Betty Holding's miraculous reunion with the Church after twenty years
Published October 5, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Sister Betty Holding had been baptized by Heber C. Kimball but had lost contact with the Saints for over twenty years. After being away from the Church for that entire duration, she and her daughter attended a meeting at the Miner's Hall in Wigan, where she demonstrated a firm and unshaken testimony in the first principles of the Gospel and the divine mission of Joseph Smith.
Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):
We are now at the house of one Sister Betty Holding, who was baptised by Elder Heber C. Kimball, and has not been with or seen any of the Saints for more than twenty years, until last Sunday she and her daughter came to Wigan and attended meeting in the Miner’s Hall. She is as firm as the rock on the first principles of the Gospel and the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and can whip all the ministers in the country in discussion.
In Their Own Words
“We are now at the house of one Sister Betty Holding, who was baptised by Elder Heber C. Kimball, and has not been with or seen any of the Saints for more than twenty years, until last Sunday she and her daughter came to Wigan and attended meeting in the Miner’s Hall. She is as firm as the rock on the first principles of the Gospel and the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and can whip all the ministers in the country in discussion. — Millennial Star 45:19”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 7 May 1883 (Vol. 45, No. 19). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1883-05-07_45_19 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Fuller account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 45, No. 19, 7 May 1883, p. 299 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1883-05-07_45_19
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