Divine judgment upon the abusive lumberman in Michigan
Published October 5, 2026 at 5:45 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
An abusive lumberman who had been harassing Elders James Sanderson and Joseph R. Murdock in a camp near Sylvester, Michigan, challenged the power of God to tell him if he was doing wrong. After being told by the Elders to repent, he went into the woods cursing the Gospel. Immediately after, while felling a tree, a piece of the tree flew back and killed him instantly.
Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):
The next morning the same abusive party said, “If God is my Father and he knows I am doing wrong, why don’t he tell me so.” We replied that he had sent us to call all men to repentance, and we command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to repent of your sins and be baptized for the remission of them.” He answered, “I would not if I knew God had sent you.” He went out in the woods cursing God and the ‘Mormons;’ about the first tree he felled a piece flew back and killed him instantly.
In Their Own Words
“The next morning the same abusive party said, “If God is my Eather and he knows I am doing wrong,. why don’t he tell me so.” We replied that he had sent us to call all men to repentance, and we command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to- repent of your sins and be baptized for the remission of them.” He answered, “T would not if I knew God had sent you.” He went out in the woods cursing God and the ‘Mormons ;’ about the first tree he felled a piece flew back and killed him instantly. — Millennial Star 43:14”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 4 April 1881 (Vol. 43, No. 14). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-04-04_43_14 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Fuller account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 43, No. 14 (4 April 1881), p. 219 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-04-04_43_14
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