And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not

be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld

with an eye of faith, and they were glad. Ether 1219. Hey listeners, this is Neil from Book of Mormon

Central, and today's podcast addresses

the question, why did Rebecca Swain Williams defend the Book of Mormon? Rebecca Swain Williams

joined the church when the first missionaries came to Ohio in October 1830. Her husband, Frederick

G. Williams, joined soon thereafter and was subsequently

called by Oliver Cowdery to join the missionaries as they continued on to Missouri. Despite

only having been a member for three weeks, Frederick willingly accepted the call, knowing it would

require great sacrifice from both him and his family as he left his wife, their four children,

and medical practice behind to obey the will of the Lord. Eventually, Frederick was called as a member

of the First Presidency, making many of his contributions to the early church highly visible to

others, including historians today. Rebecca, meanwhile, continued faithful and served willingly in her own

right. At times, she provided invaluable aid to the prophet Joseph Smith. Rebecca actively sought to

share the gospel with her family, but unfortunately they were not as receptive as she and her husband had hoped.

Her father threatened to disown her and actively attacked the church

in his letters to her. In an 1834 letter, her father attacked the Book of Mormon using, apparently,

the critical writings of Ezra Booth, a disaffected member of the church. Booth had joined the church

in June, 1831, almost on a whim, after witnessing Joseph Smith perform a miracle with his own

eyes. Expecting constant miracles from that point on, Booth was not prepared for the real

hard work that was required to build up the church. By the end of the summer, he had left the

church and was writing a series of letters criticizing the church that were published

...