Deliverance of the Aintab Saints

Joseph Wilford Booth (1866-1928) spent nearly two decades serving as a dedicated missionary and mission president in the Middle East, primarily in the Ottoman Empire and its succeeding territories. Following World War I, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire brought renewed instability, violence, and sectarian conflict to the region. By late 1921, the small Latter-day Saint congregation in Aintab, Turkey, found itself in severe peril as French military forces prepared to withdraw, leaving the Armenian Christian population vulnerable to impending massacres and shifting borders. Facing extreme danger, the Aintab Saints held an eight-day fast, pleading for divine deliverance from the impending violence. Meanwhile, President Booth offered 'many fervent prayers' for the safety of his flock. Acting on profound spiritual impressions, Booth boldly approached the French General De Samath to request evacuation for the Saints. Miraculously, despite severe bureaucratic restrictions and the chaos of the military withdrawal, the general granted immediate permission and the necessary passports for fifty-three Church members to safely leave Aintab. President Booth, assisted by local member Moses Hindoian, successfully organized the convoy and safely relocated the surviving members to Aleppo, Syria, just before conditions in Aintab completely deteriorated. The rescue was viewed by all involved as a direct and miraculous intervention from God. In the October 1928 issue of the Improvement Era, President Booth reflected on the event, writing: 'The story of how the surviving members of the old Turkish mission were rescued from their frightful conditions in Aintab in December 1921... is ever fresh in the minds of the Saints here today, for they still celebrate yearly the days of their marvelous deliverance. The Church records... are ever-ready witnesses of the manifestation of God's power and goodness to us on that occasion.' Through inspired action and the power of collective fasting and prayer, the entire branch was delivered from certain destruction.