Based on the book, Indefatigable Veteran—History and Biography of Abel Evans, A Welsh Mormon Elder, written by Ronald D. Dennis,
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Abel Evans
COURAGEOUS ELDER
Rhydybont Press, Provo, Utah 1994
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Samuel and Anne Evans were newlywed and poor. They lived in a
laborer’s cottage while working on a farm in Wales called Hedgehog Castle.
Just over 9 months after their wedding, on June 17, 1812, Anne gave birth to
their first child, a baby boy. Although Samuel and Anne had been forced by
the laws of England to be married in the Church of England (also known as
the Anglican Church), they were allowed to choose the church in which their
son would be named and christened. Most parents took their infant children
to the local vicar of the Anglican Church, but Abel’s parents were members
of a group called the Independents. The Independents were
“nonconformists” who were fiercely opposed to many of the Anglican
Church’s beliefs. They strongly encouraged their members to study the
Bible and think for themselves.
Samuel and Anne took their newborn son to the Independent Chapel
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And christened him “Abel Evans.”
Abel grew up as a farm boy, but his family moved to Merthyr Tydfil,
an industrial mining town, by the time he was a teenager. As he grew and
became a man, he probably began working in the mines where caveins and
explosions were a constant danger. The miners spent six days a week in the
mines and, during winter months, only saw daylight on Sundays. Abel
attended church each Sunday at the Independents’ Bethesda Chapel. Being
wellrespected, he was asked to serve as a deacon in the Sunday School.
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Abel’s 32nd year of life (1844) was one of change. His Mother died of
pulmonary tuberculosis and, within a few weeks, Abel first met the Mormon
missionaries.
Missionary work had begun in Wales in 1840, when Brigham Young
and Heber C. Kimball were serving missions in the British Isles.
Because of the positive reception they had received in Wales and their
love for the people, the Church leaders sent other missionaries. In 1843,
Lorenzo Snow called William Henshaw, an English convert who had
married a Welsh woman, to establish his family and preach the gospel in
Merthyr Tydfil. By the end of 1843, he had baptized nearly eighty converts.
Many negative stories were circulated about the Mormons. A Baptist
Reverend in the area wrote:
The foolish and madmen who call themselves ‘Latterday Saints’ have arrived . . ..
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I did not think there were men so stupid in Wales to believe such a heap of nonsense and presumption.
I’m sorry to say that a number of the dregs of society are now believers. They are baptized at night, and those receiving baptism must undress for them and go to the water stark naked.
The Independents took a different approach by challenging the
missionaries to two debates, first on the topic of miracles and second on
baptism. The Independents believed that miracles such as healings had
ceased at the time of Christ and that the proper method of baptism was
sprinkling. The Independents selected Abel Evans, rather than their
minister, to represent them in the debates. After the first debate, it was
reported that Abel Evans, “an intelligent and gifted young man,” “a warrior
from his youth,” had “appeared victorious in the eyes of the public. His
brethren were extremely proud to have such a young man of hope in their
midst.” During his second debate, Abel fell silent and listened to the
missionaries he was supposed to be debating. His heart was touched, and he
knew the message was true. He had the integrity and courage to follow his
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new convictions, so, after the debate, Abel went with the missionaries to the
river and was baptized.
The Independents were shocked. It was reported that Abel’s father,
Samuel Evans, was greatly distressed: “His lament the next night at the
meeting at Bethesda [Chapel] was extraordinary, and all he could do was
wonder and ponder as to what had bewitched his son.” Samuel soon found
out. Only four days after Abel’s baptism, Samuel and another son were
baptized, with other family members soon to follow.
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For the next six years, Abel Evans served as a missionary in Wales,
preaching the gospel, administering to the sick, casting out devils, suffering
persecution, baptizing many new converts and strengthening the Church.
Although Church records from this period are incomplete, missionaries who
served with Abel said that he baptized over two thousand people during his
first mission.
At one conference of the Church, individuals possessed by devils were
disrupting the proceedings. The presiding officer commanded the evil spirits
to depart and the audience responded with such powerful “Amens” that the
neighbors thought it had thundered. Although this sent most of the devils
packing, two women who were more stubbornly possessed continued to be
disruptive. The presiding officer closed the meeting, called the elders
together, including Abel Evans, to deal with them. The women, who had
been frequently possessed elsewhere and were living in sin, were biting,
kicking and swearing horribly. When the women were excommunicated,
they laughed and derided, saying that was what they wanted. Once the evil
spirits were cast out, however, the women dressed their upper garments
which they had previously torn off themselves and went home without
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further disruption, weeping bitterly when they learned they had been
excommunicated.
Although Abel had, before his baptism, argued that miracles had
ceased, he became known as one whose priesthood blessings had miraculous
force. Through Abel, the Lord healed many believers of various maladies,
including several cases of cancer and cholera. In one instance, Abel
administered to a sister suffering from a cancer that had terribly eaten away
her face and nose and bored holes in her jaws. The smell of the cancer was
so horrible that no one would stay in the house with her. Following a
priesthood anointing and blessing, the cancer was killed and her face began
to heal. Eventually, she grew new flesh and skin and a new nose.
In a small town on the Isle of Anglesey, the town crier—whose job it
was to make public announcements in a loud voice throughout the
town—refused to announce the sermon Abel Evans would be preaching that
evening.
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Abel learned that it was the local Methodist minister who was
imposing this restriction. In a letter describing the situation and his
response, Abel said:
[The town crier] was free to announce dogs and swine, fairs and games—in short, everything except for a preacher of the Saints. Then I had to take the honor to myself of announcing throughout the town in his place; and together with announcing the sermon I was obliged to announce to the public why I was taking the job of the restricted crier in question. And the people testified that I filled his office much better than he. I don’t intend ever to try to obtain his services again, rather I shall announce myself. And perhaps if the crier is not able to escape from the Methodist clutches of his minister, everyone in [town] will begin to announce himself also. After the trouble I took and the threats I received, an excellent meeting was held, and many testified that they believed on the sayings that cause some to begin in Christ.
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