Elder Richard Provis and the Cape of Good Hope Saints preserved and healed

During the mid-1850s, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established its first mission in South Africa under the direction of Elders Jesse C. Haven, William Holmes Walker, and Leonard I. Smith. In 1857, Elder Richard Provis—an English-speaking convert and early leader in the region—alongside branch president N. Paul, oversaw the Church's presence in Mowbray, near Cape Town. This was a period of significant volatility in the Cape Colony, marked by intense local opposition, religious persecution, and severe environmental challenges, including regional storms and maritime disasters. Amidst these difficulties, the Saints at the Cape of Good Hope experienced notable spiritual manifestations. Elder Provis documented these divine interventions, reporting that the members were blessed with the healing of the sick and the casting out of devils through the power of God. These spiritual experiences served to strengthen the small and often maligned branches, providing resilience to the faithful as they navigated both the broader challenges of missionary work in a new territory and the specific societal hostility directed toward the early converts.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 19, No. 36 (5 September 1857), 573.):

The Saints at the Cape of Good Hope are rejoicing in the truth, and are being blessed with the healing of the sick, and the casting out of devils through the power of God.