The following account,
told by President James E. Faust of the First Presidency, is about Rafael
Monroy and Vicente Morales, two Latter-day Saints who lived in Mexico in the
early 1900s. In 1915 they were captured by a violent band of soldiers. Watch
for how for these 2 brethren were great examples of enduring persecution in
faith.
“Rafael Monroy was the president of the small
San Marcos Mexico Branch, and Vicente Morales was his first counselor. … They
were told they would be spared if they would give up their weapons and renounce
their strange religion. Brother Monroy told his captors that he did not have
any weapons and simply drew from his pocket his Bible and Book of Mormon. He
said, ‘Gentlemen, these are the only arms I ever carry; they are the arms of
truth against error.’
“When
no arms were found, the brethren were cruelly tortured to make them divulge
where arms were hidden. But there were no arms. They were then taken under
guard to the outskirts of the little town, where their captors stood them up by
a large ash tree in front of a firing squad. The officer in charge offered them
freedom if they would forsake their religion and join the [soldiers], but
Brother Monroy replied, ‘My religion is dearer to me than my life, and I cannot
forsake it.’
“They
were then told that they were to be shot and asked if they had any request to
make. Brother Rafael requested that he be permitted to pray before he was
executed. There, in the presence of his executioners, he kneeled down and, in a
voice that all could hear, prayed that God would bless and protect his loved
ones and care for the little struggling branch that would be left without a
leader. As he finished his prayer, he used the words of the Savior when He hung
upon the cross and prayed for His executioners: ‘Father, forgive them; for they
know not what they do.’ [Luke
23:34.]
With that the firing squad shot both Brother Monroy and Brother Morales” (“Discipleship,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 21–22; based on Rey L. Pratt, “A
Latter-day Martyr,” Improvement Era, June 1918,
720–26).
