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A family disagreement over where Billy and Ruth Graham should be laid to rest — near the Billy Graham Training Center outside Asheville, N.C., or at the library in Charlotte — went public in The Washington Post and other publications last year. Franklin Graham said his parents will decide their final resting place.

"I think between the two of them," he said, "they've got it worked out. I think they have a plan, but they're going to keep it to themselves."

And then there's the talking cow. Despite some who question its seriousness, Franklin Graham calls it "fantastic." He said the cow offers a spiel about cows and Billy Graham, then challenges children to answer questions about the museum on a card they'll be given at the start. There are prizes waiting at the finish.

Adults, meanwhile, can admire photographs of Billy Graham with such celebrities as Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Muhammad Ali. There's a replica of the tent under which Graham wowed the world at his 1949 crusade in Los Angeles — a re-creation so accurate that "Glorius Music" is misspelled as it was on the real tent in Los Angeles. "Ruth's Room" is a replica of their living room in the mountains. There are even two handguns turned in by gang members touched by Graham's message during his 1957 New York City crusade.

Ford, 74, said her big brother took a private tour of the library on a recent Sunday. As he was wheeled around the library in a wheelchair, he took in the sights and sounds of a lifetime lived long ago.

His reaction? "Overwhelmed," she said.

She said her brother keeps insisting this is not about him, it should be all about God.

Jean Ford's response?

"It is about you," she tells him, though she adds this for museum visitors: "Without God's hand on Billy, none of this would ever have happened."

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

A video, photos, and news about the Billy Graham Library is available at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's library section.

The Washington Post reported on earlier plans for the library. A corresponding photo essay of the library, "An Uncertain End," has a photo of the talking cow.

Also available are two interviews with Billy Graham originally published in the 25th anniversary issue of Christianity Today:

Candid Conversation with the Evangelist | Graham's freewheeling comments reflect the character and charisma that have spurred his career as a Christian crusader.

In the Beginning … | Billy Graham recounts the origins of Christianity Today.

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May (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51