James Sharp's Divine Revelation Regarding Mortensen's Guilt
Published October 13, 2026 at 5:21 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
During a preliminary hearing regarding a murder case involving a man named Mortensen, James Sharp, the father-in-law of the victim, caused a stir in the courtroom by testifying that he knew for a fact that Mortensen was the guilty party because God had revealed it to him personally.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 64, No. 7, 13 February 1902):
In the preliminary hearing of the Mortensen murder case, James Sharp, father-in-law of the victim, created a sensation by testifying that he knew Mortensen was guilty, because God had revealed it to him.
Before the body of James Hay was discovered, James Sharp confronted Mortensen at his home, declaring, 'I have had a vision and the proof to you will be that within twenty-four hours and within one mile of the spot where you are standing, his dead body will be dug up from the field.' This specific prophecy occurred before the discovery of the body on December 18, 1901. During his subsequent trial testimony, Sharp confirmed under cross-examination that he had received a revelation from God identifying Mortensen as the murderer.
In Their Own Words
“Sharp—I have had a vision and the proof to you will be that within twenty-four hours and within one mile of the spot where you are standing, his dead body will be dug up from the field. — Thomas Duke, Celebrated Criminal Cases of America, 1910”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 13 February 1902 (Vol. 64, No. 7). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1902-02-13_64_7 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 64, No. 7, 13 February 1902 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1902-02-13_64_7 Additional sources (periodical research): Thomas Duke, Celebrated Criminal Cases of America (San Francisco: James H. Barry Co., 1910), 384–391. https://www.historicalcrimedetective.com/ccca/murder-of-james-hay-1902/
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