Elva Heap's Miraculous Healing from Lye Burns
Published October 13, 2026 at 5:30 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
While helping a sister with washing in St. Johns, Arizona, in 1903, a young girl named Elva Heap accidentally splashed lye into her eyes while attempting to break a can. She describes the pain and the immediate administration of vinegar and cream, followed by a priesthood blessing from her father and 'Brother S.' Ten minutes after the blessing, she was able to return to her work, and subsequent examination revealed no lasting injury, despite the skin having rolled from her eyelids.
In Their Own Words
“On the twenty-fourth of last May, I was at the home of a sister who had on the twenty-fourth been called to mourn the loss of a sister-in-law. I was helping her with her washing. I was outside alone, with the fire between me and the house; both eyes full of lye. My first words were, 'Pray for me.' Brother S. asked if he should get the doctor. I said, No, I don't want him, he can't do anything. After applying the vinegar and cream they led Brother N to administer to me; then to go and get pa. I was administered to by pa and Brother S. and in ten minutes afterwards I was washing again. I am entirely well and my eyes are not injured in the least; although in wiping the lye from my eyes all the skin had been rolled from the inside of the lids; but even this was well; I praise God for His mercy unto me and thank Him for the faith I have.”
— Elva Heap, The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 5 February 1903 (Vol. 65, No. 6). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1903-02-05_65_6 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 65, No. 6, 5 February 1903, p. 94 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1903-02-05_65_6
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