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12 The Prophet Cainan The vacuum of general leadership created by the death of the Prophet Joseph Morris soon began attracting candidates. The first to volunteer his services as prophet, seer, and revelator was one George Williams. Williams is something of an enigma, for his first association with the Morrisites is unknown. In fact, his name appears nowhere in the Morrisite record prior to the death of Joseph Morris. Almost certainly he was not associated with the Morrisites at South Weber and was not directly involved in the conflict there. At the time of the Morrisite War, George Williams was forty-eight years old and was living near Salt Lake City, possibly at Mill Creek. The 1860 census shows that he had two children, and there were two adult women living in his household—Susannah Woolfelt, whom he had married in England, and Louisa. Although this raises the possibility that he had plural wives, it seems more likely that Louisa was his daughter. George Williams was born February 14, 1814, at Thorp, Surrey County, England, to James and Sarah Williams. His father was a gardener. George was baptized into the Mormon church May 4, 1848, and became a member of the Rotherham, England, branch. He had married prior to that time. On October 9, 1850, he registered with the Liverpool L.D.S. Mission Office to emigrate to the United States with his wife and aged mother-inlaw . However, he did not leave England as scheduled. The 1851 census shows him living at Bridgegate in Rotherham. He worked as a butcher and lived with his wife and mother-in-law. Williams was ordained a priest in the Aaronic priesthood May 18, 1851, but a year later he was excommunicated for “improper conduct.” Apparently his conduct improved, for he was rebaptized into the Mormon church on December 17, 1852, and became a member of the Sheffield, England, branch. On April 11, 1855, George and his wife, Susannah, boarded the S. Curling at Liverpool to immigrate to the United States. They joined a handcart company under Captain Moses Thurston, arriving in Salt Lake City on September 28, 1855. 166 The Dispersion Little is known of Williams’s activities between 1855 and 1862. However, he participated in the reformation of 1856–57, for he was rebaptized on March 15, 1857. At that time he was a member of the Mill Creek Ward. Perhaps Williams had met Joseph Morris when he was still living in Salt Lake City. However, neither Morris nor Williams acknowledged any such meeting. If Williams had any direct link with the Morrisites prior to the fall of 1862, there is no record of it. Perhaps he was simply an aspiring prophet looking for some people to lead. Whatever the case, in the autumn of 1862 George Williams commenced a campaign to gain leadership of the Morrisite church, which was languishing in disarray. His claim to leadership was set forth in a remarkable document , “A Description of Interviews with Celestial Beings,” which was first circulated by handwritten letter but eventually published by John Eardley in 1899. The document began: After leading a blameless life, and searching after the treasures of eternity , through the gospel of Christ, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I was, on the 15th day of April, A.D. 1862, riding on my spirited mare by the slope of the western range of mountains, near Hacker’s canyon, in Salt Lake Valley, Utah, when snow began to fall in a marvelous manner. A cloud appeared in the north and became agitated, and speedily formed an enormous archway, spanning the entire valley. On each side of this arch were massive pillars of light, constructed with fine skill, and folding doors studded with golden bolts. Beholding this heavenly appearance, I alighted from my horse, and allowed it to escape. While meditating this scene, the eyes of my understanding were opened by the spirit of God, so as to understand the things of God as they were from eternity. The folding doors were thrown back, and the highway to the eternal worlds was opened before me, and a voice strengthened me, saying: “Fear not, thou greatly beloved of the Lord, these are they that form a portion of the armies of heaven.” Beyond the folding doors I saw a countless host of horses, and they who sat upon them had on breast-plates of fire, and diamonds, and helmets of precious stones, and out of the nostrils of the horses...

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