LDS Witness
Protection & Deliverance

Marriner W. Merrill — North Mill Creek Canyon Logging Rescue

Published October 30, 2026 at 1:05 AM

1850s · 1856
North Mill Creek Canyon, Utah
Marriner W. Merrill

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During the winter of 1855-1856, while working alone in North Mill Creek Canyon, Marriner W. Merrill was pinned under a heavy load of logs. Unable to move and facing certain death in the extreme cold, he prayed earnestly for help. He subsequently found himself extricated, his sled loaded, and his oxen hitched, with no human explanation for how he had been moved or saved. He attributed his survival to the Lord or a guardian angel.

In Their Own Words

“I can truthfully testify in all soberness, that some power which I did not see assisted me from the position which doubtless would have speedily cost me my life. As I was preserved for some purpose known to my Heavenly Father, so do I also believe that God will bless and preserve the lives of His faithful children ... and He will, if necessary, send angelic — Marriner W. Merrill, Autobiography of Marriner Wood Merrill”

Sources & References

Autobiography of Marriner Wood Merrill, edited by Melvin Clarence Merrill, pp. 44-46 (research confidence: high)

Every published account is vetted against its sources — read our editorial standards.

Filed under

Protection & Deliverance1850sUSA

Related Miracles

More accounts involving Marriner W. Merrill, plus similar miracle types and stories from the 1850s.

Marriner Wood Merrill — Vision of Deceased Son(1880s)
Marriner Wood Merrill — Preservation at the Platte River(1853)
Marriner Wood Merrill — Preservation in North Mill Creek Canyon(1855)
Marriner W. Merrill — Visitation of his deceased son(1880s)
Joseph Morrell, John William Gailey — witness in Joseph Morrell — Mob Violence in MississippiJoseph Morrell — Mob Violence in Mississippi(1884)
Isaac Morley — witness in Isaac Morley — Divine Preservation from ExecutionIsaac Morley — Divine Preservation from Execution(1838)

Questions about this account

Who was involved in this account?
The account involves Marriner W. Merrill. Each person named here also has a witness page collecting the other accounts involving them.
When did this account take place?
The account is set in 1856, in the 1850s.
Where did this account take place?
It took place in North Mill Creek Canyon, Utah.
What kind of miracle is this?
It is filed as a Protection & Deliverance account reported in USA.
Where does this account come from?
Autobiography of Marriner Wood Merrill, edited by Melvin Clarence Merrill, pp. The full source citation appears in the Sources section below, with links to the original where available.

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