ALMOST LOST IN THE ATLANTIC—NARROWLY ESCAPE THE "SALUDA" DISASTER—NEARLY DEAD WITH THE CHOLERA—HEALED IN ANSWER TO PRAYER—BLOWN UP WITH A KEG OF POWDER—A SICK WOMAN HEALED—ELDER PATTEN'S REMARKABLE PREDICTION FULFILLED—A MAN ALMOST DEAD RECOVERS ON BEING BAPTIZED.
During my experience I have seen the power of God manifested upon various occasions in preserving my life; indeed, considering the many narrow escapes I have had, it might be almost thought that I have had a charmed life.
On my return from England in 1853, on board the new steamerPacific, we encountered a severe storm, in which the deck was swept clear of rigging, the deck cabin, one of the wheels, both wheel houses and the bulwarks. The steamer was entirely submerged in the sea at one time, and had she not been very well built she would never have come to the surface again. It looked like a precarious time, but I felt an assurance that the vessel would be saved, and in the midst of all the excitement which prevailed among the crew and passengers I felt quite calm. I had seventeen thousand dollars in gold in my possession, and I did not even fear that I would lose that. Our preservation, however, was certainly providential, for the vessel was in a terribly dilapidated condition, but we finally arrived safely in New York with the wrecked vessel, after a voyage of sixteen days.
I subsequently had a very narrow escape on the occasion of theSaludadisaster. I had purchased the supplies for my company to make its overland journey with, except cattle, at St. Louis, and had decided to go farther up the river to buy the stock, when Eli B. Kelsey came to me to consult me in regard to chartering theSaludato convey an independent company of Saints up the river. I went with him to examine the boat, and on finding that it was an old hulk of a freight boat, fitted up with a single engine, I strongly advised him against having anything to do with it. He seemed to be influenced in making choice of it entirely by the fact that he could get it cheaper than a better one; but in my opinion it seemed folly, for in addition to the danger of accident, the length of time likely to be occupied in making the journey would more than counterbalance what might be saved in the charge for transit. However, he decided to charter it, and then both he and the captain urged me strongly to take passage with them, offering to carry me free of cost if I would only go, but I could not feel satisfied to do so. I followed a few days afterwards on theIsabella, and overtook them at Lexington, where theSaludawas stopped by the float-ice and was unable to proceed farther. I went on board of her to visit the Saints (who were in charge of D. J. Ross, Eli B. Kelsey having gone ashore to purchase cattle), and left just before the last plank was drawn in, preparatory to attempting to start. I had not walked to exceed two hundred yards after leaving theSaludabefore the explosion occurred, and on turning to look in the direction of the the ill-fated boat I saw the bodies of many of the unfortunate passengers and various parts of the boat flying in the air in every direction. Fortunately for the Saints on board, they were mostly on the deck of the boat and pretty well towards the stern, and they consequently fared better than those who were below, or on the forepart of the boat, which was blown entirely to pieces. As it was, however, upwards of twenty of the Saints were lost or subsequently died of their wounds. My own preservation I can only attribute to the providence of the Almighty, for if I had remained a moment on the wharf to see the boat start, as would have been very natural for a person to do, I would have been blown into eternity as those were who stood there.
I shall never forget the kindness of the citizens of Lexington in caring for the living and burying the dead. The Lord certainly inspired them to do all that sympathy and benevolence could suggest in aid of the afflicted. The city council set apart a piece of ground in which to bury the Saints who had died, and William H. Russell, the great government freighter, and many other prominent citizens did all they could to comfort and help the afflicted survivors. Besides their devoted attention, their contributions in aid of the Saints amounted to thousands of dollars.
The disaster described is really the only accident of any consequence by water that has befallen a company of Latter-day Saints in emigrating from the old countries, and there was much reason to believe that Providence was in their favor to a great extent even in that case, or a much greater number would certainly have lost their lives.
I remained at Lexington about eight days looking after the interests of the Saints and purchasing stock, after which I returned to St. Louis, where I met the company of Saints I was to conduct across the plains. On reaching Atchison, our starting point for the overland journey, the company was stricken with the cholera. There were over forty cases, and of these some fifteen proved fatal. Numbers were healed instantaneously through the prayer of faith when the Elders laid their hands upon them, although apparently near death's door; others gave way entirely to fear, failed to exercise faith and soon died. After we had started upon our journey and when the last person who had been afflicted had recovered, I was prostrated with the same dread disease. The train was stopped and the whole company fasted and prayed for two days for my recovery, but I continued growing worse until my limbs and the lower portion of my body were apparently dead, but then the faith of the Saints and the power of the Almighty prevailed in my behalf and I recovered. I had, however, lost seventy-five pounds in weight within a few days.
