Kate's Miraculous Preservation of Bert through the Power of Prayer
Published October 17, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Contributed by
Young Woman's Journal Research
While Kate Oswald was looking at the quarries, she saw her fiancé, Bert Markland, standing on a dangerous cliff edge in a high wind. As he swayed and began to fall, Kate cried out in agony, and the words, 'The Eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms,' flooded her consciousness. She prayed for divine intervention to enfold and save him. Bert was saved, and later testified to Kate that as he was falling and overcome by deadly fear, he felt her near him, and an indefinable influence enfolded him, removing his fear and giving him the certainty he would not be harmed.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 13 no. 12 (December 1902)):
Kate Oswald was looking at the quarries, she saw her fiancé, Bert Markland, standing on a dangerous cliff edge in a high wind. As he swayed and began to fall, Kate cried out in agony, and the words, 'The Eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms,' flooded her consciousness. She prayed for divine intervention to enfold and save him. Bert was saved, and later testified to Kate that as he was falling and overcome by deadly fear, he felt her near him, and an indefinable influence enfolded him, removing his fear and giving him the certainty he would not be harmed.
In Their Own Words
“Her agonized cry rang out across the pits. She saw his arms flung high in a vain effort to balance himself, then his body swayed out over the brink. There was an appalling cry from the quarries. Then, clearly above this, and the deadly fear that clamored in her heart— 'The Eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms.' 'O Father, I know that Thou art with us—enfold him, bear him in Thine arms. Save him, in Jesus’ name!'... 'I don’t know how it came about, but I know as surely as I’m here beside you, sound and whole, that in some way I owe my life to you.'... 'I seemed to feel you near me—and instantly some strange, indefinable influence seemed to enfold me. My fear dropped from me like a garment. I felt as I used as a child, with mother’s arms around me, as she rocked me to sleep, and I knew, as surely as I know now, that I would not be harmed.' — The Young Woman's Journal 13:12”
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 13 no. 12 (December 1902). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/13283 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 13 no. 12 (December 1902) https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/13283
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