“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).