William Davenport — Divine Warning and Protection in Nauvoo

Before migrating to Utah, William Davenport served as a blacksmith in Nauvoo, Illinois, where he frequently performed work for the Prophet Joseph Smith. During the period of intense persecution in 1844, Davenport was working in his shop when he received a sudden and powerful spiritual impression—a prompting of the Holy Ghost—that he and his family were in immediate danger from an approaching mob. Heeding the warning instantly, he secured his shop and moved his family to a place of concealment. Shortly thereafter, a group of armed, hostile men arrived at his property looking for him. Because he had followed the divine prompting, he avoided a violent confrontation and potential injury or death. Davenport cited this event throughout his life as a foundational testimony of the reality of divine guidance.