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Dr. Lorne Sanny
Bible Verses of US Presidents
Dr. Lorne Sanny
Dr. Sanny, second president of The Navigators, died March 28, 2005. His death was attributed to complications from pneumonia following several months of serious health issues and a recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He was 84.Sanny, a native of Iowa, committed his life to Christ as a teen.
He attended Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now known as Biola University), where he met and joined The Navigators, a Christian ministry founded by Dawson Trotman to help people “know Christ and make Him known.” Lorne married Lucy in 1943 and started a family not long after. In the midst of their active ministry lives, they raised six children.For 15 years, Sanny served as Trotman’s understudy, including seven years with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) as director of counseling and follow-up. When Trotman drowned in 1956, he was succeeded by Sanny.During Sanny’s 30-year tenure as president and general director of The Navigators (which moved from Southern California to Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs in 1953), The Navigators grew from a staff of 171 in fewer than a dozen countries to 2,580 in 71 countries.
Currently, 4,027 Navigator staff work in 110 countries, among 214 people groups and in 161 languages.
After stepping down as president and general director of The Navigators in 1986, Sanny continued as chairman of the U.S. Board of Directors until 1993. He developed and served the Navigator Business and Professional Ministries, The Navigators’ marketplace outreach.
Sanny continued to help Navigator staff worldwide, as well as being a mentor to Christian businessmen and an active participant in his local church until his death.
Jerry White, who succeeded Sanny as The Navigators’ third president in 1986, said “What I’ve come to learn is that, though Dawson Trotman was the founder of The Navigators, Sanny was the builder of The Navigators.”
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There are likely hundreds, even thousands, of people and events that could be included here. If you feel we've missed one that should be added, feel free to let us know.
Bible Verses of U.S. Presidents
When They Took the Oath of Office
The US Constitution provides the brief wording for the presidential Oath of Office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Note that most US Presidents have added this phrase: “…so help me God” though it is not required.
Every elected president has referred to God, providence,
or a “higher power,” in an inaugural address.
Prior to taking the Oath of Office most of them chose an appropriate or favorite Bible text which they placed their hand on as they took the Oath. Most of them, beginning with George Washington, kissed that text after taking the Oath. Here are some examples:
George Washington (1789): Genesis 49 (although it was opened randomly).
Abraham Lincoln – Matthew 7:1 and 18:7 – “Judge not or you too will be judged.” And “How terrible it will be for the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Things like that must come. But how terrible for the person who causes them!
Andrew Johnson and James A. Garfield – Proverbs 21:1-3 – “In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is like a stream of water. The Lord directs it toward all those who please him. 2 A person might think their own ways are right. But the Lord knows what they are thinking. 3 Do what is right and fair. The Lord accepts that more than sacrifices.”
Ulysses S. Grant – Isaiah 11:1&2 – His father’s name was Jesse. “Jesse’s family is like a tree that has been cut down. A new little tree will grow from its stump. From its roots a Branch will grow and produce fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on that Branch. The Spirit will help him to be wise and understanding. The Spirit will help him make wise plans and carry them out. The Spirit will help him know the Lord and have respect for him.”
Chester Arthur – Psalms 31:1&2 – “Lord, I have come to you for safety. Don’t let me ever be put to shame. Save me, because you do what is right. 2 Pay attention to me. Come quickly to help me. Be the rock I go to for safety. Be the strong fort that saves me.”
Benjamin Harrison - Psalm 121:1-6 – “I look up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord. He is the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He won’t let your foot slip. He who watches over you won’t get tired. 4 In fact, he who watches over Israel won’t get tired or go to sleep. 5 The Lord watches over you. The Lord is like a shade tree at your right hand. 6 The sun won’t harm you during the day. The moon won’t harm you during the night.”
William McKinley – II Chronicles 1:10 – “Give me wisdom and knowledge. Then I’ll be able to lead these people. Without your help, who would be able to rule this great nation of yours?”
Note: The Washington Post reported that the Bible used “is an unusually handsome and costly copy of the Testaments, made especially for the occasion in Ohio, and presented to the new President by Bishop Arnett, of Wilberforce College, a colored institution in the Buckeye State, on behalf of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.”
