Newel Knight's Deliverance from Demonic Possession
Published October 12, 2026 at 6:20 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
In April 1830 in Colesville, New York, Newel Knight, son of Joseph Knight, struggled to pray as he had promised and went into the woods to pray. He was overcome by an evil power, returned home, and suffered violent contortions and convulsions; one account adds that his limbs twisted and he was lifted off the floor. Joseph Smith visited him and, recognizing the possession, rebuked the devil in the name of Jesus Christ at Newel's request. Newel was immediately delivered: his distortions ceased and his countenance returned to normal. He said he saw the devil leave and vanish from sight, and received a vision of eternity. One account notes that eight or nine adults had gathered at the Knight home to witness the scene. Sarah Coburn is also named among the people involved in one record.
In Their Own Words
“The following is the account of the event as recorded in Newel Knight's autobiography: 'I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner. His visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine, and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment and tossed about most fearfully. His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives, and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with a very great earnestness requested of me that I should cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out. I replied, If you know that I can it shall be done; and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him, when immediately Newel spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight. The scene was now entirely changed, for as soon as the devil had departed from our friend, his countenance became natural, his distortions of body ceased, and almost immediately the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him, and the visions of eternity were opened to his view.'”
— Newel Knight, Autobiography and Journal, circa 1846
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), Vol. 70, No. 05 (1908). https://archive.org/details/millennialstar7005eng (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) LDS Scripture Teachings, Newel Knight’s experience with the Adversary. https://www.ldsscri… The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 18 March 1897 (Vol. 59, No. 11). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1897-03-18_59_11 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star,…
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