Welsh Infant's Prophecy of a Terrible Year
Published October 13, 2026 at 5:37 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
A woman in Bethesda was bathing her three-month-old infant when the child suddenly spoke clearly in Welsh, prophesying that the coming year would be terrible. The mother sought a neighbor, who also heard the child affirm the prophecy before it died. The funeral was held on December 12th.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 65, No. 53 (31 December 1903), p. 844):
A woman in Bethesda was bathing her three-month-old infant, when the child suddenly spoke clearly in Welsh, and said, 'The coming year will be a terrible one.' The mother, in great alarm, called a neighbor, who also heard the child affirm the prophecy, and then it died. The funeral took place on the 12th of December.
In Their Own Words
“The story is that a woman was washing her three months old babe when she was astonished by its suddenly speaking out distinctly in Welsh: ‘Blwyddyn of nadwy fydd y flwyddyn nesaf, mam,’ a rough translation of this being, ‘Next year will be a terrible year, mother.’ She laid the infant down and ran to a neighbor’s house. A woman returned with her and taking the child up she soothed it and then said ‘Did you tell your mother that next year would be a terrible year?’ The babe answered ‘Yes,’ and then fell back dead. The funeral took place December 12th, and was attended by large crowds who had heard of the strange circumstances. — Millennial Star 65:53”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 31 December 1903 (Vol. 65, No. 53). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1903-12-31_65_53 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 65, No. 53 (31 December 1903), p. 844 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1903-12-31_65_53
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