John Davis Rejects a False Miracle at Victoria

At Victoria, Monmouthshire, in 1849, the Reverend Mr. Rees attempted to perform a miracle using phosphorus to create a glow, claiming it to be of divine origin. John Davis investigated the claim, discovered the deception when the phosphorus burned his fingers, and subsequently joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 12, No. 17, 1 September 1850, page 267):

A Mr. Rees, a preacher of the Independent order, at Victoria, Monmouthshire, having been very busy in circulating reports against the Saints, and in order to confirm his own influence, and to prove that the power of God was with him, he announced that he would perform a miracle. He accordingly prepared a composition of phosphorus, and having rubbed it upon his hands, he appeared in the dark, and exhibited his hands, which were luminous, and told the people that it was the power of God. Mr. John Davis, who was then a member of the same church, and who had been a witness to this exhibition, felt a desire to examine the hands of the preacher, and having approached him, he took hold of his hand, and the phosphorus, which was still burning, scorched his fingers. This discovery of the deception was the means of opening the eyes of Mr. Davis, who soon after left that church, and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is now an active and useful Elder in the Church.