Another remarkable instance in which the providence of the Almighty was manifest in my preservation occurred in the following May. I was emptying a small keg of powder and standing in a stooping position right over it, and as it did not run out very freely I shook the keg, when it exploded. The staves and pieces of hoops were scattered in every direction, some pieces being afterwards found at least eight rods distant. I was blown into the air and my face and hands most terribly burned. It was a marvel that the staves of the keg were not driven through my body, but it did not appear that a single one had struck me. The whole of the skin came from my face and hands, yet, wonderful to relate, there is not now a mark of powder about my face, and my eyesight, the loss of which I was most fearful of, was not at all impaired by it.
This series of narrow escapes which I have related I passed through within a little over a year; and it really seemed to me that Satan was bent upon my destruction. The fact that my life was preserved through them was an evidence to me of the power of God and that He had a purpose in allowing me to live.
I have witnessed the power of God displayed in the healing of persons who were sick in hundreds of instances, in some cases that would probably be considered by the world as very wonderful, but to which the Saints, whose experience has been similar to my own, had become accustomed. I think Elder David W. Patten possessed the gift of healing to a greater degree than any man I ever associated with. I remember on one occasion when I was laboring with him as a missionary in Tennessee, he was sent for to administer to a woman who had been sick for five years and bed-ridden for one year and not able to help herself. Brother Patten stepped to her bedside and asked her if she believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. She replied that she did. He then took her by the hand and said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, arise!"
She immediately sat up in bed, when he placed his hands upon her head and rebuked her disease, pronounced blessings upon her head and promised that she should bear children. She had been married for seven years and had never had any children, and this promise seemed very unlikely ever to be fulfilled. But she arose from her bed immediately, walked half a mile to be baptized and back again in her wet clothes. She was healed from that time, and within one year became a mother, and afterwards bore several children.
I was myself healed under his administration in a manner which appeared to me very remarkable at that time. While traveling I was taken very sick and was forced to seek entertainment at the house of an infidel. Elder Patten was desirous of administering to me and, by way of a pretext, asked the privilege of praying. His request was granted and he knelt beside the bed upon which I was lying, and, without the family noticing it, placed his hand upon my head. While his hand was upon me, I felt the disease pass off from my system as palpably as I ever experienced anything in my life, and before he arose from his knees I was as well as I ever had been, and able to arise and eat my supper.
I remember a rather remarkable instance of healing that occurred at Winter Quarters, which I think worth relating:
During the winter of 1846-7 while the Saints were encamped on the banks of the Missouri there was a great deal of sickness among them, and many died. Among others who were afflicted was a man by the name of Collins, who had followed up the Church for some time on account of his wife being a member, but who never felt quite satisfied to embrace the gospel, although he never opposed the work. When he was taken sick it was not thought by his friends that he could recover, as he had appeared to be sinking rapidly under the effects of the disease, and for some time he lay in a semi-unconscious state, from which it was feared he would never rally.
However, he finally regained consciousness and looked around, when I asked him if he had any message to leave before he died. He immediately replied that it would not do for him to die then, as he had not been baptized, and urged very strongly to be taken right down to the river to receive this ordinance.
Yielding to his solicitations, some of the brethren brought the running gear of a wagon with a few boards on it, up to the door of the cabin in which he was living, and his bed, with him lying upon it, was carried out and placed on the wagon. When we had proceeded part way down to the river the wagon tire commenced running off one of the wheels and a halt was made to hammer it on again. On noticing the wagon stop and hearing the hammering, he inquired what was the matter, and when he was informed that the tire was running off, he replied impatiently, "Oh, never mind the tire; go on, or I'll die and go to hell yet before I'm baptized!"
We proceeded on with him till we reached the river, which at that time was frozen over, but the ice had been cut away near the shore in order that our animals might drink. There he was lifted from his bed, carried into the water and I baptized him for the remission of his sins and his restoration to health. After being taken out of the water a blanket was wrapped around him and he was seated for a moment to rest upon a block of ice upon the shore. Seeing the brethren turning the wagon around, he inquired what they were going to do. They replied that they were going to put him on the bed and haul him back home, when he arose to his feet and assured them that they need not go to that trouble, for he could walk back, and he did so, and from that time became a healthy man.
ELDER HALLIDAY APPLIED TO FOR HELP BY A SISTER WHOSE SON IS DYING—NOT ABLE TO GO, HE GAVE THE LADY HIS HANDKERCHIEF AND PROMISES HER THE CHILD SHALL LIVE—THE CHILD REVIVES FROM APPARENT DEATH BY THE WOMAN'S FAITH AND PRAYER—PREACHING IN PENZANCE—DISCOURAGEMENT AND WANT—STRANGE CONDUCT OF A LADY ATTENDING THE MEETING—INVITATION TO GO TO ST. JUST—GIFT OF TONGUES AND INTERPRETATION GIVEN TO ELDER HALLIDAY, THROUGH WHICH HE RECEIVES A REVELATION—REVELATION LITERALLY FULFILLED.
