Eunice Stewart Harris — Conversion through Elijah Abel

Eunice Stewart (later Harris) was initially hostile toward the message of the restored gospel and intended to tell the missionary Elijah Abel that the Book of Mormon was a work of fiction. However, upon hearing Abel preach, his voice and the message he delivered opened her heart to the Spirit, leading to her conversion.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Elijah Able History Essay, Mormonism Research Ministry):

In his dream, he saw “Eunice Franklin, a woman he had baptized in New York, racked with doubts about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Her uncertainty robbed her of sleep. She could not eat. She wanted to tell him that the Book of Mormon was a work of fiction and Joseph Smith was a false prophet. But when she saw Elijah at her door, she instead invited him inside.” Able invited Eunice and her husband to hear him preach at a local schoolhouse. She didn’t want to go, but later relented. According to page 317, Able’s message that Elijah’s voice and the message of the restored gospel opened Eunice’s heart to the Spirit.