“...I heard the late Apostle Marriner W. Merrill, President of the Logan Temple, relate this extraordinary incident. He was sitting in his office one morning, he said, when he noticed from the window a company of people coming up the hill to the Temple. As they entered the Temple grounds they presented rather a strange appearance, not only in dress but in their mode of travel. Some were riding on horses, others were in conveyances, and still others were afoot. He wondered who they could be as he was not looking for a company of such size that particular morning. They dismounted from their horses, stepped down from their conveyances, put their animals under the shade and walked about complacently as if they had a perfect right to be there.
“A little later a person unknown to Brother Merrill entered the room. Brother Merrill said to him: “Who are you and who are these people who have come up and taken possession of the Temple grounds unannounced?” He answered and said: “I am Satan and these are my people.” Brother Merrill then said: “What do you want? Why have you come here?” Satan replied: “I don't like the work that is going on in this Temple and feel that it should be discontinued. Will you stop it?” Brother Merrill answered and said emphatically, “No, we will not stop it. The work must go on.” “Since you refuse to stop it, I will tell you what I propose to do,” the adversary said. “I will take these people, my followers, and distribute them throughout this Temple district, and will instruct them to whisper in the ears of people, persuading them not to go to the Temple, and thus bring about a cessation of your Temple work.” Satan then withdrew.
“President Merrill, commenting on this strange interview with the Evil One, said that for quite a period of time the spirit of indifference to Temple work seemed to take possession of the people and very few came to the House of the Lord. The presumption was that Satan had carried out his threat which caused a temporary lull in Temple work.
“It is not to be wondered at that Satan, who is the enemy of all righteousness, is displeased with Temple work.”
(“Lucifer Tries to Hinder Temple Work,” by President Rudger Clawson, Church Section, The Deseret News., Dec. 12, 1936, Vol. 344, No. 61., cited by N. B. Lundwall, “Temples of the Most High, 9th Ed., Salt Lake City, Bookcraft, 1954, p. 107)
There is a reference to this event in the history of Martha Ann Townsend Lufkin. The Lufkins had moved to Logan to be close to a temple and for her especially to be able to do temple work for her ancestors. The Satanic visit to the temple president must have been known to persons in that temple district, but, as reported by her grand-daughter Dorothy D. Hall, “for awhile it seemed that every time Grandma planned to go to the Temple, something occurred to hinder her.” [Then she remembered having heard that] Satan can hear what we say but he can’t read our thoughts. So, after that whenever Grandma appeared, ready for the street, it was the signal for someone to hitch the horse to the buggy so she could have her day at the temple, unopposed.” (Dorothy D. Hall, “Histories of Parents and Grandparents of Kate Naomi Lufkin Davenport,” 1986, p. 34) Thus, Martha Ann was able to thwart the adversary and resume her regular work in the temple.
The version of the story that I heard from my mother, Hazel Davenport Lewis, as she had heard from her mother Kate, was that the specific signal was for her to have her apron on backwards, at breakfast. I like that version.
The time when this occurred is not identified. Elder Merrill was President of the Logan temple from its dedication 17 May 1884 until his death in 1906. Aunt Dorothy Hall speculates that it happened shortly after the Lufkins had moved to Logan but before her experience in the temple with the appearance of the person for whom she had just served as proxy.
The Lufkin's home in Logan was at 251 South 100 West. Consistent with the practice of many small-town Mormons, George owned and worked some farm ground away from the town, but the family lived in the city. They probably had barns or sheds on their city property for horses and equipment. It was a large lot, with a stream of water (irrigation ditch??) running through it, and was next door to property that was a part of Brigham Young College (a Church-sponsored high school and teacher’s preparation college) which later became the site for Logan High School. The house was about 9 or 10 blocks (1.1 miles) from the temple. Since Martha Ann was short in height and in her later life carried quite a lot of extra weight and the trip to the temple involved a significant climb in elevation, she apparently was in great need of a horse and buggy in order to make the temple trip.
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