Two Elders Divinely Protected and Rescued from a Mob in Caermarthenshire

On Sunday, October 1, 1854, Latter-day Saint Elders David Jeremy and Daniel Thomas were preaching near Saron Independent Chapel in Llangeler Parish, Caermarthenshire, following a previous invitation. As worshippers exited the chapel, a hostile crowd, led by local farmer and tavern keeper John Davies, began shouting and throwing stones and dirt at the missionaries. The attacks were primarily directed at Daniel Thomas, who was struck in the face. Realizing the crowd intended to harm them, the Elders retreated, but were pursued by 30 to 40 people for some distance. Fleeing 'like foxes before the hounds,' the missionaries eventually separated to evade the mob. Daniel Thomas successfully escaped into brambles and bogs, while the mob turned its full fury on David Jeremy. Jeremy was struck in the head by a large rock, causing a two-inch skull fracture. As he lay on the ground, mob members kicked and beat him, shouting that his skull was broken and he was dead. A local farmer named David Evans ('Dafydd') intervened, positioning himself to protect the fallen man and shouting, 'You’ll not kill him before killing me! Leave him alone!' Evans then helped Jeremy reach the home of H. Howells at Triolmawr, where his wounds were treated. The following day, Howells provided Jeremy with a horse to return to Brechfa. Despite legal attempts by Thomas Jeremy and attorney Thomas Parry to seek damages from the assailants, little was recovered. David Jeremy later emigrated to Utah, where he suffered from debilitating epileptic fits—believed to be a direct result of the 1854 head injury—until his death in 1885.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Grant Vaughn, 'Running from the Mob', The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (UK)):

On Sunday, 1st October 1854, Elders David Jeremy and Daniel Thomas walked to preach in Llangeler Parish, Carmarthenshire. The weather was good, and the missionaries complied with their previous invitation to preach by conducting an outdoor meeting. However, their preaching was interrupted by people from the Saron Independent Welsh Chapel who were leaving their own meeting. Some of the new listeners began to call out at the Elders- and then began to throw stones and clods of dirt. The attacks were mostly directed at Elder Daniel Thomas. The crowd was led by John Davies, a farmer who also ran a small tavern. Davies shouted boasts of cruelty louder than the missionaries could speak. Realising that the crowd intended to do them harm, the Elders retreated. They were pursued by a mob of thirty to forty people. After running for some time 'like foxes before the hounds,' David realised that the crowd were still calling Daniel’s name. Believing that Daniel was the main target, David stopped and turned to reason again with the crowd, which allowed enough time for Daniel to escape into the brambles and bogs along the streams flowing north to the Afon Teifi. The mob then turned their full fury on David Jeremy. He was struck in the head by a large rock, which caused a two-inch fracture to his skull. As he lay on the ground, members of the mob kicked and beat him, shouting that his skull was broken and he was dead. A local farmer named David Evans ('Dafydd') intervened, positioning himself to protect the fallen man and shouting, 'You’ll not kill him before killing me! Leave him alone!' Evans then helped Jeremy reach the home of H. Howells at Triolmawr, where his wounds were treated. The following day, Howells provided Jeremy with a horse to return to Brechfa. Despite legal attempts by Thomas Jeremy and attorney Thomas Parry to seek damages from the assailants, little was recovered. David Jeremy later emigrated to Utah, where he suffered from debilitating epileptic fits—believed to be a direct result of the 1854 head injury—until his death in 1885.