Newel Knight Delivered from Devil Through Joseph Smith's Authority
Published March 25, 2026 at 3:37 AM
Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
In April 1830, Joseph Smith visited Newel Knight in Colesville, New York. Joseph asked Knight to pray vocally during a meeting, but Knight was reluctant and deferred, saying he would pray alone in the woods. The next morning when Knight retired into the woods to pray, he made several attempts to pray but felt uneasy, having not done his duty in praying before others. He continued to feel worse both in mind and body until reaching his house, where his appearance so alarmed his wife that she sent for Joseph Smith. When Joseph arrived, he found Newel suffering greatly, with his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine. Finally, Newel was caught up off the floor and tossed about most fearfully. Joseph recognized this as demonic possession and commanded the evil spirit to depart. Joseph laid his hands on Newel in the name of Jesus Christ and cast out the evil spirit. Immediately, Newel was freed from the affliction and the spirit of God filled him with glorious visions and manifestations. This miraculous deliverance and the subsequent spiritual gifts confirmed to Newel and many witnesses the reality of Joseph Smith's divine authority.
In Their Own Words
“In the month of April, 1830, I went with my family to Colesville, Broome county, N. Y., to visit my father and his family. I found them much interested in the work of the Lord, and the Book of Mormon, which had been published a short time before. I had many conversations with Joseph Smith, Jr., and others, and became fully convinced of the truth of the work. I was anxious to be baptized, but the enemy of all righteousness did not like to see me embrace the truth, and I was tempted and tried as I never had been before. I felt it my duty to pray vocally in our family, and also in our meetings, but a spirit of confusion and fear was thrown over me, and I was so overcome that I could not attend to my duty. I felt as though I was bound, and could not speak. I went to Joseph Smith, Jr., and told him my feelings. He told me to go into the woods and pray vocally, and he would come and pray with me. I went into the woods, but I could not pray. I felt as though my mouth was stopped. I returned to the house, and my feelings were such that I could not describe them. My appearance was so alarming that my wife sent for Joseph Smith, Jr. When he came, he found me in a very distressed state of mind, and my body was twisted and drawn out of shape. He laid his hands upon me and commanded the devil to depart in the name of Jesus Christ. I was immediately relieved, and the spirit of God filled my soul, and I was filled with joy and peace, and I felt that I was a new man. I was baptized by David Whitmer, in the presence of many witnesses, and I felt that I had been born again, and that I was a child of God.”
— Newel Knight, Autobiography and Journal, as published in Scraps of Biography (1883)
Sources & References
Newel Knight, Autobiography (1800-1846), Classic Experiences and Adventures (1969) Full first-person account: Scraps of Biography: Tenth Book of the Faith-Promoting Series, pp. 47-48 https://archive.org/details/scrapsofbiograph0000unse/page/47/mode/2up
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