hey guys Once Upon a Time Brigham Young had a stepson named James Cobb James eventually became disillusioned with the church and set out to prove that the Book of Mormon was a sham to bolster his argument he wrote a letter in 1880 to William mlen a former Apostle who had apostatized many years earlier but Williams reply to James was not what James was expecting let's talk about it William mlen had a rocky relationship with the church he was baptized in 1831 he was excommunicated ated In 1832 but he apparently came back and served a short mission in 1833 he became a member of the quum of the 12 apostles in early 1835 he was briefly disfellowshipped in August of that year but was reinstated in September he formally withdrew from the church in 1836 came back in 1837 and was excommunicated for the last time in 1838 after his excommunication he affiliated with various Latter-Day Saint breakoff groups until 1869 when he gave up on organized religion altogether William is a notable figure in Latter-Day Saint history because he witnessed early church history he built personal relationships with many early leaders and he left records his journals and other writings reveal what he thought about the truth claims of the church before during and after his membership for example while still investigating the church he sat down with hyam Smith for 4 hours and in his words inquired into the particulars of the coming forth of the record of the r of the church and of its progress and upon the testimonies given to him Etc the next day we read in his journal I Rose early and betook myself to Earnest prayer to God to direct me into truth and from all the light that I could gain by examinations searches and researches I was bound as an honest man to acknowledge the truth and validity of the Book of Mormon towards the end of 1833 William was among the saints who were persecuted in Jackson County Missouri a reward was offered to anyone who would deliver him or Book of Mormon witness Oliver cowry to the Mob William subsequently retreated to the woods near the home of David Whitmer another witness of the Book of Mormon plates he met with both David and Oliver there and had a very blunt conversation with them I said to them Brethren I never have seen an open Vision in my life but you men say you have and therefore you positively know now you know that our lives are in danger every hour if the mob can only catch us tell me in the fear of God is that Book of Mormon true cowder looked at me with solemnity depicted in his face and said brother William God sent his Holy Angel to declare the truth of the translation of it to us and therefore we know and though the mob kill us yet we must die declaring its Truth David said Oliver has told you the solemn Truth for we could not be deceived I most truly declare to you its truth boys I believe you I can see no object for you to tell me false now when our lives are endangered in the same document he also recorded the experience of one one of the eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon hyam pagee while the mob was raging in Jackson County Missouri in 1833 some young men ran down hyram pagee one of the eight and commenced beating and pounding him with whips and clubs he begged but there was no mercy they said he was a damn Mormon and they meant to beat him to death but finally one then said to him if you will deny that damned book we we'll let you go how can I deny what I know to be true then they pounded him again when they thought he was about to breathe his last they said to him now what do you think of your God when he don't save you well I believe in God well I believe the Damned fool will stick to it though we kill him let us let him go now it's fair to ask the question if William's testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon was so strong why did he leave the church multiple times William himself told us in his reply to James which you can pause and read ultimately his issue was with church leadership not the Book of Mormon this is what William had to say to James cob regarding the Book of Mormon I am opinionated when I thoroughly examine a subject and settle my mind then higher evidence must be introduced before I change I have set my seal that the Book of Mormon is a true divine record it will require more evidence than I have ever seen to ever shake me relative to its Purity I have read many exposes I have seen all their arguments but my evidences are above them all when a man goes at the Book of Mormon he touches the apple of my eye he fights against truth against Purity against Light Fight The wrongs of LDS ISM as much as you please but let that unique that inimitable book alone when I first joined the church in 1831 soon I became acquainted with all the Smith family and the Whitmer family and I heard all their testimonies which agreed in the main points and I believed them then and I believe them yet my advice to you is Cease your opposition and strife against the book for you might just as well fight against the Rocky Mountains I saw David Whitmer in June of 1879 and heard him bear his solemn testimony to the truth of the book as sincerely and solemnly as when he bore it to me in Paris Illinois in July of 1831 I believed him then and still believe him you seem to think he and I ought to come out and tell something some Darkness relative to that book we should lie if we did for we know nothing against its credibility or Divine truth even decades after leaving the church William could not deny his own testimony of the Book of Mormon nor the absolutely sincere testimonies of those who had participated in its coming forth before you leave go check out this video and have a great day