The various gifts of the gospel were perhaps enjoyed to as great an extent by the Elders who labored in England in an early day as they have been by any people and in any place, at least in this dispensation. Nor were the manifestations of these gifts confined to the Elders who were engaged in the ministry, for their converts also enjoyed them to a very great extent. Many of them through their extraordinary faith and humility called forth the blessings and power of God in various ways. The gift of healing was very manifest, and scores of instances might be related wherein persons were healed in a most miraculous manner.
Bishop George Halliday, of Santaquin, who labored extensively as a missionary in his native country in an early day, relates an incident of this kind. Upon a warm Sunday evening, after he had been preaching to an audience in Bristol, he was accosted by a Mrs. Ware, a sister in the Church, who told him she had a son extremely sick and thought to be dying. She begged him to go home with her and administer to it. She lived three miles distant, on Durham Down. It was quite late in the evening and he was so extremely tired that he scarcely felt able to comply with her request; and yet he did not like to decline. All at once he felt impressed to say: "Here, Sister Ware, you take my handkerchief and go home to your child and lay it on him wherever he seems to be affected, praying to the Lord to heal him. If you do this I will promise you that he will recover."
With full faith the good lady took the handkerchief and departed. On reaching her home she was met at the door by her daughters and friends, who informed her that her son was dead.
"No," said she, "I cannot believe it! Brother Halliday has promised me that he shall live, and I have his handkerchief to lay upon him."
She hastened to the boy and did as she had been directed to, and the child, which a few minutes before had been inanimate, began to show signs of life. The next morning he was able to come down to breakfast, and soon regained his wonted health. He afterwards emigrated to Utah.
Brother Halliday also relates another instance in which the power of God was displayed in a rather remarkable manner, near the same time:
He and Elder John Chislett were sent to Penzance, Cornwall, to introduce the gospel to the inhabitants. They met with no encouragement, yet they did not feel justified in leaving the place until they had given the people a thorough warning. Their funds were so low that the two of them were forced to live on a penny's worth of bread and a penny's worth of soup per day; yet their faith was strong, and they spent much of their time in prayer. Finally, as a last resort, in the effort to awaken an interest in the message they had to bear to the people, they decided to give a course of public lectures. Elder Halliday pawned his watch to raise the necessary money to rent a hall and publish some placards announcing their meetings, and on the first evening appointed they were gratified at seeing a few come to hear them. Among the audience they noticed particularly a well-dressed gentleman and lady, the latter of whom commenced weeping almost as soon as she entered the hall and continued to do so as long as the meeting lasted. The Elders, of course, could assign no reason for this peculiar conduct while the meeting was in progress, nor were they any more enlightened when, at the close of the services, the lady came forward with her husband and invited them to visit her at her home at St. Just, about six miles distant. This was the first invitation they had received from anyone in the place, and they accepted it joyfully, and would willingly have gone home with her that night, but, to their disappointment, she named the following Wednesday as the time when she would be pleased to receive them. Nothing further passed between them, but it was evident that a favorable impression had been made upon her, and that she was a woman of intelligence and refinement. While anticipating the pleasure of visiting her and waiting for the day to arrive, the Elders continued to subsist upon their scanty fare, and spent their time in vainly endeavoring to proselyte among the citizens of Penzance.
Wednesday morning came and with it a drenching rain storm, through which the Elders tramped the whole six miles, hungry and penniless. Shortly before arriving at St. Just, and while they were crossing a plowed field, with the mud clinging to their boots so they could scarcely walk, the Lord deigned to comfort them by giving Elder Halliday the gift of tongues and the interpretation of the same, in which it was made known to him that the lady whom they were going to visit had been favored with a vision in which she had seen himself and Elder Chislett; also that she was the owner of several houses, one of which she was going to allow them to use to hold meetings in, and that he was going to baptize her that very night.
As soon as this had passed through his mind, for he had not spoken aloud, but to himself, he joyfully slapped his companion on the shoulder and exclaimed, "Cheer up, John! I have had a revelation!" He then proceeded to relate all that had been revealed to him.
When they arrived at the house they were drenched as badly as if they had been in a river. Even their boots were full of water, so that when they pulled them off and turned the tops downward it ran out of them in a stream. Their friend, however, had been anxiously looking for them, and had prepared a blazing fire to warm them and spread the table with tempting food. She also proposed for them to change their clothes as far as she could supply them with dry ones to put on from her husband's wardrobe. "But," said she, "I can hardly wait for you to change your clothes, I am so anxious to talk to you."
