The personal Bible of rock legend Elvis Presley has sold at auction for more than $100,000.
The remarkable item was discovered by Elvis’s cousin, Patsy Presley, and his father, Vernon Presley, when they sorted through his items after he died in 1977, Christian Today reports.
The gold-embossed covered Bible features Elvis Aaron Presley’s name and pages highlighted with the singer’s most studied scriptures including this passage from Job 31: 24-28:
“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.”
Accompanying this passage was a handwritten note from Presley’s cousin explaining how he discovered the Bible.
“Shortly after Elvis’ passing, my uncle Vernon (Elvis’ dad) and I went up into Elvis’ bedroom at Graceland to organize and pack many of his personal belongings. This Holy Bible was one of three that Elvis had on his night table. After packing them, Uncle Vernon had me take them home for safekeeping and eventually gave them to me,” Patsy wrote.
Kruse GWS Auctions sold the special Bible for $120,000 over Memorial Day weekend to a bidder whose identity remains unknown. It received 23 bids before the final gavel.
“The King of Rock and Roll” is often celebrated for his musical talents, but little has been shared about his faith.
“He was a Christian, and most people don’t know that,” Presley’s stepbrother, Billy Stanley told Faithwire. “When I say ‘Christian,’ he was a Bible-carrying Christian…wherever he went, he took the Bible with him.”
Stanley, who worked for Elvis when he was on tour, was tasked with carrying the performer’s Bible and shared that he often observed his stepbrother praying before performances and singing gospel songs afterward.
“He read the Bible almost every day,” he said.
Stanley authored The Faith of Elvis: A Story Only a Brother Can Tell, which reveals other unique details of Elvis’ faith and life.
“Nobody can really imagine the position Elvis was in…here you have a man that really changed culture,” Stanley said. “I always thought…he had the devil on one side, and he’s got God on the other side, and there was a constant battle going on inside of his head.”
Tragically, Elvis died at the age of 42 due to heart failure, but Stanley says that without a shadow of a doubt, Elvis remained connected to God.
“I would hear people say, ‘You’re the king.’ He said, ‘No, no, I’m sorry. There’s only one true king, and that’s Jesus,'” Stanley told Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, adding, “He was not afraid to show his faith.”
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***