“SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die this instant!” — Joseph Smith¹

“I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended upon a breath, in the courts of England; I have witnessed a Congress in solemn session to give laws to nations; I have tried to conceive of kings, of royal courts, of thrones, and crowns; and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms, but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon, in an obscure village of Missouri.” — Parley P. Pratt²

In late 1838, after the Missouri militia had imprisoned Joseph Smith and other church leaders, they were transported to Jackson County and later to Richmond, Missouri. During this time, the prisoners faced harsh conditions and verbal abuse from their guards. One night in Richmond, as the guards told vile stories of raping and murdering the Saints, Joseph Smith stood up and rebuked them with the words, "Silence, ye fiends of the infernal pit!" The guards went silent, some apologizing, and others crouching down in fear. His commanding presence and firm words silenced the guards and demonstrated his unwavering dignity and faith, even in the face of great adversity. Parley P. Pratt was one of Joseph’s fellow prisoners at the time and reported this experience in the Deseret News in 1853.³

1. The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, 229, archive.org

2. Deseret News, 12 November, 1853, 3, newspapers.lib.utah.edu

3. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 31, 366-368; Alexander L. Baugh, "'Silence Ye Fiends of the Infernal Pit!': Joseph Smith’s Incarceration in Richmond, Missouri, November 1838," Mormon Historical Studies