LDS Witness
Protection & Deliverance

John Jenkins — Divine Protection of Ruth Bennett Oviatt

Published October 30, 2026 at 4:17 AM

1870s · 1870
Newton, Utah
John Jenkins·Ruth Bennett Oviatt

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While John Jenkins was transporting a load of grain by ox team to Heber C. Kimball's mill, he encountered his mother-in-law, Ruth Bennett Oviatt, on the mountain during a severe snowstorm. The wagon had become stuck or disabled in the snow. John Jenkins had to leave the wagon and Ruth Bennett Oviatt on the mountain, walk through the snow to Newton to secure a fresh team, and return to rescue her and the wagon, an act of providence that ensured her safety during the winter conditions.

In Their Own Words

“One incident was: I was making a trip to Salt Lake by ox team, with a load of grain, taking it to Heber C. Kimball's mill to sell. On my return home my wife's mother, Mrs. Oviatt from Farmington, came back with me to pay her daughter a visit. Nearing home on the mountains west of Newton, one of my oxen gave out. I was compelled to leave Mrs. Oviatt and the outfit on the mountain and walk to Newton through the snow and get a fresh team to go back and get the wagon and Mrs. Oviatt, after which I had to fiddle for a dance that night.”

— John Jenkins, Life history of John Jenkins

Sources & References

Life history of John Jenkins, https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~archibald/genealogy/jj-life2.htm (research confidence: high) Full first-person account: Life history of John Jenkins, https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~archibald/genealogy/jj-life2.htm https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~archibald/genealogy/jj-life2.htm

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

Filed under

Protection & Deliverance1870sUSA

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Questions about this account

Who was involved in this account?
The account involves John Jenkins, Ruth Bennett Oviatt. 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 1870, in the 1870s.
Where did this account take place?
It took place in Newton, Utah.
What kind of miracle is this?
It is filed as a Protection & Deliverance account reported in USA.
Where does this account come from?
Life history of John Jenkins, (research confidence: high) Full first-person account: Life history of John Jenkins,. The full source citation appears in the Sources section below, with links to the original where available.

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