Elder Kotter’s Protection and Deliverance in Stettin
Published October 13, 2026 at 4:25 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Elder Kotter and Elder Whittaker were engaged in missionary work in Stettin when a man reported them to the police. During their detention, an officer placed handcuffs on Elder Kotter. Elder Kotter, feeling the spirit of the Lord upon him, warned the officer twice that it was not good for his health to leave the irons on him, after which the irons were removed.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 63, No. 17, 25 April 1901):
Elder Kotter and Elder Whittaker were engaged in missionary work in Stettin when a man reported them to the police. During their detention, an officer placed handcuffs on Elder Kotter. Elder Kotter, feeling the spirit of the Lord upon him, warned the officer twice that it was not good for his health to leave the irons on him, after which the irons were removed.
The officers treated the missionaries with significant gruffness at the police headquarters, and Elder Kotter insisted that he was a white man and would not submit tamely to their insults. Following his initial warning, the officer expressed anger and threatened to put the handcuffs around Elder Kotter's neck. In response, Kotter calmly offered both his hands and his neck to the officer. The missionaries also engaged in further dialogue regarding their banishment from the city of Stettin.
In Their Own Words
“They were treated quite gruffly at headquarters and Brother Kotter gave the officers to understand that he was a white man and would not submit tamely to insult. They were treated more civilly, but in a short time one of the policemen put handcuffs on Brother Kotter. A peculiar feeling came over him at this time. It was one of peace and solemnity, and he said to the officers, It is not good for your health to leave these irons on me. What! said the minion of the law. Then Brother Kotter replied, it is not good for your health to leave these irons on me, and immediately they were removed. Brother Kotter felt that the spirit of the Lord was upon him when he made that remark. — The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 63, No. 17, 25 April 1901”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 25 April 1901 (Vol. 63, No. 17). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1901-04-25_63_17 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 63, No. 17, 25 April 1901 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1901-04-25_63_17 Additional sources (periodical research): The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 63, No. 17, 25 April 1901, pp. 268-269. https://ia800501.us.archive.org/3/items/millennialstar6317eng/millennialstar6317eng.pdf
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