"Oh, you need not be in such a hurry," remarked Elder Halliday, "for I know what you are going to say!"
She looked at him in surprise and inquired how he knew.
"Why," he said, "I have had it revealed to me on the way here." He then related to her every particular as it had been made known to him, until he got to that part relating to her baptism, when she interrupted him by exclaiming in surprise to her husband:
"There, now, is that not just as it occurred? How could he have learned that? for you know I have not talked with anyone but you about it!" She then admitted that the week previous, while lying awake in bed, she saw a bright light in the room and awoke her husband and pointed it out to him. He also saw it, and it passed around the room in the direction of Penzance, to which place it led her in her mind, and there she saw two men trying to raise a standard, in which labor the people who looked on seemed unwilling to lend a helping hand. She reproached them for their lack of interest, and took hold herself to assist. This vision was so plain that she afterwards related the whole of it to her husband and even described the appearance of the men. Then she could not rest until she had, in company with her husband, visited Penzance and attended the lecture she there saw announced. As soon as she entered the hall and saw the two Elders she recognized them and could not refrain from crying. As to the other part of what had been revealed to him, she said it was true that she was the owner of a row of houses, which she pointed out to the Elders, and that the last one was a school-house in which her husband taught school, and which they were welcome to use as a meeting house as long as they wanted to free of charge.
"But," said Elder Halliday, "that is not all that the Lord revealed to me. He told me that I was going to baptize you before I went to bed to-night, and now I want your husband to go and find some water for that purpose."
Brother Halliday, in telling what had been revealed to him, felt a good deal as he imagined the prophet Jonah must have felt when the Lord commanded him to go to Nineveh and declare the destruction of that city. He had before him the fear of being declared a false prophet, and it required a great deal of faith in him to tell it, especially that part relating to her baptism. However, he was soon relieved on that score, for the good lady expressed her readiness and anxiety to go immediately and be baptized. But her husband declared there was not a stream or pond in that region deep enough to baptize a person in, and it would be no use for them to think of doing such a thing that day. "Is there not a ditch or hollow anywhere around here that is deep enough?" said Elder Halliday, "Please go and see."
The husband complied with a dubious look on his face, while the Elders proceeded to change and dry their clothes, and soon he returned and reported that the heavy shower which had fallen had so filled all the ditches and low places that they would have no difficulty in finding water deep enough.
Within two hours from the arrival of the Elders the lady was baptized and confirmed, she being the first one to embrace the gospel in the region known as "Land's End."
The Elders ever found a home at her house and enjoyed the privilege of holding meetings in her school-house for years, and she remained faithful, but her husband, although he was kind to the Elders and willing to entertain them, never joined the Church. He was an infidel and an astrologer.
ELDER ELIAS MORRIS FALLS WITH A SCAFFOLD A DISTANCE OF THIRTY FEET WITHOUT BEING HURT—GIFT OF HEALING POSSESSED BY ELDER ABEL EVANS—A WOMAN HEALED WHO HAD HER FACE EATEN AWAY BY A CANCER—STORM AT SEA REBUKED—A BROKEN LEG CURED—A BROKEN SKULL MENDED-FEVER ON SHIPBOARD STOPPED BY THE PRAYER OF FAITH.
Elder Elias Morris, now a resident of Salt Lake City, labored extensively as a local and traveling Elder in the Welch mission in an early day. In illustration of the manner in which the Lord's power was often manifested in preserving the lives of His servants, he relates an instance from his experience:
While acting as a local Elder in his native place, laboring at his trade during the week and preaching in the surrounding villages on Sundays, he once had occasion to speak of the signs which the Savior had promised should follow believers: "In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly, thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." He argued that the enjoyment of those promised blessings was not limited to the believers who lived when the Savior was upon the earth, but that the faithful Latter-day Saints also shared the same. The sectarian preachers of the neighborhood who listened to or heard of Elder Morris' remarks on that occasion ridiculed them, and one especially, a Methodist deacon, had a great deal to say about them. In repeating those remarks and commenting on them to others, he also exaggerated what had been said, even asserting falsely that Elder Morris had claimed that if he were to fall from the top of a quarry it would not hurt him. Elder Morris heard of this deacon's exaggerated stories and flippant comments, but did not deign to notice them, although he was well acquainted with the man, in fact he was at that very time in his employ.
