author
Alma White
b. 1862
A groundbreaking and deeply controversial religious leader, she founded the Pillar of Fire Church and became one of the first women in the United States to serve as a bishop. She also wrote extensively about religion, reform, and women’s public roles, leaving behind a legacy that is both influential and sharply debated.
1 Audiobook
With God in the Yellowstone
by Alma White
About the author
Born in Kentucky in 1862, Alma Bridwell White was an American evangelist, writer, and church founder. She led the movement that became the Pillar of Fire Church and, in 1918, was recognized as the first woman bishop in the United States. Her public career brought her national attention at a time when women rarely held that kind of authority in church life.
White was also a prolific author and publisher. She wrote books, sermons, and religious commentary, often blending spiritual conviction with strong opinions about social change and women’s leadership. That made her an unusual and highly visible voice in early 20th-century American religion.
Her legacy is complicated. Alongside her advocacy for women in ministry, reliable biographical sources also note her ties to the Ku Klux Klan and her involvement in anti-Catholic, antisemitic, racist, and anti-immigrant activism. Because of that, she is remembered today as both a pioneering figure and a deeply divisive one.