President Talmage's scientific anecdote regarding the cholera plague

President James E. Talmage shared an incident where a scientist identified the cause and cure of a cholera plague, but subsequently died of the disease himself after drinking unboiled water due to a moment of thoughtlessness. Meanwhile, the people in the city who obeyed his instructions to drink boiled water were protected, as if the 'destroying angel' passed by them.

In his Tabernacle discourse delivered on December 11, 1921, titled 'Wise and Timely Counsel,' President Talmage provides the full context for this illustration. He emphasizes the distinction between mere belief or knowledge and the application of that knowledge, noting that the scientist possessed the technical 'chemical and microscopical' proof that the water was infected with cholera bacilli, yet failed to protect himself through the simple act of boiling his water.