William Gibson's Challenge for Spiritual Signs
Published October 13, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
During a meeting in Kilmarnock, Elder William Gibson was asked how he knew he possessed authority compared to other denominations. He publicly offered a test to the audience, promising in the name of Jesus Christ that if they believed his doctrine, repented, were baptized, and confirmed by his hands, they would receive the Holy Ghost and the signs following believers as recorded in Mark 16.
In Their Own Words
“I will answer it by giving a test that none but an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dare give with any hope of its being fulfilled; for no one but God can fulfil the promise that I now will give you, which is this: If you believe the doctrine I have taught, if you will repent of your sins, and be baptized for the remission of your sins, and be confirmed by the laying on of my hands, I promise you in the name of the Master, Jesus Christ, that you shall receive the Holy Ghost, and the signs which followed the believers as recorded in the 16th chapter of Mark shall also follow you. No greater sign can be given, because the Lord would not give this testimony to confirm the words of an imposter. I have been in the Church for many years, and I have never seen the time when the Lord did not fulfill His promise to those who complied with the requirements of the Gospel. I have seen the sick healed, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and I have seen the power of God manifested in many ways, and I know that this is the work of God.”
— William Gibson, as quoted in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 66, No. 37
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 15 September 1904 (Vol. 66, No. 37). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1904-09-15_66_37 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, 15 September 1904, Vol. 66, No. 37, page 583 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1904-09-15_66_37
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