Young Howard Coray Receives Unmistakable Testimony from Uncle Stephen Abbott

Howard Coray was raised in a religious family but sought a divine testimony of his own from God. He prayed intensely for two weeks, getting up in the night and seeking God's will, but received no supernatural testimony. He then returned to Perry, Illinois, where he met his uncle, Stephen Abbott. As soon as Stephen saw him, he exclaimed, 'Well, Howard! What is the matter with you? Your face looks as long as a hoe handle.' Howard explained his spiritual seeking, and Stephen, having recently been baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, testified to him of the restored gospel. Through his uncle's testimony and his continued seeking, Howard received the unmistakable testimony from God that he had been praying for. This divine witness led him to embrace the Latter-day Saint gospel and become a faithful member who later served as secretary to the Prophet Joseph Smith himself.