Elder Heber J. Sheffield, Jr. and Companions' Miraculous Deliverance from Cyclone

In January 1903, during a catastrophic cyclone and tidal wave on the island of Hikueru, Elder Heber J. Sheffield, Jr. and his missionary companions were trapped in cocoanut trees for twenty-four hours without food. As the sea and wind threatened their lives, Elder Sheffield rebuked the storm in the name of the Lord and prayed for it to cease. The wind died away and the sea became calm within half an hour, saving the Elders and many Saints.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 66, No. 20, 19 May 1904, p. 315):

Elder Heber J. Sheffield, Jr., writes from Hikueru, under date of January 20th, 1903, giving an account of a terrible cyclone and tidal wave which visited that island on the 14th of January. The Elders were in the water for twenty-four hours, and were finally washed into the cocoanut trees, where they remained until the water subsided. They were without food or water, and were exposed to the fury of the elements. Elder Sheffield says that he rebuked the storm in the name of the Lord, and prayed that it might cease, and within half an hour the wind died away and the sea became calm, thus saving the lives of the Elders and many of the Saints.

In addition to Heber J. Sheffield, his missionary companion was named James (or Joseph) Allen. After the cyclone, the survivors faced a dire shortage of fresh water because the island's cisterns had been flooded with seawater. To address this, the missionaries collaborated with an RLDS missionary named J. W. Gilbert to construct two makeshift condensers for distilling fresh water, using pieces of an iron bed frame for piping, which provided enough water for the survivors until it rained seven days later.