Divine deliverance of the Zion's Camp company from a Missouri mob
Published October 12, 2026 at 1:36 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
On June 19, 1834, a company of Latter-day Saints traveling near Fishing River were threatened by a mob of 300 men intent on exterminating them. A heavy storm occurred, causing the river to rise thirty feet in thirty minutes, killing one of the mob members by lightning and scattering the mob, thereby protecting the Saints.
The camp was encamped on an elevated piece of land between the forks of the Big and Little Fishing Rivers when the storm struck. Several incidents, including a broken wagon and wheels coming off others, delayed the company's progress that day. According to Heber C. Kimball, the lightning was so constant throughout the night that one could see to pick up a pin. Other accounts noted that hail the size of eggs fell outside the camp, while tree limbs as large as four inches in diameter were torn from trees. One member of the mob was reportedly killed by lightning, and another had a hand torn off by a frightened horse. Some members of the camp took refuge in a local church house during the storm.
In Their Own Words
“On the 19th of June, we came to the Fishing River, and camped on a piece of land between the forks of the Big and Little Fishing Rivers. We had not been there long before a small company of men came to our camp, and told us that a mob of about three hundred men from Jackson county were coming to cross the river at the ford, and fall upon us that night, and exterminate us. The river was rising very fast, and the brethren were somewhat uneasy. Soon after the men left us, a very heavy storm of rain, hail, and thunder and lightning came on, and the river rose so high that it was impossible for the mob to cross. It was said that the river rose thirty feet in thirty minutes. The storm was so severe that the mob could not cross the river, and they were obliged to retreat. One of the mob, who was boasting of what he would do, was struck by lightning and killed. The storm was so heavy that the trees were blown down, and the hail was as large as hen's eggs. We were protected by the hand of the Lord, and the mob was scattered.”
— Heber C. Kimball, as recorded in 'Life of Heber C. Kimball: An Apostle' by Orson F. Whitney
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 9 October 1893 (Vol. 55, No. 41). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1893-10-09_55_41 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Marlene C. Kettley, Arnold K. Garr, and Craig K. Manscill, “Zion’s Camp,” in Mormon Thoroughfare: A History of the Church in Illinois, 1830–39 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2006), 43–62. https://rsc.byu.edu/mormon-thoroughfare/zions-camp. David F. Boone, “Zion’s Camp: A Study in Obedience, Then and Now,” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Craig K. Manscill (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 248–274. https://rsc.byu.edu/sperry-symposium-classics-doctrine-covenants/zions-camp-study-obedience-then-now Full first-person account: Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball: An Apostle (Salt Lake City: Kimball Family, 1888), 57–58 https://archive.org/details/lifeofheberckimb00whitrich/page/57/mode/2up
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