Vicente Morales — Martyrdom and Final Prayer

On July 17, 1915, during the Mexican Revolution, Vicente Morales and Rafael Monroy were apprehended by Zapatista soldiers in San Marcos, Hidalgo, Mexico. The soldiers demanded they renounce their religion and surrender their weapons. Morales and Monroy refused to renounce their faith, and when asked to produce their weapons, they held up their copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, stating these were the only weapons they carried. Before being executed, they were granted a final request to pray, which they did with calm and stalwart resolution, demonstrating their unwavering dedication to their faith until death.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Stories from General Conference: FAITH (President James E. Faust, October 2006)):

In the early days of the Church in Mexico, two faithful leaders who were disciples of Christ became martyrs because of their belief. The two whose lives were taken were Rafael Monroy and Vicente Morales. During the Mexican Revolution, Rafael Monroy was the president of the small San Marcos Mexico Branch, and Vicente Morales was his first counselor. On July 17, 1915, they were apprehended by the Zapatistas. They were told they would be spared if they would give up their weapons and renounce their strange religion. Brother Monroy told his captors that he did not have any weapons and simply drew from his pocket his Bible and Book of Mormon. He said, 'Gentlemen, these are the only arms I ever carry; they are the arms of truth against error.' When no arms were found, the brethren were cruelly tortured to make them divulge where arms were hidden. But there were no arms. The officer in charge offered them freedom if they would forsake their religion and join the Zapatistas, but Brother Monroy replied, 'My religion is dearer to me than my life, and I cannot forsake it.' They were then told that they were to be shot and asked if they had any request to make. Brother Rafael requested that he be permitted to pray before he was executed. There, in the presence of his executioners, he kneeled down and, as he finished his prayer, he used the words of the Savior when He hung upon the cross and prayed for his executioners: 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' With that the firing squad shot both Brother Monroy and Brother Morales.