Providential appointment of Elders at Cross Roads
Published October 5, 2026 at 5:43 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Elder H. K. Coray and his companion were unable to get an appointment for the third Sunday in August 1868. Squire Wm. Hill reported that Methodist ministers had scheduled an 'exposure of Mormonism' at the bowery at Cross Roads for that day. The Elders scheduled a meeting at the same place for 2 p.m. to respond. The ministers failed to appear at the afternoon meeting, but other preachers did attend and were forced to listen to the Latter-day Saint doctrines. The account notes it was providential that they did not secure an earlier appointment, as the incident became widely known and led to many baptisms in that section.
In Their Own Words
“On the 15th of August, 1868, I, with my companion, Elder Wm. Hill, arrived at Cross Roads, in the hope of obtaining an appointment to preach, but we were unsuccessful. We were informed by Mr. Cordell that the Methodist ministers had an appointment at the bowery at that place for the third Sunday in August, for the purpose of exposing 'Mormonism.' We then made an appointment for ourselves at the same place, at 2 p.m., on the same day. We afterwards looked upon it as providential that we did not get out an appointment sooner for the third Sunday. When the time arrived, the Methodist ministers failed to put in an appearance, but there were other preachers present, and they were compelled to listen to the principles of the Gospel as taught by the Latter-day Saints. The incident became widely known, and resulted in much good, and many were baptized in that section of the country.”
— H. K. Coray, The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 43, No. 2
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 10 January 1881 (Vol. 43, No. 2). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-01-10_43_2 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, 10 January 1881, Vol. 43, No. 2, p. 28 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-01-10_43_2
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