Historical Testimony

J.C. Penney - The Golden Rule Merchant

Bankrupt Merchant Rebuilt on Golden Rule

1929-1971•🇺🇸Kemmerer, Wyoming / New York, USA

J.C. Penney named his 1902 store 'The Golden Rule.' After losing everything in the Depression, he heard hymns in a hospital chapel and felt 'transported...

Source:Desiring God

“I felt as if I had been transported from hell to paradise. I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before.”

J.C. Penney hearing hymns in a hospital chapel during the Great Depression — transported from financial ruin to God's presence in an instant

The Golden Rule

James Cash Penney named his first store "The Golden Rule" in 1902. He operated on a radical principle: treat customers and employees the way you'd want to be treated.

From Hell to Paradise

When the Great Depression hit, Penney lost everything - his fortune, his health, his confidence. He checked into a sanitarium, convinced he would die.

One morning, he heard singing from the hospital chapel: "Be not dismayed whate'er betide, God will take care of you."

"I felt as if I had been transported from hell to paradise," Penney wrote. "I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before."

Rebuilt on Faith

He walked out of that sanitarium with renewed faith. He rebuilt his business on the same Golden Rule principles. By his death in 1971, J.C. Penney had over 1,600 stores.

But Penney counted a different measure of success: "The greatest lesson I learned is that God is concerned with every phase of life, that He enters into everything we do."

About This Testimony

What did God do?: Blessing, Mind Restored, Experienced God's Presence, Faith Deepened
Where in life?: Business, Health, Church, Healthcare
How did it happen?: Through Scripture, During Worship

Source & Attribution

Curated by Doxa from 'Fifty Years with the Golden Rule' by J.C. Penney and other sources.

Sources

Verified

📖

Fifty Years with the Golden Rule

J.C. Penney•1950•Primary Source•✓ Verified

https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_f1h1 ↗

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J.C. Penney Biography & Christian Principles

•✓ Verified

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/jc-penney-11630672.html ↗

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J.C. Penney - SHSMO Historic Missourians

•✓ Verified

https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/j-c-penney/ ↗

We work hard to provide accurate attribution for all testimonies. If you notice any errors, broken links, or have better source information, please let us know.

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