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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to Keystone! On Keystone, our goal is to fortify Latter-day Saint faith and combat misinformation through good old-fashioned research. I’m your host, David Snell. Let’s jump right in!
Once upon a time, Brigham Young had a stepson named James Cobb. James eventually became disillusioned with the Church and set out to prove that the Book of Mormon was a sham. To bolster his argument, he wrote a letter in 1880 to William McLellin—a former apostle who had apostatized many years earlier. But William’s reply to James was … not what James was expecting.
William McLellin had a rocky relationship with the Church. He was baptized in 1831. He was excommunicated in 1832, but he apparently came back and served a short mission in 1833. He became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in early 1835. He was briefly disfellowshipped in August of that year but was reinstated in September. He formally withdrew from the Church in 1836, came back in 1837, and was excommunicated for the last time in 1838. After his excommunication, he affiliated with various Latter-day Saint break-off groups until 1869, when he gave up on organized religion altogether.
William is a notable figure in Latter-day Saint history because he witnessed early Church history! He built personal relationships with many early leaders, and he left records. His journals and other writings reveal what he thought about the truth claims of the Church before, during, and after his membership.
For example, while still investigating the Church, he sat down with Hyrum Smith for 4 hours and, in his words, “inquired into the particulars of the coming forth of the record, of the rise of the church and of its progress and upon the testimonies given to him &c.” The next day, we read in his journal, “I rose early and betook myself to earnest prayer to God to direct me into truth; and from all the light that I could gain by examinations searches and researches I was bound as an honest man to acknowledge the truth and Validity of the book of Mormon….”
Towards the end of 1833, William was among the Saints who were persecuted in Jackson County, Missouri. A reward was offered to anyone who would deliver him or Book of Mormon witness Oliver Cowdery to the mob. William subsequently retreated to the woods near the home of David Whitmer—another witness of the Book of Mormon plates. He met with both David and Oliver there and had a very blunt conversation with them:
“I said to them, ‘brethren I never have seen an open vision in my life, but you men say you have, and therefore you positively know. Now you know that our lives are in danger every hour, if the mob can only catch us. Tell me, in the fear of God, is that Book of Mormon true?’ Cowdery looked at me with solemnity depicted in his face, and said, ‘Brother William, God sent his holy angel to declare the truth of the translation of it to us, and therefore we know. And though the mob kill us, yet we must die declaring its truth.’ David said, ‘Oliver has told you the solemn truth, for we could not be deceived. I most truly declare to you its truth’!! Said I, boys, I believe you. I can see no object for you to tell me false now, when our lives are endangered.”
In the same document, he also recorded the experience of one of the 8 witnesses of the Book of Mormon, Hiram Page. “While the mob was raging in Jackson Co. Mo. in 1833, some young men ran down Hiram Page one of the eight and commenced beating and pounding him with whips and clubs. He begged, but there was no mercy. They said he was damned Mormon, and they meant to beat him to death! But finally one then said to him, if you will deny that damned book, we will let you go. Said he, how can I deny what I know to be true? Then they pounded him again. When they thought he was about to breathe his last, they said to him, Now what do you think of your God, when he dont save you? Well said he, I believe in God—Well, said one of the most intelligent among them, I believe the damned fool will stick to it though we kill him. Let us let him go.”
Now, it’s fair to ask the question, if William’s testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon was so strong, why did he leave the Church multiple times? William himself told us in his reply to James Cobb, He wrote, “I left the church … not because I disbelieved the Book or the (then) doctrines preached or held by the Church, but because the leading men to a great extent left their religion and run into and after speculation, pride, and popularity! … I quit because I could not uphold the Presidency as men of God….”] Ultimately, his issue was with church leadership, not the Book of Mormon.
This is what William had to say to James Cobb regarding the Book of Mormon: “I am ‘opinionated,’” William wrote. “When I thoroughly examine a subject and settle my mind, then higher evidence must be introduced before I change. I have set to my seal that the Book of Mormon is a true, divine record and it will require more evidence than I have ever seen to ever shake me relative to its purity. I have read many ‘Exposes.’ I have seen all their arguments. But my evidences are above them all! … when a man goes at the Book of M. he touches the apple of my eye. He fights against truth—against purity—against light … Fight the wrongs of L.D.S.ism as much as you please. but let that unique, that inimitable book alone….
But he didn’t stop there! William continued, “…When I first joined the church in 1831, soon I became acquainted with all the Smith family and the Whitmer family, and I heard all their testimonies, which agreed in the main points; and I believed them then, and I believe them yet … My advice to you is cease your opposition and strife against the Book … for you might just as well fight against the rocky mountains as the Book!!
“… I saw [David Whitmer] June 1879 and heard him bear his solemn testimony to the truth of the book—as sincerely and solemnly as when he bore it to me in Paris, Ill. in July 1831. I believed him then and still believe him. You seem to think he and I ought to come out and tell something—some darkness relative to that book. We should lie if we did, for we know nothing against its credibility or divine truth.”
Even decades after leaving the Church, William could not deny his own testimony of the Book of Mormon, nor the absolutely sincere testimonies of those who had participated in its coming forth. You’ve been listening to Keystone. Thanks so much for being here . This is one of our first episodes on this podcast. If you enjoyed it or learned something, give us a review and let us know how we’re doing, and have a great day!]