Acts of God / Intervention

Platte D. Lyman's Passing and Consequent Earthquake

Published October 13, 2026 at 4:29 AM

1900s · 1901
Bluff, Utah

Contributed by

Millennial Star Research

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As President Platte D. Lyman was in the final moments of his intense suffering from terminal illness in Bluff, Utah, he experienced an episode of extreme pain. At the exact moment he began to scream in agony, a physical earthquake occurred in the region, causing stovepipes to fall and rocks to dislodge from cliffs. The shaking ceased at the exact moment his screaming ended and he passed away.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 63, No. 50 (12 December 1901)):

He continued to suffer until shortly after nine in the evening, when he was taken with a pain in his back, which was so severe that he screamed until you could hear him a block away. It lasted for about three minutes, when he dropped as if he had been shot, gasped a few times and all was over. His death occurred at twenty minutes past nine the night of November 13th. When he began to scream the earth commenced to shake. Stove-pipes were shaken off the stoves, people could scarcely stand on their feet, and rocks were thrown down off the cliffs. The shock lasted just as long as he was screaming. When he became quiet all else was peaceful.

In Their Own Words

“He continued to suffer until shortly after nine in the evening, when he was taken with a pain in his back, which was so severe that he screamed until you could hear him a block away. It lasted for about three minutes, when he dropped as if he had been shot, gasped a few times and all was over. His death occurred at twenty minutes past nine the night of November 13th. When he began to scream the earth commenced to shake. Stove-pipes were shaken off the stoves, people could scarcely stand on their feet, and rocks were thrown down off the cliffs. The shock lasted just as long as he was screaming. When he became quiet all else was peaceful. — Millennial Star 63:50”

Sources & References

The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 12 December 1901 (Vol. 63, No. 50). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1901-12-12_63_50 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Fuller account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 63, No. 50 (12 December 1901) https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1901-12-12_63_50

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