Joseph Smith's Enemies Blinded to His Identity — Answered Prayer During the Colesville Visit (1830)
Published October 4, 2026 at 4:34 AM
Contributed by
Times and Seasons Research
In August 1830, Joseph Smith, accompanied by Hyrum Smith, John Whitmer, and David Whitmer, traveled to Colesville, New York, to confirm recent converts. Knowing of the intense hostility in the area—where a five-dollar reward had been posted for news of their arrival—the group prayed for protection and that they might remain unrecognized. Upon approaching the area, they encountered a large group of bitter enemies working on the road. Despite these individuals looking directly at them, the leaders passed by entirely unmolested, blinded to their identity. The group successfully completed the confirmations that evening. As documented in Joseph Smith’s own account in the Times and Seasons, he wrote: 'Well knowing the determined hostilities of our enemies in that quarter, and also knowing that it was our duty to visit the church, we had called upon our heavenly father, in mighty prayer... that he would blind the eyes of our enemies, so that they would not know us, and that we might, on this occasion, return unmolested.'
In Their Own Words
“Well knowing the determined hostilities of our enemies in that quarter, and also knowing that it was our duty to visit the church, we had called upon our heavenly father, in mighty prayer, that he would grant us an opportunity of meeting with them; that he would blind the eyes of our enemies, so that they would not know us, and that we might, on this occasion, return unmolested. Our prayers were not in vain, for when within a little distance of Mr. Knight’s place we encountered a large company at work upon the public road, amongst whom were several of our most bitter enemies. They looked earnestly at us, but not knowing us, we passed on without interruption. We reached Mr. Knight’s place in safety, and were welcomed by him and his family with joy. We opened our meeting, and after singing and prayer, we proceeded to confirm those who had lately been baptized, into the church; and then administered the sacrament of the Lord’s supper to them. It was a season of refreshing to our souls, and we felt to praise God for his goodness in preserving us from the hands of our enemies, and in giving us the privilege of strengthening the faith of our brethren and sisters in that place.”
— Joseph Smith, History of the Church
Sources & References
Times and Seasons (Commerce, later Nauvoo, Illinois, November 1839–February 1846), 1 March 1843 (Vol. 4, No. 8). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1843-03-01_4_8 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Larry C. Porter, 'The Colesville Branch and the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon,' BYU Studies 10:3. https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-colesville-branch-and-the-coming-forth-of-the-book-of-mormon; Joseph Knight Family Organization, 'Joseph Knight Family Connections to the Doctrine and Covenants.' https://josephknightfamily.org/2024/joseph_knight_family_connections_to_the_doctrine_and_covenants Full first-person account: Times and Seasons, Vol. 4, No. 8 (March 1, 1843), p. 113 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1843-03-01_4_8
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