William's father, John, was originally a Protestant and his mother, Bridget, was originally a Roman Catholic. However they both joined the Wesleyan Methodists. "at eighteen William began to think seriously of religion and attended Methodist services, but was not satisfied. It seemed to him Methodism was all hope and trust--no reality. It was then that he first heard the sound of the Gospel through a young friend whose father, Peter Poulicci, was a priest of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This friend took William to hear the Mormons at the Hall of Science, Rockingham Street, in the winter of 1848. His search for truth was ended" (Stories of LDS Hymns).
On his first contact with the missionaries he was given a tract that had the testimony of Joseph Smith written in it. Upon reading the tract he declared that the writer was certainly a man of God and a Prophet. He had not even read the Book of Mormon and would not get one for a while because they were in short supply in Great Britain, but he already had a burning testimony of Joseph Smith (Chene', Helen).
William was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church) on the 29th of July 1849 at Sheffield, England, by Elder J. V. Long.
William would face difficulties on account of his new faith. His boss discharged him when he found out he had joined the Mormon Church and William had to find other employment. He had to learn to deal with the common prejudice against the Mormons.
William became engaged to a young lady who attended the Mormon meetings, but was not a member of the Church. She accompanied him to meetings, and she said she would be baptized. However, whenever she was asked to set her baptismal date, she always answered, "Not yet, but I will soon."
William rented a house and bought all new furniture to furnish it. One day, he approached her very gravely and asked, "Are you going to be baptized before our wedding?"
"No," she said very firmly.
"Why not?" He asked anxiously. "You have told me all along you would be."
"What difference does it make?" She asked.
"It makes all the difference in the world to me," he answered. "I will not marry a girl that does not belong to the Church."
"Well," she said. "I'm not getting baptized to suit your whim."
"If you thought as much of this Church as I do, you would want to belong to it. If you will not be baptized that puts an end to our marriage, definitely."
"You do not love me," she accused, "or you would not let that hinder us."
"I do love you," he said, "very dearly, but my religion means more to me than my love for a woman, so we will not be married." he arose and went away very sadly and in sore disappointment.
He took the furniture back to the firm where he had purchased it; but hey would not accept it at full value. He had to sell it at a discount. This all contributed to his unhappiness. But he had demonstrated his faith his loyalty to the Church.
At some point, William's brothers, John, Henry, and George all heard the gospel and joined the Church. This must have been a great joy to William.( His brother's baptismal dates were not kept or else were lost, so they were re-baptized by proxy--John on 13 Nov 1930 and the other boys in 1933.)
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