Roydon S. Olsen — Divine Protection in Combat
Published October 30, 2026 at 4:08 AM
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During his military service, Roydon S. Olsen experienced a series of events he and his fellow soldiers identified as miraculous. While in a combat zone, he was involved in a dangerous situation where he narrowly escaped harm. Later that night, while on guard duty, two different soldiers approached him independently to tell him that his survival was a miracle, attributing it to his faithfulness and the prayers of his family back home.
In Their Own Words
“After that long and eventful day, we moved out to a predesignated area and set up a makeshift camp for the night. I was assigned the first watch as one of the perimeter guards. I set up my position in some tall, thick plants. A short time after darkness had fallen upon us, I heard a rustling in the undergrowth behind me, coming from the main encampment. It was Henry. “Olsen, I just wanted you to know that what happened today was a miracle, and I know it was because you live your religion and your family back home is praying for you.” I hadn’t known Henry that well, but he had deep personal convictions about God, and I got to know him better as we chatted for a few minutes. “But don’t tell the other men I said this,” were his parting words as he crawled back to camp. About fifteen minutes later, another soldier, whom I can visualize but whose name the years have erased, came out to see me and repeated in essence what Henry had told me. He too asked that I not tell the other men that he had borne witness to me that he knew God’s hand had been manifest that day.”
— Roydon S. Olsen, “Adversity: The Refiner’s Fire”
Sources & References
Adversity: The Refiner’s Fire | Religious Studies Center (https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-8-no-1-2007/adversity-refiners-fire) (research confidence: high) Full first-person account: Roydon S. Olsen, “Adversity: The Refiner’s Fire,” Religious Educator 8, no. 1 (2007): 55–59. https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-8-no-1-2007/adversity-refiners-fire
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