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125 years ago
The bodies of two missionaries killed by a mob in Cane Creek, Tenn., were returned to Utah on Aug. 22, 1884, according to Church Chronology by Andrew Jenson. The martyred elders were John H. Gibbs of Paradise, Utah, and William S. Berry of Kanarra, Utah.
Essentials in Church History by Joseph Fielding Smith reported: "It happened Sunday, August 10, 1884. That morning a number of elders and Saints met at the home of James Condor for religious worship. While the small congregation was assembling a mob of masked ruffians invaded the premises and shot and killed [Elder Gibbs]."
As the clash continued, the leader of the mob was killed, as well as two men, not members of the Church, who were trying to protect the missionaries. Incited by the retaliation, the mob shot bullets into the house, "riddling the body of Elder Berry," according to the Church history.
It added: "Elder B.H. Roberts was at Chattanooga, in charge of the mission in the absence of President John Morgan, who was in Salt Lake City. At the peril of his own life he went forth and secured the bodies of the missionaries and had them forwarded to Utah, where the 'Mormon' people were in mourning. The bodies of the slain elders were interred at their home towns, but public funeral services were also held in Salt Lake City, August 24, 1884."
