Turning Hate into Hope

An anti-Mormon pamphlet, a town's persecution & a well-timed missionary.

Do you remember when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints placed an ad in the Playbill?

Yeah, that one. It ran during The Book of Mormon musical. The Church took a play that was very anti-Latter-day Saint and turned it into an opportunity.

Well, that scenario reminds me of the start of Hannah Cornaby’s conversion. She and her husband, Samuel, ran a bookshop. As such, they received and read lots of books, pamphlets and the like. Their first introduction to the Church was a tract called “Religious Imposters”. It provided a brief history of Joseph Smith along with a small footnote about his martyrdom. Not to long after, they received an anti-Mormon pamphlet called, The Mormons; Illustrated.

Hannah and Samuel poured over it’s pages. It included teachings from Joseph Smith. As well as excerpts from Cornel Kane’s lectures. Cornel Kane, to my knowledge, wasn’t a member but was friendly to Latter-day Saints.

The pamphlet wasn’t particularly kind to the “Mormons” though. It was clearly trying to show the fallacy’s in the faith, but Hannah saw through their lies. In her autobiography she writes, “my husband and I read it together carefully and thoughtfully, and we arose from its perusal satisfied of the divine mission of Joseph Smith. “ (22)

Hannah wasn’t sure yet, but she hoped that this new church held the answers she was seeking. Her parents had instilled in her a love for the bible. But she was struggling to find a church that matched the kind the bible spoke of. She left the Evangelical church and joined the Congregational church. But, that had not been what she had hoped, so she found herself without a church to call home.

It really bothered her.

But that all changed in February of 1852. Hannah was working when she spotted a man under the awning of their bookshop. He was attempting to shield himself from the pouring rain.

Hannah took pity on him and she ushered him inside the shop. The man introduced himself as Elder Day; a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hannah's heart leapt with joy. She ran to fetch Samuel. Samuel readily invited him to dinner and they peppered the missionary with questions.

But it was getting late.

Hannah and Samuel weren’t ready for the conversation to end. So, they procured lodging for him and he came over for breakfast the next day. Before he left, the Cornaby’s made him promise to come back that night and preach to their friends. Elder Day readily agreed.

Hannah was becoming convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel. She wrote, "we scarcely dared to hope, yet dared not to doubt” (23). She felt excited to share this new religion with her friends.

As she puts it “he preached and we believed, and thought it impossible for any one who heard it to do otherwise.” (23-24)

Hannah was wrong.

As Elder Day was preaching, Hannah’s friends hurled insults at him.

I can only imagine how she must have felt. Embarrassed at their behavior. Distressed at their attitude to something she was so excited to have found. Something she believed in. I know I would have been a ball of nerves. Still, she and her husband remained excited and hopeful.

When Elder Day finished preaching, he made what I imagine to be a hasty exit & the hate turned to the Cornaby’s.

“How can you believe such lies?” they asked.

When the Cornaby’s didn’t answer to their liking, they left and never again returned. But, in a small town, word travels fast.

They were not yet members, yet Hannah and Samuel were quickly “counted amongst the Mormons" . Hannah was sure, but her husband was still investigating. I'm sure the hate didn't help. Every time they went out, people bombarded the Cornaby's with questions and vitriol. When people weren’t spewing hate in their direction, they would avoid them like the plague. Some zealots even hurled stones at them while they were walking down the street.

I believe these harsh reactions came from fear more than malice. Though, of course I can’t judge everyone’s intentions. But, I get it, I do. Obviously, I would never try to harm someone for believing different than me. I grew up in a 'hellfire and brimstone' religion myself. I understand why people fear others joining different faiths. You literally fear for their souls. But, the fear usually comes out sideways — causing people to do things that really don’t make sense. Or align with their goals. But I digress.

Through all of this hardship, the Cornaby’s remained steadfast. They started going to a small Latter-day Saint branch in Yarmouth (UK). A short while after they started attending that branch, Samuel had his remaining questions answered. He was soon baptized. Hannah, however, still had to wait (I assume because she was pregnant, but it's unclear).

Hannah’s baptism ended up being…well, let’s just say she had to have a lot of faith to go through with it. But, I’ll tell you all about it next week.

For now, could you share your conversion story with me? I’d love to hear it!

Cornaby, Hannah. Autobiography and Poems . Salt Lake City, UT: J.C. Graham Company , 1881.

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