Improbable Coincidences / Synchronicities

Henry Riser's Baptism of Eleven Souls in Auvernier

Published October 5, 2026 at 2:09 AM

1870s · 1873
Auvernier, Neuchatel and Convet, Switzerland

Contributed by

Millennial Star Research

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Henry Riser, while on a preaching tour in Switzerland, felt a sudden impression to visit Brother Beutler in Auvernier. Upon arriving, he discovered Brother Beutler had just written him, requesting he visit a family in Convet who desired to see an Elder from Utah. Riser met the family, testified of the Gospel, and baptized eleven individuals at 11:00 PM.

In Their Own Words

“When I arrived at Auvernier, a feeling came over me that, in spite of the cold and foggy weather, I ought to go and see brother Beutler. I started for his place, and in several places on the road persons wanted me to stay over night, but I refused to do so. I felt that I ought to go and see brother Beutler that night. I arrived there in due time, and brother Beutler said that he had only an hour before that time mailed a letter to me asking me to come up, as there was a family at Convet, near the borders of France, that had expressed a desire to see an Elder from Utah. We shortly afterwards went by train to see the family, all of whom were well pleased. I bore testimony to them of the Latter-day Work, according to the dictates of the Spirit of God. They listened with the greatest interest, and at eleven o'clock that night I baptized eleven souls.”

— Henry Riser, The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 36, No. 3

Sources & References

The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 20 January 1874 (Vol. 36, No. 3). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1874-01-20_36_3 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, 20 January 1874 (Vol. 36, No. 3), p. 44 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1874-01-20_36_3

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