An old infidel's prayer for mercy
Published October 15, 2026 at 4:18 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
An old infidel in the mountains of Pennsylvania was denouncing the existence of God while sitting in a saw-mill on a lever. The lever sprang, catching his heels and throwing him into the stream. While plunging into the water, he shrieked, "GOD HAVE MERCY!!" A preacher who had come to confront him drew him out, and when asked about his lack of belief, the man replied that if there is no God, there ought to be, to help a man when he cannot help himself.
In Their Own Words
“The sceptic was soon vociferating against the idea of there being a God. He was sitting in his saw-mill, just over the lever that lifts as the saw leaves the log, and while denouncing the doctrine of a Deity, that lever sprang, catching him under the heels, and flung him backwards, and downwards, headlong into the stream! As he plunged, however, he shrieked out as loud as he could yell, "GOD HAVE MERCY!!" The preacher ran round, waded into the water and drew the struggling man ashore. Said the pastor, "I thought that you did not believe in a God." As soon as the infidel stopped strangling, he said in a subdued voice, "Well, if there is no God, there ought to be, to help a man when he can't help himself." — Millennial Star 75:42”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), Vol. 75, No. 42 (1913). https://archive.org/details/millennialstar7542eng (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high)
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