Do miracles happen? Absolutely — just ask Elizabeth Smart's family and millions of their closest friends.
After more than nine months — and in answer to hundreds of thousands of prayers from people all over the world — the kidnapped LDS teenager returned home March 12.
"I thank my Heavenly Father," said Elizabeth's father, Ed Smart, at a family press conference the day after her recovery. "I know that He was there. I know that He saw our family through so many things, through so many issues. I have a stronger testimony than ever that He lives, that He cares about each one of us.
"This is a miracle. This is an absolute miracle. He has brought her back. And it has been because of prayers, because of love, because of the joining together across all lines. I am just absolutely indebted to all of you for your love and support and your help in this case."
Elizabeth, who was taken by force from her bedroom June 5, was identified by police while walking with her alleged abductors in Sandy, Utah, a Salt Lake City suberb. She was joyfully reunited with her family a short time later, apparently in good health.
Brian David Mitchell, 49, and Wanda Ilene Barzee, 57, both of Utah, were jailed for investigation of aggravated kidnapping. Police found Elizabeth, 15, while following a telephone tip from local residents, who had seen media reports with the suspect's photo.
Word of her safe return seemed to stop time in Salt Lake City and its surrounding communities and traveled quickly across the globe. Thousands turned on their television sets. Stores near Elizabeth's home sold out of blue ribbons and balloons, which had become symbols of hope for the missing teen and bedecked practically every tree, lamp post, fence and walkway in her neighborhood. Media once again flocked to Salt Lake City — this time to cover the story's statistically improbable happy ending; fewer than 2 percent of long-term missing child cases are resolved with the return of the child alive.
Joining with those expressing elation upon Elizabeth's return, the First President issued a statement that, without doubt, echoes sentiments of members everywhere: "We are grateful that Elizabeth Smart has been found alive, and express thanks for the prayers and help of the many people who have sought Elizabeth since her disappearance. We rejoice with the family."
Family members thanked law enforcement, the media, and the public for working together to bring Elizabeth home, and described a sweet reunion between Elizabeth, her parents and her five siblings, including 10-year-old Mary Katherine who witnessed the abduction.
"It is absolutely unbelievable, so fantastic. I am so happy," Elizabeth's father told the media the evening of the reunion.
He emotionally recounted walking into a room at the police station in Sandy and seeing his daughter for the first time in more than nine months. "I went up and grabbed her and was just so happy," Ed Smart said. "I had prayed and prayed and prayed that we would find [her]. It is truly an answer to prayer. So many people out there have prayed for her and helped us. I am just so grateful."
In the days, weeks and months following Elizabeth's kidnapping from her Federal Heights bedroom, thousands volunteered time, money and prayers to aid in Elizabeth's recovery. "Missing" posters prominently displayed Elizabeth's photograph in stores and public gathering places across the United States. The kidnapping generated countless newspaper headlines and talk on national television shows.
Each day without Elizabeth was a test of faith for Ed and Lois Smart and their family — but family members say they never abandoned hope.
"We knew statistically that [Elizabeth's return] would be nothing less than a miracle, but we always believed in miracles," said Tom Smart, Elizabeth's uncle.
He said his family is grateful for the many who offered assistance and prayers on their behalf, and added that Elizabeth had perhaps been the subject of more prayers than any young girl in history.
Bishop David C. Hamblin of the Arlington Hills Ward, Salt Lake Emigration Stake, said the experience has drawn his ward together. After learning of her safe return, he said members congregated at their meetinghouse, which had doubled as search headquarters for the missing teen. "We just all were so overjoyed and happy. We knelt down and had a prayer of gratitude."
Bishop Hamblin said ward members — including many children — never ceased to pray for Elizabeth and her family.
"We put so much energy into this and we were willing to be patient," he said. "We were willing to accept whatever the outcome."
Now, he said, they are enjoying the moment, preparing to support Elizabeth in any way they can. "We are grateful and thankful. We couldn't have imagined a better scenario."
Elizabeth Stringham, a member of Smart family's ward, helped organize search parties at the LDS meetinghouse in the hours and days after the girl's abduction.
"It's a satisfying thing to be back here," said Sister Stringham, adding Elizabeth's return is a testament to the "goodness of humanity."
Like the Smart family, the neighbors and fellow ward members said they continued to look forward to Elizabeth's eventual return. Sister Stringham said she taught a Primary class of 5-year-olds just days before Elizabeth was found. A little boy prayed for Elizabeth and her family, as had children every week. She said everyone who searched for Elizabeth, or displayed a "Missing" poster in their shop or car window, or simply kept their eyes open can share ownership in Elizabeth's successful recovery.
Cynthia Smart Owens, Elizabeth's aunt, said the family has felt comforted through the entire ordeal. "It has been a very spiritual experience," she said, noting that the family's work to bring the plight of kidnapped children to the forefront has and will save lives.
After learning of Elizabeth's safe return, family members offered a prayer of gratitude and a prayer for other missing children around the world. Speaking outside his home, Ed Smart encouraged Congress to pass a national Amber Alert legislation, that would distribute bulletins through radio and television broadcasts and electronic highway signs about kidnappings in the critical hours after they occur.
"All of the children out there deserve to come back to their parents the way Elizabeth has come back to us," he said. "It is nothing but a miracle."
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