"The company next visited Brother Joseph Bates Noble, who lay very sick. He also was healed by the prophet. By this time the wicked became alarmed and followed the company into Brother Noble's house. After Brother Noble was healed, all kneeled down to pray. Brother Fordham was mouth, and while praying, he fell to the floor. The prophet arose, and on looking around he saw quite a number of unbelievers in the house, whom he ordered out. When the room was cleared of the wicked, Brother Fordham came to and finished his prayer.
"After healing the sick in Montrose, all the company followed Joseph to the bank of the river, where he was going to take the boat to return home. While waiting for the boat a man from the West, who had seen that the sick and dying were healed, asked Joseph if he would not go to his house and heal two of his children, who were very sick. They were twins and were three months old. Joseph told the man he could not go, but he would send some one to heal them. He told Elder Woodruff to go with the man and heal his children. At the same time he took from his pocket a silk bandanna handkerchief, and gave to Brother Woodruff, telling him to wipe the faces of the children with it, and they should be healed; and remarked at the same time: 'As long as you keep that handkerchief it shall remain a league between you and me.' Elder Woodruff did as he was commanded, and the children were healed, and he keeps the handkerchief to this day.
"There were many sick whom Joseph could not visit, so he counseled the Twelve to go and visit and heal them, and many were healed under their hands. On the day following that upon which the above-described events took place, Joseph sent Elders George A. and Don Carlos Smith up the river to heal the sick. They went up as far as Ebenezer Robinson's one or two miles—and did as they were commanded, and the sick were healed."[[6]]
The manifestation of God's power was by no means confined to the personal ministry of Joseph Smith, nor to the land of America. God honored the ministrations of those who received authority through his prophet, and poured out his blessings on those who received the message in distant lands, as will be seen by the testimony I now introduce.
The following is an Editorial in The Merlin, a non-Mormon paper, published in Merthyr Tydvil, Wales, under the caption of an "Extraordinary Occurrence."
"During the night of Friday week (Sept. 22nd, 1848) between the hours of eleven and twelve, a very extraordinary occurrence took place in Newport. A young man named Reuben Brinkworth was, in 1840 (?) at Bermuda, on board the Terror, Commodore Franklin, in the Arctic expedition, when, in the midst of a storm of thunder and lightning, he was suddenly deprived of both hearing and speech, and in that deplorable condition returned to Stroud, in England, of which place he was a native. He has since been residing with Mr. Naish, basket maker, Market Street, Newport, who, with several other persons, is attached to the community of people known as 'Mormons.' Persons of this denomination have been able to communicate their doctrines to Brinkworth, by means of writing, signs, and the finger alphabet. His sad condition they allege, excited their sympathy for his spiritual as well as temporal welfare; and their doctrines made very considerable impression upon him—perhaps, more especially, because their creed was that God did perform miracles in these days as he did in the days of old, and a miracle might be wrought in his favor. On Friday night week, the young man was seized with a kind of fit, in which he continued some time; and on his recovery he was called upon, by sight,[[7]] to believe in the Savior, that the healing power of God might be exercised in his behalf. He was moreover earnestly entreated to be baptized; but this was very strongly opposed by a person in the room. The deaf and dumb man, however, signified his acquiescence. He was taken to the canal and baptized in the name of our Savior; and immediately on coming up out of the water, he cried out, "Thank the Lord, I can speak and hear again as well as any of you!" He now speaks fluently and hears distinctly; which miraculous circumstance is attributed to the power of Providence by the friends of the young man; who called at our office with him, and gave us the details. We have heard from another source that this happy change in the young man's condition is supposed to have been produced by the action upon him of the electric fluid during the thunder storm of the Friday night. We shall not take upon ourselves to decide this matter."
Subsequently Mr. Reuben Brinkworth himself made a statement of the miraculous event, and it was published in the Millennial Star, from which I quote it.
"On the 2nd of July, 1839, I entered on board the Terror, Commodore Sir J. Franklin being then about to set out on a voyage of discovery for a northwest passage to India. Upon returning to England we landed at Bermuda on the 16th of July, 1843, and in the afternoon of the same day a terrible thunder storm occurred, in which I was suddenly deprived of my hearing and speech. At the same time five of my comrades, viz., John Ennis, William Collins, John Rogers, Richard King, and William Simms were summoned into eternity. I remained insensible fifteen days—perfectly unconscious of all that was passing around me; but upon the return of reason, came the dreadful conviction that I was deprived of two of my faculties. I well remember the period, and shall ever continue to do so—language cannot describe the awful sensations that pervaded my mind when I became fully sensible of the reality of my condition.
"I will here remark, that the subject of religion had never troubled my mind; nor did the calamity I was called to suffer awaken any feeling akin to it; nevertheless I felt a certain feeling of gratitude that I had not met with the same fate as my more unfortunate companions; yet I must, to my shame, confess that it was not directed to the Great Disposer of all events, who could have taken my life as those of my companions, had he willed it. But it was not his design. I was spared, and am now a living witness of his loving kindness to the most abandoned sinners, if they will turn and seek his face.
"At that time I was about nineteen years old. After remaining at Bermuda about three weeks, we again set sail for England, and reached Chatham on the 14th of December. I remained there only fourteen days, after which I went to London, and, by the kind assistance of some gentlemen, entered the deaf and dumb school in Old Kent Road, where I remained for ten weeks, but not liking the confinement, and being from home, I became dissatisfied and unhappy, and resolved to leave it, and accordingly did so. I then went to George Lock's, Oxford Arms, Silver Street, Reading, with whom I lived eighteen months, supporting myself the whole of that period upon the wages I earned on board the Terror. I afterwards went to Rugby not to remain there, but on the way to my mother at Stroud, Gloucestershire.