Unnamed Swedish missionary's miraculous strength in prison
Published October 5, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
A missionary in the Stockholm Conference was imprisoned for fourteen days for preaching that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet. He was treated to a diet of only bread and water. Despite the harsh punishment and meager fare, he prayed to God for strength, and his prayer was heard, leaving him stronger when he left prison than when he entered it.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 34, No. 24 (11 June 1872), p. 381):
A missionary in the Stockholm Conference was imprisoned for fourteen days for preaching that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet. He was treated to a diet of only bread and water. Despite the harsh punishment and meager fare, he prayed to God for strength, and his prayer was heard, leaving him stronger when he left prison than when he entered it.
In Their Own Words
“One of the missionaries in Stockholm Conference was fined 175 Swedish rixdalers for preaching that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet. As he had no money he was sentenced to fourteen days imprisonment and treated to the above named fare. So many days is a very hard punishment, and but few are able to stand it at once. The police came to arrest him, but by him giving his word that he would meet at the appointed time, they trusted him to come and surrender himself. He was asked several times if he did not feel too weak to endure his punishment at once, if so they would let him rest a few days, but he had no time to waste and wanted to get through as soon as possible, that he might again preach Christ crucified and Brigham his Prophet. He asked God to bless the scanty penal fare, and his prayer was heard, so that when he left the prison he felt stronger than when he went into it, which greatly surprised the jailor, when on his release they went up through the streets. — Millennial Star 34:24”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 11 June 1872 (Vol. 34, No. 24). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1872-06-11_34_24 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 34, No. 24 (11 June 1872), p. 381 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1872-06-11_34_24
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