From “Aimee Semple McPherson,” which appeared in the December 1927 issue of Harper’s Magazine. The complete article—along with the magazine’s entire 174-year archive—is available online at harpers.org/archive.

There is a blare of trumpets, and the murmur of more than five thousand people hushes sharply. Glances swing abruptly toward a staircase that comes down to a flower-decked platform. A figure descends—plump, balancing an armload of roses. She takes stage and lifts the bouquet, her face a garland of interwoven roses and smiles. Upon it plays the calcium—violet light, pink light, blue light, golden light. And now the vast gathering…