Captain Jefferson Hunt: A Gift of Healing So Powerful He Never Refused a Call, Day or Night

Jefferson Hunt (1804–1879) was born in Bracken County, Kentucky, baptized in 1834, and rose to become the senior captain of the Mormon Battalion — the highest-ranking Latter-day Saint officer in the march from Council Bluffs to San Diego. He was described by those who knew him as 'tall, stately, with sharp features, a forceful character. The very air and even the earth seemed to move as he went on his way.'

But it was not his military bearing his family remembered most. It was his gift of healing.

His granddaughter testified:

'He was a firm believer in the Gospel. He had a wonderful gift of healing by faith and the power of the priesthood and whenever called would hitch up his team and go for miles to administer to the sick, day or night, rain or shine, or cold blizzards. He never refused and the sick were usually healed instantly.'

One account stands out.

At the home of John Watson in Marsh Valley, Idaho — 35 miles from where Hunt lived — a young mother had taken seriously ill just days after giving birth. The case was described as very serious; neighbors said she was 'troubled with evil spirits.' Her husband John was not a member of the Church.

Elder Hunt drove the 35 miles and administered to her. She was healed.

Hunt then preached the gospel to John Watson. When his wife was 'fully recovered,' John brought his family down to live in the Mormon town of Franklin, Idaho. The Watson family became members of the Church.

The granddaughter who recorded these accounts noted simply: 'He never refused and the sick were usually healed instantly.' That constancy — across decades, across weather, across distance — is itself a kind of testimony.