Dallin H. Oaks and the Chicago Robber: The Night He Knew What Would Happen

Many years ago, after Elder Dallin H. Oaks and his wife June dropped off a friend in Chicago, robbers stopped him as he returned to his car and threatened to kill him if he did not give them money and the keys to the car. As the young robber continued to prod him with the gun, a bus passed behind the robber, out of his view, and he became nervous and distracted; the gun wavered from Oaks's stomach until its barrel pointed slightly to his left. Taller, heavier, and athletic, Oaks saw that with a quick motion he could seize the gun and prevail in a struggle. But just as he was about to make his move, he had an experience he could never forget: he did not see anything or hear anything, but he knew something. He knew what would happen if he grabbed that gun — the two would struggle, he would turn the gun into the young man's chest, it would fire, and the robber would die — and he understood that he must not have the blood of that young man on his conscience for the rest of his life. He relaxed, and as the bus pulled away he followed an impulse to put his right hand on the young man's shoulder and give him a lecture: what he was doing just wasn't right, and the next car might be a policeman — he could get killed or sent to jail for it. His voice subdued, the robber went through his demands a third time, hesitated, then stuck the gun in his pocket and ran away. Oaks and his wife drove off uttering a prayer of thanks, having experienced the kind of miraculous protection illustrated in the Bible stories he had read as a boy. Less than a year after that August night, he was chosen as president of Brigham Young University, and he often pondered the event in relation to the responsibilities that came later in his life — grateful that the Lord had given him the vision and strength to refrain from trusting in the arm of flesh and to put his trust in the protecting care of Heavenly Father.

Fuller account of this event (paraphrased from the cited modern source):

An armed man confronted a husband in Chicago and repeatedly demanded his vehicle and money. While the driver initially considered disarming the assailant, he experienced a sudden realization that a physical struggle would result in the robber's death and chose to desist. Instead, he lectured the gunman on the dangers of his actions, causing the assailant to lose his resolve and flee the scene.