Theodore Roosevelt - James 1:22-23 – “Don’t just listen to the word. You fool yourselves if you do that. You must do what it says. 23 Suppose someone listens to the word but doesn’t do what it says. Then they are like a person who looks at their face in a mirror.”
William H. Taft – 1 Kings 3:9-11 – “So give me a heart that understands. Then I can rule over your people. I can tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Who can possibly rule over this great nation of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for that. 11 So God said to him, “You have not asked to live for a long time. You have not asked to be wealthy. You have not even asked to have your enemies killed. Instead, you have asked for wisdom. You want to do what is right and fair when you people…”
"And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence." —JOHN ADAMS (Not part of his inauguration but a good indicator of his faith in God.)
Warren G. Harding and James E. Carter – Micah 6:8 – “The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must act with justice. You must love to show mercy. And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.”
Calvin Coolidge – John 1:1 – 14 Coolidge wrote in his autobiography that a Bible, which had belonged to his mother, was present on the table but was not officially used. He noted, “It is not the practice in Vermont or Massachusetts to use a Bible in connection with the administration of an oath,” reflecting a Puritan tradition that avoided giving physical objects the reverence due to God. For his second inauguration on March 4, 1925, Coolidge was sworn in by Chief Justice William Howard Taft at the U.S. Capitol. The Joint Congressional Committee records state that Coolidge used a Bible, which was open to John 1—
Herbert C. Hoover – Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no message from God, people don’t control themselves. But blessed is the one who obeys wisdom’s instruction.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt – 1 Corinthians 13 - Note: FDR used the Roosevelt family Bible for all four Presidential Inaugurations. It is the oldest Inaugural Bible, printed in 1686, and the only one written in a modern foreign language: Dutch.
Harry S. Truman – Exodus 20:1 – 17 and “The Sermon on the Mount”
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan - 11 Chronicles 7:14 - If “they make themselves humble in my sight. They pray and look to me. And they turn from their evil ways. Then I will listen to them from heaven. I will forgive their sin. And I will heal their land. After all, they are my people.”
And Psalm 127:1-2 If the Lord doesn’t build a house, the work of the builders is useless. If the Lord doesn’t watch over a city, it’s useless for those on guard duty to stand watch over it. 2 It’s useless for you to work from early morning until late at night just to get food to eat.
God provides for those he loves even while they sleep.”
Both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson took the Oath on a closed Bible or a Catholic missal.
Richard M. Nixon – Isaiah 2:4 - “He will judge between the nations. He’ll settle problems among many of them. They will hammer their swords into plows. They’ll hammer their spears into pruning tools. Nations will not go to war against one another. They won’t even train to fight anymore.”
Gerald R. Ford - Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways obey him. Then he will make your paths smooth and straight.”
Bill Clinton – Galatians 6:8 – “Some people plant to please their desires controlled by sin. From these desires they will harvest death. Others plant to please the Holy Spirit. From the Spirit they will harvest eternal life.”
George W. Bush – Isaiah 40:31 – “But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.”
Barack Obama is the only president we know who took the Oath on three Bibles. One belonged to Martin Luther King Jr., another was used by President Lincoln, and the third was a family Bible, that belonged to his in-laws. The Bible was a 1958 Mother’s Day gift from Michelle Obama’s father, Fraser Robinson III, to his own mother, LaVaughn Delores Robinson, who worked as a manager in the Moody Bible Institute’s bookstore.
Joe Biden (2021): Family Bible, no specific verse mentioned.
Donald Trump (2017): Two Bibles used but no specific verse mentioned: Lincoln's Bible, and a Family Bible. In 2025 One person noted at 12:03 p.m. EST—right after the oath—wrote about Malania holding two Bibles, “Melania wasn’t even set, Roberts plowed ahead lol.” Another at 12:05: “Trump didn’t touch the Bible cause wifey was still walking up—oops.”
Do you have favorite or guiding portion of scripture for your life? Or a season of your life? Who have you shared it with? Consider who the Lord may want you to share it with.