Isaac Morley Spared from Execution During Jackson County Persecution

When the mob in Jackson County, Missouri began threatening the Saints to leave the county, Isaac Morley, along with others, was taken prisoner and put into jail. The situation was grave and violent—the mob threatened to kill men, women, and children if the Saints did not leave the county. During his imprisonment, Isaac Morley was sentenced to be shot on the public square at eight o'clock for the charge of treason. This was a death sentence, and the hour of execution was set. However, in a miraculous intervention, 'God willed it otherwise and his life was spared.' The exact circumstances of how his execution was prevented are not detailed, but this divine preservation allowed Isaac Morley to be released from jail and to eventually lead his family to safety. Without this divine intervention, he would have been executed and his family left fatherless and without support. His life was preserved so that he could continue his service in the Church for many more decades, eventually becoming a patriarch and a pioneer.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Cordelia Morley Cox, Biography of Isaac Morley (Holograph), HBLL):

This enraged the inhabitants of that county and they began to threaten to drive them out. They said they would kill men, women and children if they did not leave the county. Father Morley with others were taken prisoners and put into jail. He was kept there overnight. In the morning he had a trial and was sentenced to be shot on the public square at eight o'clock for treason. God willed it otherwise and his life was spared.