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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Copyright 1998, David Kenison and LDS-Gems, dkenison@xmission.com
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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

David W. Patten's Gift of Healing

David Patten was born in 1799 in New York. He joined the Church in 1832 and became one of the first Apostles in 1835. He died tragically in the Battle of Crooked River in 1838. This account of his remarkable gift of healing was related by Abraham O. Smoot:

"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 [the wife of Mr. Johnston F. Lane] 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 blessing upon her head and promised that she should bear children. She had been married for seven years and 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 [the baby was named David Patten Lane], 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 home of an infidel [enemy of the Church]. 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."
(_Early Scenes in Church History_, p. 29ff)

May 17, 1835, Elders Patten and Woodruff laid hands on a woman by the name of Margaret Tittle, who was laying at the point of death, and she was instantly healed through the power of God. Bro. Patten had preached faith, repentance and baptism to her, and she covenanted to be baptized. But after she was healed, she refused to attend to that ordinance. Elder Patten told her that she was acting a dangerous part, and she would again be afflicted, if she did not repent. The brethren pursued their journey, and on their return found her very low with the same fever. She begged them to lay hands upon her and heal her, and she would obey the gospel. They complied with her request, and she was healed, after which Wilford Woodruff baptized her.

Said Elder Patten on one occasion: "The Lord did work with me wonderfully, in signs and wonders following them that believed in the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ; insomuch that the deaf were made to hear, the blind to see, and the lame were made whole. Fevers, palsies, crooked and withered limbs, and in fact all manner of diseases, common to the country, were healed by the power of God, that was manifested through his servants."

(LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, p. 76ff)

Compiled and written by David Kenison

A Miraculous Healing in Wales; 1840's

Many of the members and missionaries in Wales in the late 1840s worked in the mines. Accidents were all too frequent, and deaths were not uncommon. On one occasion, when William Howells was visiting his home country between missionary journeys to France, there was an explosion deep in a coal mine. Brother Howells accompanied other leaders of the church to investigate if any church members were involved. They found that only one brother had been working in that mine; he had escaped the explosion "without losing a hair off his head." He was found in the middle of some 55 bodies of his co-workers, almost all of whom had been hostile to Church members in the area.

Another mining accident resulted in a dramatic priesthood blessing. A miner was hit by a large lump of coal which fell on his back and broke his spine. He was carried home on a stretcher, and appeared to be dying.

A later biography recorded this of the accident victim:
"He had lately joined the Church but his wife had not. Great sympathy was felt for the man, and several doctors were sent for by various people. They held a consultation and came to the conclusion that the man would only be able to live a couple of hours at the most.


"But the injured man whispered to his wife to send for the 'Mormon' elders. Brother Howell[s], who was President of the branch, came with his counselors and they administered to the sick man and Brother Howell[s] commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to arise from his bed. And those who stood around the bed heard the bones of the sick man's body crack as they slid back into their places and the man arose from his bed and gave thanks to God for his mercy."


(Compiled and written by David Kenison)

A Miracle, But No Conversion

A number of years ago President Francis M. Lyman and President B. H. Roberts had attended a quarterly conference at Loa, Wayne County, Utah. In those days traveling was by team and whitetop. The brethren had started early that morning to catch the train at Sigurd -- fifty or sixty miles distant. They stopped for breakfast at Koosharem. While they were eating, a very singular incident occurred.

A young man, seeing the whitetop, knowing the elders were in the house, dismounted from his horse, entered, and eagerly asked: "How long are you brethren going to stay here?"

"Just long enough to finish our breakfast. Why?" queried Elder Lyman.
"Because I should like to bring my uncle here and have you administer to him."
Before the brethren had finished their breakfast, there entered the living room of the house a man who was led in his physical blindness by his wife and this young, outstanding rancher. As the elders entered the living room, Brother Lyman, in his bighearted way, putting his hand on the man's knee, said:
"Well, so you want to be administered to, do you?"
"No, I do not," was the surprising reply.
"Well, then," said President Lyman, "why are you here?"
"Because my wife and my nephew put me in the wagon and brought me here," was his frank statement.
"How long has it been since you lost your sight?" asked President Lyman. The man told him. And Brother Lyman said: "Well, you believe the Lord can heal you, do you not?"
The man answered, "Well, I think he can. I don't know if he will."
There seemed to be an absolute absence of faith so far as the man was concerned.
"Do you belong to the Church?" asked President Lyman.
"No, I do not," was the reply.
"Well, if the Lord heals you, you would be glad to acknowledge his power, should you not?"
"Yes, if he did, I think I should."

Let me tell you at this point now what seemed to me in that instance to be most significant, and then I will finish the story. That young man had seen in a dream or vision the night before two men who had administered to his uncle, and the latter had received his sight through that administration. That is what prompted him to dismount from his horse, and make the request.

President Lyman and President Roberts performed the administration. The man, his wife, and nephew returned to their home. Presidents Lyman and Roberts resumed their journey to Salt Lake City.
Two or three months later, President Lyman was attending a conference in Blackfoot, Idaho. Among those who greeted him, walking unaided, was this man to whom they had administered. "Do you remember me?" the man asked.
President Lyman said, "Yes, and I see you have received your sight."
"Yes, I have," said the man; "I can read a newspaper as well as you can."
During the brief interview that followed, President Lyman remarked: "I remember our conversation -- how do you account for your having received your sight?"
"Well," said the skeptic, "I believe that the medicine I was taking had just begun to work."
There was a miracle but its effect in converting the man to the power of God was nil.
To me a most important phase of the story is the pre-vision of that young rancher, for I know that pre-vision is an actual fact in life, and it was through his faith that the man had been blessed.


You young men who pass through periods of doubt about the reality of the spirit in man, and of the possibility of its being in contact with divine influence, should ponder earnestly on the fact that there is something within you which can become cognizant of happenings or incidents that are entirely beyond the limit of any one or all of your five physical senses.