Elder D—s Miraculously Preserved from Mob Violence in Vensyssel

In the summer of 1852, twenty-year-old Danish missionary Johan Dorius, a shoemaker’s apprentice from Copenhagen, was laboring in the Vendsyssel district of northern Denmark. While attending a meeting in the home of a Church member in Bastholm, he was accosted around noon by a mob of farmhands who entered the house with clubs and tools. As the meeting concluded, the men lurked near the door; upon stepping outside, Dorius felt himself pricked by a tool. He was then grabbed from behind and brutally beaten with sticks and sharp tools until his body was raw and bleeding. Dorius managed to escape to the home of a local member named Peter Jensen, where his wounds were cleaned and he was put to bed. An hour and a half later, drunken members of the mob burst into the room, shoved aside an elderly woman guarding the room, and beat Dorius again before dragging him out of bed and carrying him toward a nearby river with the intent to drown him. He was saved by Soren Thura, a former Danish cavalry veteran and local athlete who was passing by. Thura forced his way into the crowd and challenged the mob, who recognized his strength and reputation, causing them to release Dorius. Dorius later testified that he viewed the incident as a chastisement meant to humble him before the Lord, and the experience led to further gospel discussions with his rescuer.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Saints, Volume 2: No Unhallowed Hand, 1846–1893, Chapter 11, 'A Glorious Privilege'):

In the summer of 1852, twenty-year-old Danish missionary Johan Dorius, a shoemaker’s apprentice from Copenhagen, was laboring in the Vendsyssel district of northern Denmark. While attending a meeting in the home of a Church member in Bastholm, he was accosted around noon by a mob of farmhands who entered the house with clubs and tools. As the meeting concluded, the men lurked near the door; upon stepping outside, Dorius felt himself pricked by a tool. He was then grabbed from behind and brutally beaten with sticks and sharp tools until his body was raw and bleeding. Dorius managed to escape to the home of a local member named Peter Jensen, where his wounds were cleaned and he was put to bed. An hour and a half later, drunken members of the mob burst into the room, shoved aside an elderly woman guarding the room, and beat Dorius again before dragging him out of bed and carrying him toward a nearby river with the intent to drown him. He was saved by Soren Thura, a former Danish cavalry veteran and local athlete who was passing by. Thura forced his way into the crowd and challenged the mob, who recognized his strength and reputation, causing them to release Dorius. The men recognized Soren immediately. He was a veteran of the Danish cavalry and had a reputation in Bastholm for being a powerful athlete. Assuming he would want to join them, the men told him that they had caught a “Mormon preacher” and were going to throw him into the river. “We will show this Mormon priest how to baptize,” they said. “Let him go,” Soren said. “I will take care of this boy, and I dare any of you cowards to prevent me.” Dorius later testified that he viewed the incident as a chastisement meant to humble him before the Lord, and the experience led to further gospel discussions with his rescuer.