A few days afterwards Elder Morris happened to be engaged upon a three-story building, pointing the front, and for that purpose was sitting on a hanging scaffold near the top of the wall. All at once he felt the scaffold giving way, the planks upon which it rested, and which projected from the inside of the building, having become loosened. He called immediately to a fellow workman engaged inside the building to come to his relief, but before the man reached the window to grasp the plank, the scaffold fell and Brother Morris with it. With a silent prayer to God for help, and fully realizing his danger, he dropped the distance of thirty feet or more, alighting on his thigh on the stone pavement. In an instant he was upon his feet, and placing his hand on a window sill, he sprang lightly into the lower room of the building and escaped the falling planks, which did not reach the ground until after he had, and came forth the next minute unharmed. He did not even feel the slightest pain from the fall.
It happened that the Methodist deacon, one of the owners of the building, and Elder Morris' father were in the street in front of the building at the time of the accident, and the latter was almost paralyzed with fear at the sight of his boy falling down, and no less surprised and overjoyed at seeing him walk forth the next moment unscathed. The deacon, too, seemed very much astonished and hardly able to believe the evidence of his own sight when he saw the man whose religious pretentions he had ridiculed so much pass through such an ordeal and appear unhurt. Elder Morris noticed his surprised look as he approached him, and thought it a fitting opportunity to tax him with the slander and ridicule which he had been indulging in at his expense. He accordingly did so, and then asked ironically, hinting at the story which the deacon had circulated about him, "Isn't that almost equal to falling off a quarry?" The deacon acknowledged that it was, and declared that some supernatural power must have saved him in that instance at least.
Many anecdotes are related of Elder Abel Evans, formerly of Lehi, in this Territory, who died while on a mission in Wales some years since. He was a man of wonderful faith, and possessed the gift of healing in a remarkable degree. While laboring as a missionary in Wales in an early day he met a sister who was a member of the Church and was afflicted with a terrible cancer in her face which had eaten away her upper lip and the greater portion of her nose. She had tried all the doctors she could find who pretended to cure cancers and they had one after another given her case up as hopeless. When Brother Evans met her she was mourning over her affliction and recounting her suffering and the efforts she had made to get relief. He listened to her story and then asked: "Why do you not apply to the Great Physician to cure you?"
"Do you think it would be of any use?" she asked, brightening up.
"Why," he replied "with the Lord all things are possible! If you have faith you can be healed!"
She expressed her anxiety to be administered to, and he forthwith purchased a bottle of olive oil, consecrated it and anointed her face, applying the oil with a feather to the worst part. He also rebuked the disease and prayed for her recovery, and from that hour the cancer was killed and her face began to heal. He repeated the operation two or three times, and, strange as it may appear, the flesh and skin actually grew again upon that part of her face which had been eaten away and a new nose in time developed—not a perfect one it is true, but one that was a great improvement upon none at all. Notwithstanding this great manifestation of God's goodness to her, however, this woman afterwards apostatized.
On one occasion Brother Evans was sailing from Liverpool to Bangor, at which place he had an appointment to preach, when a terrible storm arose, which threatened the destruction of the vessel. When the officers and crew were all ready to give up hope, Elder Evans retired to a secluded part of the vessel, called upon the Lord in prayer, reminding Him of the appointment to be filled and that he was upon His business, and, in mighty faith, rebuked the storm, when it calmed so suddenly that all hands on board were as much surprised as delighted, and quite at a loss to account for the sudden change in their prospects.
In the year 1846, a man living in Merthyr Tydvil, who was a member of the Church, happened accidentally to break his leg between the knee and ankle. A surgeon was called in, who set the broken bones, bound the limb up with bandages and splints and cautioned the patient to keep perfectly quiet until the fracture could have time to knit. Three days afterwards Elders Abel Evans and Thomas D. Giles called to see him, and the former questioned him as to his faith. "Do you believe," said he, "that the Lord has power to heal your broken limb?"
The man acknowledged that he did.
"Do you believe," he again, asked, "that we, as the servants of God, holding the Priesthood, have authority to call upon the Almighty and claim a blessing for you at His hands?"
The man assured him that he did.
"Then," said he, "If you wish it we will take the bandages off your broken leg and anoint it."
The man consented, the bandages and splints were removed and his leg was anointed with consecrated oil. The brethren then placed their hands upon his head, and Elder Evans rebuked the power of the evil one, commanded the bones to come together and knit, and, finally, that the man should arise from his bed and walk. He got out of bed immediately and walked about the house, and from that time had no occasion to use a bandage on the injured limb or even walk with a stick.
