Joseph R. Banks — Gift of Tongues during POW Escape
Published September 2, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Joseph R. Banks and three fellow soldiers escaped from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp and were attempting to reach safety when they were suddenly confronted by a German soldier who began shouting at them. In this moment of extreme danger, Banks, who did not know the German language, was inspired to speak. He found himself able to communicate effectively in German to the soldier, which allowed the group to pass safely and continue their escape. Banks later identified this as a manifestation of the gift of tongues.
In Their Own Words
“Banks, ’48, slipped past the Nazi guards into the European countryside. He and three other escaped prisoners of war traveled by night for several days, restricting their movements until the middle of the night, when they could travel undetected. One night as they crept along, Banks was startled by a voice. “I was suddenly confronted by a German soldier who began shouting at me,” Banks recalled. “I didn’t know a word of German, but I was amazed to hear myself respond with a calm, confident German phrase that obviously was appropriate to what he’d asked me,” Banks recalled. “He then replied to whatever I’d said with an almost cheerful, ‘Ja, Ja, Ja!’ . . . and went back into the house.” When they were safely on their way again, Banks’ companions asked him what he had said. “I told them I had no idea what either he or I said, since I couldn’t speak German.” For Banks the experience was a miracle and a reminder that he was not alone while he served in World War II . “It thrilled me to know that God was still watching out for me and that he cared for me.””
— Joseph R. Banks, as quoted in 'Saints at War', Y Magazine
Sources & References
Chapter Forty: The Saints during World War II, Church History in The Fulness Of Times Student Manual (2003), 529; Saints at War Archive, BYU. (research confidence: high) Full first-person account: Saints at War - Y Magazine https://magazine.byu.edu/article/saints-at-war
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