 1953 revised standard version that was published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in New York. Trump’s name is embossed on the lower portion of the front cover.
The copy also features signatures of church officials, an inscription of the president’s name, and details of when it was presented to him. In addition to his copy, the Lincoln Bible will be used as well. The historic copy has only been used three times since Lincoln was sworn into office. Twice by President Obama at each of his inaugurations and by President Trump at his first inauguration in 2017.
Trump’s team said, “The burgundy velvet-bound book is part of the collections of the Library of Congress.” Obama was also sworn in on two Bibles back in 2013. He used the Lincoln Bible as well as one owned by Martin Luther King Jr. These are not the only two copies that will be at the ceremony, as we reported dozens of volunteers are gathering to hand out tens of thousands of Bibles at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Monday. Faith & Liberty, a Florida-based Christian ministry, published a statement expressing their loft goal for the weekend. The organization has partnered with Seedline International and HOPE to the Hill.
The evangelistic organization announced that over 50 volunteers will hand out 50,000 Bible booklets at Trump’s second inauguration. Initially, the group planned to hand out the Bible booklets at “various entry locations” on Capitol Hill. Thousands of visitors are expected to brave the frigid winter weather as Trump gets sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
According to the group, the Bible booklets will “commemorate President Donald Trump’s 2025 Inauguration and contain the scriptural books of John and Romans.” The volunteers say that they will keep handing out the booklets until they are all gone. Peggy Nienaber, Faith & Liberty’s Senior Vice President explained why they are attempting this ambitious goal.
“In times of national division like America has recently seen, a new presidential administration can offer hope,” she said. “The commemorative scripture booklets were published for this significant occasion for that same reason — to offer hope to people in the Savior Jesus Christ.” At the last minute, Trump decided to move his inauguration indoors.
Nienaber thanked the other charities partnering with Faith & Liberty. She thanked Seedline International and HOPE to the Hill for “helping make this event not only possible but an important outreach to point those in the capital on Inauguration Day to Christ.” According to their website, Faith & Liberty was founded to spread the gospel to elected officials.
They say their goal is “taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nation’s top elected and appointed officials.” They accomplish this goal by “building personal relationships with individuals serving in government, distributing Scripture and informative materials, and staging special events such as panel discussions, Bible studies, news conferences, seminars, and prayer, worship, and church services.”