While crossing the sea in 1850, emigrating to Utah, a number of remarkable cases of healing occurred under his administration. One was that of a young girl who was terribly afflicted with evil spirits, and who was entirely relieved when he placed his hands upon her head. Another was that of a little boy who fell through the hatchway of the vessel, alighting upon his head on the ring and bolt of the lower hatchway. When he was picked up it was found that the force of the fall had driven the iron upon which he struck into his head, and within a minute afterwards the injured place puffed up like a distended bladder. Of course, he was knocked insensible and apparently lifeless, but Brother Evans and one or two other Elders immediately administered to him, and while their hands were upon his head the swelling entirely disappeared and he was restored to consciousness and to health. This was witnessed and marveled at by a number of persons who were not in the Church as well as a great many of the Saints who were on board.
When Elder Evans was crossing the Atlantic in charge of a company of Saints emigrating to Utah, a terrible epidemic in the nature of a fever broke out on the ship, and threatened the destruction of all on board. He felt that their only hope lay in securing the favor of the Almighty, and determined to muster all the faith he could in appealing to the Lord. He called together four Elders of experience who were on board, and asked them to retire with him to the hold of the vessel and unite in prayer. They did so again and again without any apparent good result, and Brother Evans marveled at the cause. It was such an unusual thing for him to fail to have his prayers answered, that he was surprised that it should be so in that instance, and he could only account for it by lack of union or worthiness on the part of the Elders. He therefore called the four Elders again to retire with him to the hold of the ship, and took with him a basin of clean water. When they had reached a secluded place where they were not likely to be overheard or disturbed by others, he talked to the Elders about the necessity of their being united in faith and clear of sin before God if they desired to call upon Him and receive a blessing. "Now," he said, "I want each of you Elders, who feels that his conscience is clear before God, who has committed no sin to debar him from the enjoyment of the Holy Spirit, and who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ sufficient to call upon the Almighty in His name and claim the desired blessing, to wash his hands in that basin!" Three of the Elders stepped forward and did so; the fourth could not—his conscience smote him. He was therefore asked kindly to retire, and the four others joined in earnest prayer before the Lord and rebuked the disease by which the people were afflicted. The result was that the epidemic ceased its ravages and the sick recovered from that very hour, much to the surprise of the ship's officers and others on board who knew nothing of the power by which such a happy result was accomplished.
In the winter of 1850, Elder Abel Evans lived at Council Bluffs, on the eastern bank of the Missouri river. A great many of the Saints were there at the time working for an outfit for their overland journey or awaiting the return of fine weather before starting across the plains. That locality was somewhat noted for its insalubriety, but during that winter an unusually large amount of sickness prevailed. Some of the more prominent Elders were kept quite busy going about from house to house administering to the sick among the Saints, and scores, perhaps hundreds of cases of healing occurred under their hands, many of which were quite remarkable. Sister Ashton, now of Salt Lake City, relates how she was healed there when near death's door, and under circumstances the memory of which even now causes her to shed tears. She had been sick for a considerable length of time and so bad for two weeks that she had not been able to take a mouthful of food, when she heard of the death of her father.
In her weak condition this intelligence was a heavy blow to her. Her mother had died previously and been buried without her having the privilege of being with her during her sickness or even seeing her face when dead, and the thought of being deprived of this privilege in the case of her father also, almost overcame her. She had during her sickness felt a strong desire to live, and now in addition to that she was anxious to see her dead father before he was buried, and attend his funeral. Some of the Elders came and administered to her, but they were not men in whom she had a great deal of faith, and she failed to receive any benefit from their administration. After awhile, however, Brother Evans called to see her, and, on learning of her desire to attend her father's funeral, he promised her without any hesitation that she would do so. Placing his hands upon her head, he rebuked the sickness with which she was prostrated and pronounced the blessing of health upon her. She arose immediately from her bed, and rode six miles that same day, and saw her father buried.
ELDER JOHN PARRY'S STATEMENT—HIS BROTHER'S TESTIMONY AND DEATH—HIS SISTER'S REPROOF AND DEATH—EMBRACE THE GOSPEL—HIS SLEEP TROUBLED—A REMEDY AND A LESSON—ORSON SPENCER HEALED—PROVIDENTIAL HELP—ESCAPE FROM A MOB—CANCER IN A MAN'S FACE CURED BY LAYING ON OF HANDS—PRESERVED FROM MOBS.
Elder John Parry, who was master-mason on the Logan Temple up to the time of his death, which occurred in July last, left a manuscript journal in which a number of very interesting incidents are recorded.
His brother, Bernard Parry, died on the 12th of November, 1841, while a member of the Campbellite church, and without having heard of the gospel as revealed through Joseph Smith. While upon his death bed, however, his mind was illumined by the Spirit of God and he had the gift of prophecy. He said that the Lord had shown him many great and marvelous things which were to come to pass in this age, but that he would not live to see them, for he was about to die. "But," said he, addressing his father, "the Lord is going to do a great work and a wonder upon the earth, and you shall be called to take part in it, father; and you shall yet preach the everlasting gospel to thousands in Wales."
