Newell Knight Delivered from an Evil Spirit

This experience occurred in April, 1830, at Colesville, New York.  Written by Joseph Smith:

Amongst those who attended our meetings regularly, was Newel Knight, son of Joseph Knight. He and I had many serious conversations on the important subject of man's eternal salvation. We had got into the habit of praying much at our meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and take up his cross, and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met together, he rather excused himself.

 I tried to prevail upon him, making use of the figure, supposing that he should get into a mud-hole, would he not try to help himself out? And I further said that we were willing now to help him out of the mud-hole. He replied, that provided he had got into a mud-hole through carelessness, he would rather wait and get out himself, than to have others help him; and so he would wait until he could get into the woods by himself, and there he would pray.

Accordingly, he deferred praying until next morning, when he retired into the woods; where, according to his own account afterwards, he made several attempts to pray, but could scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty, in refusing to pray in the presence of others.

He began to feel uneasy, and continued to feel worse both in mind and body, until, upon reaching his own house, his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much.

He requested her to go and bring me to him. I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner; his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment, and tossed about most fearfully.

His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with great earnestness requested me to cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out.

I replied, "If you know that I can, it shall be done," and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newel spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight.

This was the first miracle which was done in the Church, or by any member of it; and it was done, not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and by the power of godliness; therefore, let the honor and the praise, the dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

This scene was now entirely changed, for as soon as the devil had departed from our friend, his countenance became natural, his distortions of body ceased, and almost immediately the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him, and the visions of eternity were opened to his view.  So soon as consciousness returned, his bodily weakness was such that we were obliged to lay him upon his bed, and wait upon him for some time.  He afterwards related his experience as follows:

I now began to feel a most pleasing sensation resting on me, and immediately the visions of heaven were opened to my view.  I felt myself attracted upward, and remained for some time enwrapt in contemplation, insomuch that I knew not what was going on in the room. By and by I felt some weight pressing upon my shoulder and the side of my head, which served to recall me to a sense of my situation, and found that the Spirit of the Lord had actually caught me up off the floor, and that my shoulder and head were pressing against the beams. 

All this was witness by many, to their great astonishment and satisfaction.
(History of the Church, 1:82-3)
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Wilford Woodruff and His Encounter With the Prince of Darkness

In 1840, Wilford Woodruff was serving a mission in England. He had tremendous success at the well-known Benbow Farm early in the year, but in the fall, he was in London and was feeling quite a different spirit. Along with fellow apostles Heber C. Kimball and George A. Smith, he encountered great opposition in the city; finding sincere people willing to listen to the preaching of the brethren was almost impossible.


After having labored for about three months in the city with only very limited success, Elder Woodruff recorded the following in his journal on October 18, 1840:

"The prospect in London at that time was the darkest it had ever been in since entering the vineyard; but the Lord was with us, and we were not discouraged. On Sunday we met with the Saints three times at Brother Corner's, read the Book of Mormon, gave instruction, and broke bread unto them. We had a good time, though there were only about half a dozen present. I felt the spirit bear testimony that there would be a work done in London.

"Having retired to rest in good season, I fell asleep and slept until midnight, when I awoke and meditated upon the things of God until 3 o'clock in the morning; and, while forming a determination to warn the people in London and by the assistance and inspiration of God to overcome the power of darkness, a person appeared to me, whom I consider was the prince of darkness. He made war upon me, and attempted to take my life. As he was about to overcome me I prayed to the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for help. I then had power over him and he left me, though I was much wounded. Afterwards, three persons dressed in white came to me and prayed with me, and I was healed immediately of all my wounds, and delivered of all my troubles."

This was apparently Elder Woodruff's first personal encounter with the power of evil in such a dramatic way; it must have been very comforting to know that the powers of the Lord were greater than those that opposed him.


(See Matthias F. Cowley, _Wilford Woodruff, His Life and Labors_, p. 130)


Compiled and written by David Kenison

Heber C. Kimball's Trial with Evil Before Baptism of Hundreds

Heber C. Kimball's biography contains this great story about missionary work in England:

Saturday evening, says Heber C. Kimball, it was agreed that I should go forward and baptize, the next morning, in the River Ribble, which runs through Preston [England].

By this time the adversary of souls began to rage, and he felt determined to destroy us before we had fully established the kingdom of God in that land [England], and the next morning I witnessed a scene of satanic power and influence which I shall never forget.

Sunday, July 30th, about daybreak, Elder Isaac Russell (who had been appointed to preach on the obelisk in Preston Square, that day) who slept with Elder Richards in Wilfred Street, came up to the third story, where Elder Hyde and myself were sleeping, and called out, "Brother Kimball, I want you should get up and pray for me that I may be delivered from the evil spirits that are tormenting me to such a degree that I feel I cannot live long, unless I obtain relief."

