The Healing of Mary Fielding Smith's Oxen on the Plains

During the 1848 pioneer migration to the Salt Lake Valley, Mary Fielding Smith's oxen fell ill midway between the Platte and Sweetwater Rivers, apparently poisoned by saleratus. The company captain declared the animals would die and blamed Mary for being a burden. However, Mary produced a bottle of consecrated oil and asked her brother and James Lawson to administer to the oxen as they would to a sick person. The brethren anointed the oxen's heads and laid hands upon them, rebuking "the power of the destroyer." Immediately, the oxen recovered and resumed pulling in the yoke. This miraculous healing occurred three times to Mary's oxen during the journey, restoring each time with complete recovery.