Then turning to his brother John, he said, "And you also, John, shall be called to it, and shall preach the gospel to tens of thousands, and shall baptize many, and my body shall not altogether rot before the Savior will stand upon the earth."
The night before he died, he inquired of his brother John if he would be willing to do just as he requested him. John replied that he would, when he asked him to remove the things, one by one, that stood upon a table near by, into another room. His brother complied without saying a word, and was then requested to return them and arrange them as they were before upon the table. This John also did without asking a question, whereupon Bernard said, "Well done; now I wish you to remember that that is the way to serve the Lord! whatever He commands you to do, do it without asking questions."
After impressing this lesson upon his brother's mind, he lay back upon his pillow and never spoke again.
Elder Parry never heard the gospel preached until five years after his brother's death, but the prediction in regard to his preaching and baptizing was literally fulfilled.
A sister of his also had peculiar impressions before her death, which occurred about five years later. She had, while living in Cheltenham some time previously, met some Latter-day Saints, and become somewhat acquainted with the doctrines which they preached. On returning to the parental home she frequently referred to these doctrines, and urged her relatives to investigate them, but her father and her brother John, who were zealous Campbellites, were prejudiced against the "Mormons" by the false reports which they had heard about them and opposed her and persuaded her to have nothing to do with them.
She was taken sick with a fever, and when about to die she called her relatives around her and said to her father, "Your religion is worth nothing in the hour of death. I have lived it as faithfully as mortal could do, and it is of no good to me now. I am going to utter darkness, therefore look to yourselves and seek a religion that will support you and enable you to face death fearlessly—the one that you have is of no value!"
Then turning to her brother John, she reproached him with having hindered and persuaded her from embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This was too much for him to bear, for he loved his sister dearly, and he fainted and fell to the floor. When he regained his consciousness his sister had ceased speaking and soon died.
Brother Parry gives an account of the manner in which he became acquainted with the Latter-day Saints and embraced the gospel.
In 1844, a friend of his told him that Joseph Smith, the Prophet had been killed. As soon as he heard this, something whispered to him: "He was a servant of God." From that moment his prejudice against the Latter-day Saints was removed.
He heard but little of "Mormonism" after that until he removed to Birkenhead, in 1846. While going from there to Liverpool in company with some of his relatives and friends, he met a "Mormon" Elder, who invited him to attend one of their meetings to be held in the last named place. He persuaded his companions to accompany him, and they all attended the meeting. While listening to the Elders bear their testimony to the great latter-day work, he felt convinced that they spoke the truth, and believed them with all his heart.
At the close of the meeting, he asked one of his friends, a Campbellite preacher, what he thought of the "Mormons" and their doctrines. The preacher replied that their doctrines were a "damnable heresy."
"Well," said Mr. Parry, "one of the sayings of Paul has been fulfilled with you and me to-day."
"What is that?" asked the preacher.
"When he said the gospel would be unto one 'the savor of death unto death: and to the other the savor of life unto life.' It has been life unto life to me, and I shall be a Latter-day Saint," was the response.
He attended another meeting in the evening of the same day, and at the close he and his father handed in their names for baptism.
Shortly after he was baptized Brother Parry was ordained an Elder and was appointed to preside over the Birkenhead branch of the Church. While praying subsequently for a testimony of the truth, a voice spoke to him and said: "The gift of healing shall follow thee to a great extent."
This was literally fulfilled.
After joining the Church Elder Parry was often troubled in his sleep by evil spirits. Upon one occasion he inquired of the president of the Liverpool branch why it was that he was thus annoyed. The Elder replied that some persons were troubled more than others, and told him to use the following words in his prayers before retiring to rest: "O God, the Eternal Father, I ask Thee in the name of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, to give Thine angels charge concerning me this night, and allow not the powers of darkness to molest my spirit nor body."
He did this, and was troubled with evil spirits no more, until one night, feeling very sleepy, he uttered a hasty, formal prayer and went to bed. During the night he was almost overcome by the power of evil spirits, which were visible. Unable to utter a word, he prayed fervently in his mind to the Lord to release him. In an instant the heavens appeared to him to open, and he saw an angel descend towards him. The personage took hold of him and raised him up a little, and immediately the powers of darkness disappeared.
Elder Parry asked the angel why it was that the Lord permitted the evil one to abuse him in such a manner, to which he replied: "Because thou didst not pray from the heart, but with thy lips."
At one time Elder Orson Spencer came from Liverpool to spend a few days at a place where Elder Parry was living. While there he was taken very sick. Elder Parry anointed him and he soon recovered.
