Testimonies (Why I Believe)

Mary's Witness of the Fulfillment of Scriptural Prophecy

Published October 17, 2026 at 8:09 AM

1900s · 1902
State University chapel

Contributed by

Young Woman's Journal Research

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Miss Mary, a student, recounted her experience in a university chapel exercise where a minister spoke against the doctrine of salvation for the dead. Mary possessed a strong spiritual desire and intellectual capacity to defend the truth, having studied the subject thoroughly in her School and M.I.A. class. She successfully identified numerous scriptural passages and historical testimonies of early Church fathers that affirm Christ's mission to the dead, fulfilling prophecy and restoring faith.

In Their Own Words

“Oh! I had such difficulty in refraining from speaking out in chapel exercises this morning, she said. Elder James desired to learn the cause of her excitement, so the two seated themselves, and the young lady briefly recounted the following experience: You know, she said, we have chapel exercises at the University, conducted by our teachers or ministers and laymen who may be selected. This morning Rev. W. H. Bagby delivered an address and stated that he had not prepared a special talk but would give a lecture recently delivered in Salt Lake City on Salvation for the Dead. ... Oh! how anxious I was to answer those statements, the girl exclaimed, and her eyes sparkled as she expressed her desire to defend the truth. ... The young lady cheerfully answered, Why, our last School review took up this subject thoroughly and we also recently studied the same subject in our Y. L. M. I. A. — The Young Woman's Journal 13:9”

Sources & References

The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 13 no. 9 (September 1902). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/13283 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high)

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