Our gospel is a maker of heroines. Celebrate with me one such heroine; one of many.

Amanda Barnes was born on February 22, 1809, in Becket, Berkshire, Massachusetts. She married twice, two different men, each by the name of Warren Smith.  She had five children with the first Warren Smith; three children with the second.

They moved to Ohio where they were converted to the Campbellites, led by Sidney Rigdon. She would have known Eliza Snow and Ann Whitney in those early days.

After having two difficult births, the doctor warned her not to have any more children. When the missionaries came through the area, she received a blessing where she was told she had other children waiting for her. She was baptized on April 1, 1831, and subsequently had three more children. She heartily reported she felt no pain at delivering her twins, giving full credit to the Lord and his blessings upon her.

Amanda’s parents and family refused to join the church. Warren’s father and brothers joined; however, things did not go smoothly. She wrote, ”When David (Warren’s brother) was baptized, my sister Fanny (his wife) hollowed and screamed so she was heard a half mile. She said she would never eat nor drink until he left the Mormons. She was as good as her word. She went eight or nine days until she was just gone, and would not put, nor let a drop of anything go into her mouth. When her husband saw that she would die, he sent and had his name taken from the church record; his father soon followed. So by one woman, two men fell.” Those family members still faithful moved on to Kirtland, to be closer to the Saints to help build the church there.

When it came time to move on to Missouri, Amanda stated, “My mother said she hoped she should never see me, hear of me, nor hear my name mentioned again in the world.”

Traveling with a group of Saints, they crossed the line into Missouri and were immediately accosted by a mob. The Smiths, relegated to stay behind with a smaller group of ten families, watched the main group go on ahead. This broken-off group traveled several miles to a place called Haun’s Mill, where they stayed the night.

In her journal, she reported, “A little before sunset a mob of three hundred armed men came upon us.” The mob was bent on murder, specifically shooting off twenty or more rounds at a single person to make sure they were good and dead.

Willard, Amanda’s eleven-year-old son, left an amazing record, years later, where he stated that he was able to aid others in their escape, during the gunfire. He was the first to return to the scene where he searched and found his dead father and two little brothers. Amanda recorded in her journal, “The two boys were mine. One of them had his brains all shot out, and the other his hip all shot to pieces. Realize for a moment, my dear readers, nothing but horror and distress.”

In her anguish, she prayed, “’Oh, my Heavenly Father, what shall I do? Oh, Heavenly Father, direct me what to do!’ And then I was directed as by a voice speaking to me…as distinctly as though a physician had been standing by speaking to me.” She asked Alma (her son) if he believed the Lord could heal him. When he replied yes, he asked her if she believed. She said, “Yes, my son, he has shown it all to me in a vision…the Lord will make you another hip.” He indeed grew another hip and never even limped the rest of his life.

She and her family were left behind as the rest of the Saints were ordered to leave the state. For those five awful weeks, the mob would come and check on them to make sure they weren’t praying or holding anything religious in nature. There was a deadline given to get out of the state, but she had no husband, four small children, and no horse or wagon to make her way.

Finally, ready to leave in the middle of February, she walked ten miles to the home of the captain of the mob and demanded that he return her horses. When he refused, she marched over to his stable and yoked a pair of steers to a sled and drove off. They had no money, no food, and slept out of doors until they finally reached Nauvoo.

“I felt the loss of my husband, but not as I should if he had apostatized; he died in the faith and in hopes of a glorious resurrection. As for myself, I felt an unshaken confidence in God through it all.”

Amanda and her children remained true to their faith for the rest of their lives.

Willard stated in his journal,

“My mother, Amanda Barnes Smith, a woman of dauntless courage and implicit faith in her Heavenly Father, found that the entire ball and socket of the left hip had been shot away leaving the bones about three or four inches apart. They believed the miracle could take place. Then she called her remaining three children around the bed, and they knelt and supplicated the Lord for faith and guidance. Mother dedicated Alma to the Lord, praying that he be restored and made well and strong, but if this were not possible, to take him in his innocence. This picture of my Mother’s implicit faith in her Heavenly Father remained as a living testimony to her children through their lives.”

The “Mormon Miracle” became quite well known in the area. A team of doctors came to examine the boy and hear the story. They asked Amanda who performed such amazing surgery. She replied, “Jesus Christ.” One said, “Not the Savior of the World?” Amanda responded, “Yes, the same sir. He was the physician and I was the nurse.”

What a glorious example of the power and strength of Woman. To be so full of faith that fear goes away. To stand as an inspiration for each of her children. To be an example of testimony for the eternities.

Thank you, Amanda.

Information found in:

Amanda Barnes Smith’s Notebook, LDS Church Archives

A Rare Account of the Haun’s Mill Massacre: The Reminiscence of Willard Gilbert Smith available through Alexander L. Baugh, Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine,

Mormon Historic Sites.