A short time after this the Birkenhead branch of the Church was disorganized, and Elder Parry was sent to Wales to preach. He was soon out of money, and being without a place to stop, he and his fellow-laborer took lodgings in a small store. They called for food on credit, trusting the Lord would provide means to enable them to pay their way. The next day they held two meetings, and enough money was given them to pay for their board and some to help them in their travels.
Upon another occasion, he was obliged to put up at a boarding house, as he was a stranger in the place, and there were none who would entertain him. He had no money with which to pay his board when he went there, but after holding a meeting and telling the people that he was a stranger, without money, and was sent to preach without purse or scrip, several of the congregation donated small sums to help him. While on his way to the house where he was stopping, a child came to him from the opposite side of the street and placed in his hand a half-penny. When he went to settle for his board and lodgings he found that he had just the exact amount with which he was charged.
While holding a meeting in the open air, at one time, Elder Parry and another traveling Elder were disturbed by a ruffian who challenged them to fight, and they were obliged to dismiss the meeting. They went to a public house to take lodgings, and were followed by a mob. Being impressed that they were evil disposed, Elder Parry told the landlady, in the presence of the gang of ruffians, that he and his companion would take a walk before retiring for the night. He did not intend to return again, but said this to avoid being followed by the mob. After leaving the house he and his companion cast lots in the name of the Lord to know whether they should stay in that place for the night or go to another town near by. The lot fell for them to leave the place, and they did so. They arrived in the next town about midnight, and got lodgings at a public house, Elder Parry sleeping with a drunken fellow and his friend with a man that had fits several times during the night.
The next morning they returned for their valises, and met a man, who informed them that their enemies had been hunting for them during the night until seven o'clock in the morning. They had searched every part of the town, even among the tombstones, in the churchyard, and vowed that if they found the Elders they would kill them.
While preaching in a town in Wales, Elder Parry prophesied that before the end of that year (and it was then the month of September) there would be a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ raised up in that village. At that time there was but one member of the Church residing there; but before the year closed a branch with fourteen or fifteen members was organized.
Elder Parry relates some remarkable instances of healing by the power of God which he witnessed.
One was in the case of the sister who was afflicted with a cancer in her face, an account of which has already been given. He assisted Elder Abel Evans in administering to her, and testifies to her entire recovery.
Another case of miraculous healing was that of his brother-in-law, John Williams, who now resides in this Territory, and who was not a member of the Church at the time this occurred. He was also afflicted with a cancer which had completely taken away his lower lip and part of his chin and tongue. After trying in vain to get relief through the skill of physicians, he applied to the Elders of the Church to administer to him. They did so twice, and shortly after he received a new tongue, lip and chin.
Two children who were stricken with fever and ague and one with cancer, belonging to the same family, were also healed through the administration of the Elders.
Elder Parry testifies that many times while fulfilling his duties as an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ he was attacked by mobs, who threw stones at him; and although at times the stones flew past him in showers, he was never injured by them. Upon several occasions his enemies attempted to inflict upon him bodily injury, but they were frustrated in all their plans. At one time they secured another man, thinking it to be Elder Parry, and maltreated him in a shameful manner.
Several of the most bitter enemies of the Church in those days died an unnatural death. One man, who was a sectarian minister, and one of the worst opposers to the work of God to be found in that vicinity, became ferocious like a mad dog, and had to be chained up for quite a while before his death.
Brother Parry was released from his labors as a traveling Elder in the Welsh conference, in the early part of the year 1856, and immediately prepared to emigrate to this country. Upon reaching Iowa City, on his journey westward, he was appointed captain of a company of one hundred persons. Provisions became scarce among the emigrants, and their rations were reduced to one-half pound of flour per day for each person. On account of this, some of the company on arriving at Council Bluffs concluded to remain there and work, and therefore left the camp. Upon learning this Brother Parry went back for them, and prevailed upon them to continue their journey. While trying to overtake the company, which was a considerable distance ahead, he was surrounded by a number of men who were very anxious that the emigrants who were with him should stay and work for them, and were angry at him for persuading them to leave. Some of the pursuing party were sent to procure tar and feathers to cover him with, while the others were guarding him. Their attention was attracted for a moment in another direction, when Elder Parry took advantage of the opportunity to escape by running towards the camp of the Saints. He was overtaken, however, before he reached it by two of the gang, who seized him by the collar, but he made some threats which frightened them and they let him go. After reaching camp he was still pursued by others who were mounted on horseback, and armed with revolvers, clubs, etc., but he escaped their recognition by changing his clothing. The mobocrats finally returned to Council Bluffs without having accomplished their object, for Elder Parry's influence over the discouraged men prevailed, and they decided to continue their journey.