Elvis Presley’s stepbrother reveals details about the singer’s biblical habits and faith in God

FILE – This 1972 file photo shows Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, during a performance. A launch party marking the release of an album of Presley’s gospel songs is one of the highlights of 2018 Elvis Week in Memphis, Tennessee. (AP Photo/File)

Elvis Presley became an international sensation before his untimely death in 1977 at the age of 42.

But while the world celebrates the “King of Rock and Roll” for his musical talents, his stepbrother, Billy Stanley, is on a mission to shine a light on another part of his life that gets far less attention: his faith.

Stanley, author of the forthcoming book, ” Elvis’ Faith: A Story Only a Brother Can Tell sat down with CBN’s Faithwire to reveal some of the unique details of Elvis’ faith and life.

Inside the faith of Elvis

“He was a Christian, and most people don’t know that,” Stanley said. “When I say ‘Christian,’ he was a Bible-carrying Christian…wherever he went, he carried the Bible with him.”

In fact, Stanley, who worked for Elvis when he was on tour, was tasked with carrying the artist’s Bible and often watched his stepbrother on his knees praying.

“I read the Bible almost every day,” he said.

The challenges of fame, of course, were always present, especially for someone as well known and established in the culture as Elvis. The singer had no shortage of headlines about his life, and he seemed to struggle with many of the demons that fame can often bring about.

“No one can really imagine the position Elvis was in…here you have a man who really changed the culture,” Stanley said. “I always thought … that he had the devil on one side and God on the other side, and there was a constant battle inside his head.”

He continued, “[Elvis] He did the best he could… whenever he was in trouble, he always turned to God.”

Stanley said his stepbrother often prayed for “God’s mercy,” forgiveness and wisdom.

Listen to Stanley talk about Elvis’s faith:

Elvis: ‘A Generous Giver’

One of the other elements of the rock star’s life was a generosity that, at times, stunned Stanley and even brought tears to his eyes.

“He was the most generous giver I’ve ever met, giving money, cars and houses… to people he didn’t even know,” he said.

Stanley remembered once driving through Memphis with Elvis. The two were chatting when they passed a homeless man. Elvis made a U-turn and told Stanley to get his wallet to give the man money.

“It was so thick you couldn’t fold it,” he said of Elvis’s wallet. “So, I said, ‘How much [dinero]?’ He said, ‘All of that.’”

Elvis handed the money to the homeless man, who recognized the megastar. The homeless man told the singer that he was a big fan of his, and Elvis responded by telling him that the cash gift was his way of paying him to watch his movies and listen to his music.

The poignant memory left Stanley in tears as he recounted the details.

“I still get a little emotional about this. As we walked away. The guy said, ‘God bless you, Mr. Presley,’ and Elvis looked at him and said, ‘Sir, he’s already done it,’” Stanley recalled. “I’m sitting there crying like a baby, saying, ‘This generosity.'”

On another occasion, he recalled Elvis’s act of kindness for a woman whose house burned down around Christmas; the woman and her children escaped but lost their belongings.

“He had one of the guys who worked for him go find an apartment, pay six months’ rent, furnish it, get toys, clothes and everything for the family,” Stanley said. “His strict instructions from her were… if she asked who did this, he would say, ‘Just tell her Santa Claus did it.’ She didn’t want the recognition for it.”

Tragically, Elvis’s life was very short.

The devastation of Elvis’s death

Millions mourned Elvis after the singer died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest, but the loss of Stanley was deeply personal; he rocked the world of him. By this time, Stanley was no longer working for his stepbrother, as he wanted to “do it for him.”

“It devastated me because I never could have imagined it,” he said. “I always thought it would outlive me… I never thought of that. And when it actually happened, it devastated me so much that I didn’t know how to cry at the time, and I turned to alcohol and drugs.”

Stanley recalled a dream he had after Elvis’s death: a momentous moment that led him to seek sobriety.

“One night, I had a dream and I was talking to Elvis, and I looked at him and said, ‘How does it feel to be dead?'” Stanley recalled. “And he looked at me and said, ‘Don’t you know?'”

Stanley said he woke up in a cold sweat and entered a treatment center.

“I got … clean and sober in 1987,” he said.

Stanley also reflected on his final conversation with Elvis, a conversation that took place just two days before the singer died. As Elvis helped his stepbrother bandage a minor injury in the bathroom, the two looked at each other in the mirror and had a heart-to-heart.

“He says, ‘Do you believe that God forgives us all our sins?’ I said, ‘Yes,'” Stanley said. “You took me by surprise with that question. I said, ‘Yes, we’ve read it many times, and you’ve told me too, and this is what I’ve learned in church.’ He said: ‘Fine. I just want to make sure you know.’”

The brothers then began to talk about life and their dreams, with Elvis offering encouragement for Stanley’s future.

“He said, ‘One day, Billy, you’re going to fall in love with a girl [y ella] it will just go and change your whole life,’ and that happened,” Stanley said. “Everything he told me that day has come to pass.”

Stanley said he hopes his new book ” Elvis’ Faith: A Story Only a Brother Can Tell “offers a new perspective on Elvis’ life and faith. But most importantly, he wants people to discover a relationship with Jesus as a result of it.

“One thing I hope is that they themselves have a relationship with God, seeing that the most famous artist of all time had a relationship with Him,” he said.