Healing of Mrs. Purce’s twisted knee through a vision
Published October 15, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Contributed by
Young Woman's Journal Research
Mrs. Purce, the mother of Nellie Colebrook, suffered a broken foot during the coronation of Queen Victoria, which resulted in a twisted knee that left her on crutches for eight years. After suffering from brain fever, she had a vision of twelve personages; the superior one laid his hand on her head, told her they wore the wedding garment, promised she should live and go to Zion, and prescribed a remedy for her limb. She followed the instructions, and in three months was able to walk.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 2 no. 7 (April 1891), p. 325):
Mrs. Purce, the mother of Nellie Colebrook, suffered a broken foot during the coronation of Queen Victoria, which resulted in a twisted knee that left her on crutches for eight years. After suffering from brain fever, she had a vision of twelve personages; the superior one laid his hand on her head, told her they wore the wedding garment, promised she should live and go to Zion, and prescribed a remedy for her limb. She followed the instructions, and in three months was able to walk.
In Their Own Words
“After a severe illness of the nature of brain fever, from which she showed some signs of recovery, she had what we would call a vision. Twelve. personages entered her room and passed around her bed, following one after another until her bed was surrounded. They each pointed to her as they walked, and the last one, who seemed to be the superior, stretched out his hand and laid it on her head. He told her among other things that they wore the wedding garment; that she should live and should go to “ Zion.’’ Told her what to use for her lame limb and how touse it. And while she gazed at them through the beautiful light that filled the room, they were gone. — The Young Woman's Journal 2:7”
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 2 no. 7 (April 1891). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/9780 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 2 no. 7 (April 1891), p. 325 https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/9780
Related Miracles
Similar miracle types and stories from the 1840s.
Miracle of the Week
One remarkable, documented account in your inbox every Monday, drawn from the full archive.