I had been sleeping on the back of the bed. I immediately arose, slipped off at the foot of the bed, and passed around to where he was. Elder Hyde threw his feet out, and sat up in the bed, and we laid hands on him, I being mouth, and prayed that the Lord would have mercy on him and rebuked the devil.

While thus engaged, I was struck with great force by some invisible power and fell senseless on the floor. The first thing I recollected was being supported by Elders Hyde and Richards, who were praying for me, Elder Richards having followed Russell up to my room. Elders Hyde and Richards then assisted me to get on the bed, but my agony was so great I could not endure it, and I arose, bowed my knees and prayed. I then arose and sat upon the bed, when a vision was opened to our minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us. We gazed upon them about an hour and a half (byu Willard's watch). We were not looking towards the window, but towards the wall. Space appeared before us, and we saw the devils coming in legions, with their leaders, who came within a few feet of us. They came towards us like armies rushing to battle. They appeared to be men of full stature, possessing every form and feature of men in the flesh, who were angry and desperate; and I shall never forget the vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me in the eye; and any attempt to paint the scene which then presented itself, or portray their malice and enmity, would be vain. I perspired exceedingly, my clothes becoming as wet as if I had been taken out of the river. I felt excessive pain, and was in the greatest distress for some time. I cannot even look back on the scene without feelings of horror; yet by it I learned the power of the adversary, his enmity against the servants of God, and got some understanding of the invisible world. We distinctly heard those spirits talk and express their wrath and hellish designs against us. However, the Lord delivered us from them, and blessed us exceedingly that day.

Elder Hyde's supplemental description of that fearful scene is as follows, taken from a letter addressed to President Kimball:
Every circumstance that occurred at that scene of devils is just as fresh in my recollection at this moment as it was at the moment of its occurrence, and will ever remain so. After you were overcome by them and had fallen, their awful rush upon me with knives, threats, imprecations, and hellish grins, amply convinced me that they were no friends of mine. While you were apparently senseless and lifeless on the floor and upon the bed (after we had laid you there), I stood between you and the devils and fought them and contended with them face to face, until they began to diminish in number and to retreat from the room. The last imp that left turned round to me as he was going out and said, as if to apologize, and appease my determined opposition to them, "I never said anything against you!" I replied to him thus: "It matters not to me whether you have or have not; you are a liar from the beginning! In the name of Jesus Christ, depart!" He immediately left, and the room was clear. That closed the scene of devils for that time.

Years later, narrating the experience of that awful morning to the Prophet Joseph, Heber asked him what it all meant, and whether there was anything wrong with him that he should have such a manifestation.

"No, Brother Heber," he replied, "at that time you were nigh unto the Lord; there was only a veil between you and him, but you could not see him. When I heard of it, it gave me great joy, for I then knew that the word of God had taken root in that land. It was this that caused the devil to make a struggle to kill you."

Joseph then related some of his own experiences, in many contests he had had with the evil one, and said: "The nearer a person approaches the Lord, the greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of His purposes."


(Orson F. Whitney, _Life of Heber C. Kimball_, pp. 143-6)

(Compiled and written by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, dkenison@xmission.com)

The Healing of Joseph Hunting, and his Return to Sickness

Ruth W. Tyler was born in 1820, and was the wife of Daniel Tyler. As a young girl living in Kirtland, she became acquainted with a family named Hunting.  Joseph Hunting "had been a raving maniac for sixteen years," and was kept chained in a barn. Ruth remembered that he once said, "I have got Joe Smith in one corner and the devil in the other, and am trying to get them together, but cannot do so."

Joseph Smith Sr., father of the prophet, became aware of the situation. He noted that healing the man of the spirits possessing him would require fasting and prayer, and invited the family and close friends (including Ruth) to prepare with him. Ruth recorded that Patriarch Smith also challenged the family to "covenant to keep the commandments of God, especially the Word of Wisdom."
For five days, the group ate only once a day, spending the rest of the day in fasting and prayer. They met at the family's home and the brother was administered to. "When the Elders went in and administered to him the last time, his strength left him, as did also the evil Spirits, and he wept like a child."

The chains were removed. The man was so weak from the long experience that he had to be helped back to the house. Ruth recorded: "You, dear reader, can better imagine than I can describe the humility and gratitude we all felt in seeing this maniac, who had been a terror to the neighborhood, relieved in this manner. His relatives felt to thank the Lord with all their hearts, and there was not a dry eye in the house where this miracle was performed."

Joseph Hunting gradually recovered and regained his strength. He was frequently seen at meetings in the Kirtland Temple with his mother. However, Ruth recorded this sad ending to the story:
"But, alas! After a time the family began to indulge in those things which they had covenanted not to touch, thereby becoming covenant-breakers, and Satan took advantage of this and again entered the body of Joseph Hunting. The family also, after a time, became indifferent to their holy religion and apostatized, and the man who had been so miraculously healed, died a raving maniac.

"We think this incident should stimulate us to keep our covenants, live humbly and receive the blessings promised to the faithful."

(Compiled and written by David Kenison