Extra post for Jan 18-24 Knight Family in Church History

Since I am a Knight descendant (along with something like 45K other Mormons), I love to see how this amazing family supported Joseph and Emma and the entire cause of Zion.

There is a new Knight Family Website where you can go to find detailed information on the Knights and their contributions to the early Church.  Thanks to those who got the website up just in time to dovetail our family history with church history study.

For example, the story about Joseph Smith using the Knight wagon to get the gold plates fits perfectly into family scripture study this week. It's found on the new family website under "Knights in the D&C" and even has an easy art project for kids.

Other timely stories include the generosity of Joseph Knight in giving the Smiths food and foolscap paper for the translation of the Book of Mormon, and Newell learning to pray.

Fool's cap watermark giving paper it's name

One of the remaining pages from the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon. Placed inside the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House in 1841 by Joseph Smith. Significant water damage has destroyed the majority of the text, making the printer's manuscript - a copy used by Grandin - the oldest version we have.

After refusing to pray out loud with Joseph Smith and others, Newell left a prayer meeting in April, 1830, and went home. What happened next has been referred to as the 'first miracle' in the new church. Use your discretion to decide if your children are old enough to not be frightened by this story.

Joseph Smith wrote about it and this was printed in the History of the Church (the navy blue volumes taken from JS diaries), Vol. 1, pages 82-84.

"Amongst those who attended our meetings regularly, was Newel Knight, son of Joseph Knight. He and I had many serious conversations on the important subject of man's eternal salvation. We had got into the habit of praying much at our meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and take up his cross, and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met together, he rather excused himself.

"I tried to prevail upon him, making use of the figure, supposing that he should get into a mud-hole, would he not try to help himself out? And I further said that we were willing now to help him out of the mud-hole. He replied, that provided he had got into a mud-hole through carelessness, he would rather wait and get out himself, than to have others help him; and so he would wait until he could get into the woods by himself, and there he would pray.

"Accordingly, he deferred praying until next morning, when he retired into the woods; where, according to his own account afterwards, he made several attempts to pray, but could scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty, in refusing to pray in the presence of others.

"He began to feel uneasy, and continued to feel worse both in mind and body, until, upon reaching his own house, his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much. He requested her to go and bring me to him. I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner; his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment, and tossed about most fearfully.

"His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with great earnestness requested me to cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out.

"I replied, "If you know that I can, it shall be done," and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newel spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight.

"This was the first miracle which was done in the Church, or by any member of it; and it was done, not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and by the power of godliness; therefore, let the honor and the praise, the dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

"This scene was now entirely changed, for as soon as the devil had departed from our friend, his countenance became natural, his distortions of body ceased, and almost immediately the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him, and the visions of eternity were opened to his view.  So soon as consciousness returned, his bodily weakness was such that we were obliged to lay him upon his bed, and wait upon him for some time.  He afterwards related his experience as follows:

"I now began to feel a most pleasing sensation resting on me, and immediately the visions of heaven were opened to my view.  I felt myself attracted upward, and remained for some time enwrapt in contemplation, insomuch that I knew not what was going on in the room. By and by I felt some weight pressing upon my shoulder and the side of my head, which served to recall me to a sense of my situation, and found that the Spirit of the Lord had actually caught me up off the floor, and that my shoulder and head were pressing against the beams.

"All this was witness by many, to their great astonishment and satisfaction.(History of the Church, 1:82-3)"