William Duffin, his wife, and Sister Leach's deliverance through answered prayer
Published October 11, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
While serving as a missionary in Brisbane, Australia, Elder George E. Woolley and his companion, Elder A. S. Young, were running low on funds and facing success with difficulty. After a month of labor, they were led to three 'lost sheep' (William Duffin, his wife, and Sister Leach) who had belonged to the Church in England sixteen years prior and had been praying for the arrival of the Lord's servants. The trio provided the missionaries with a comfortable home and were subsequently baptized.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 52, No. 48, 1 December 1890, p. 764):
Elders George E. Woolley and A. S. Young, writing from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, under date of October 13, 1890, say: 'We have been here one month, and have had a hard time to get along, but the Lord has opened the way. We have found three lost sheep, who belonged to the Church in England sixteen years ago. They have been praying for the servants of the Lord to come to them. They are Brother William Duffin, his wife, and Sister Leach. They have given us a comfortable home, and we have baptized them.'
In Their Own Words
“We labored for more than a month, without any apparent success, and were running low in finances, when the Lord opened our way by sending unto us three of His lost sheep, who had formerly belonged to the fold in England, but had, sixteen years ago, wandered into these parts. We were informed by them that they had been long praying for the coming of God’s true servants, and they were truly overjoyed at meeting us. Brother William Duffin, now in his 82nd year, his wife, and a Sister Leach were the three. Brother Duffin, as he grasped our hands in broken words and swimming eyes, expressed his gratitude for this answer to his prayers. He took us home with him and has since, together with Sister Leach, provided us with a comfortable home. We have had the pleasure of baptising them and two of their children. — Millennial Star 52:48”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 1 December 1890 (Vol. 52, No. 48). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1890-12-01_52_48 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 52, No. 48, 1 December 1890, p. 764 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1890-12-01_52_48
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