September 2, 2008 – Our dream of a study group trip became a reality as the Cannons, Dibbles, Sandbergs and Bryce met up at the Salt Lake airport early this morning. We arrived at the Detroit airport and walked through their cycadelic tunnel in order to board our Northwest Airlines flight to Rochester. We got a view of Niagara Falls from the air on the way. It was exciting to see Brent waiting for us at baggage claim with Eddy, the Blacks and Doug & Karren Hammer aboard our “Hopkins” specialty bus.Off we went through beautiful, bucolic upstate New York to the little town of Mendon. Here we saw the home that belonged to Brigham Young’s family now split into two homes by “Cheese Factory Road”. The Titans Assemble refers to three incredible families that somehow ended up in the same place at the same time - the Smith family, the Young family and the Heber C. Kimball family.
One mile down the road is Tomlinson Inn and it was in this spot that things got very interesting. Here it was that Joseph’s younger brother, Samuel sold a copy of the Book of Mormon to Phineas Young, Brigham’s brother. Behind the home is a grove of trees. Here Gary read to us Heber C. Kimball’s account of a night vision he had on September 22, 1827. The vision was seen not only by Heber but also his wife, Vilate, their daughter Rhoda and her husband. In the vision he saw and heard the armies of the Lord marching from the east to the western horizon where a battle ensued that was not only visible but could be heard. … “No man could judge of my feelings when I beheld that army of men, as plainly as ever I saw armies of men in the flesh; it seemed as though every hair of my head was alive.” Many years later, Heber discovered that as he was viewing this remarkable vision, Joseph and Emma were retrieving the plates from the Angel Moroni on the slopes of the Hill Cumorah.
It has been my experience that each time I undertake a visit to Church History sites unexpected, amazing things happen. And so it was that after our visit to the little cemetery nearby, Gary announced that if we would like, he could contact the area authority who had owned the Tomlinson Inn and see if he would come and take us through. No brainer, we said YES! About 10 minutes later we were greeted by David Cook and taken into the Inn where he added to the story of Heber’s vision and it’s role in Samuel Smith missionary journey. We saw the room where Samuel walked in and handed a copy of the Book of Mormon to Phineas Young. Why did Phineas stop at the Inn for dinner when his destination was his father’s home only a mile away? Samuel returned from his journey feeling that his mission had been a complete failure. Not so – Phineas and his entire family read the book and converted to Mormonism. Miraculously, Brigham Young had been away from home in Waterloo the night of September 22, 1827 but had also seen the vision. There are many journal entries of residents around Mendon who recorded seeing this vision also. When the vision was finally connected to Joseph’s receiving the plates, and subsequently the Book of Mormon, it was a popular book to read and resulted in the conversion of the Heber C. Kimball family and the entire John Young family who remained ever faithful to the Church.
Highlights:
Gary & Darcy had trouble all day because they were booked with their names backwards as Sandberg Gary and Sandberg Darcy. The airline charged the tour $100 to correct the mistake.
Rich and Kathy Black joined us coming from the US Open Tennis tournament.
Doug & Karren Hammer joined us coming from Michigan where they attended the Utah/Michigan football game where Utah was victorious.
We sang hymns on the bus where Brent and Eddy accompanied us; Eddy playing the violin and Brent on the harmonica (he’s very good – said he learned during a scout trip to Colorado in the 60’s)
Area Authority David Cook is an attorney who works in Rochester some 22 miles from the Tomlinson Inn. When we called him, however, he was just 7 minutes from our location and came right over. He bought the Tomlinson Inn and they brought every area missionary there to be set apart as they began their mission. They had thought of making the Inn into a bed and breakfast at one time. Hopes are that the church will secure the site as they have the Brigham Young family (split) homes.
Doug & Karren Hammer joined us coming from Michigan where they attended the Utah/Michigan football game where Utah was victorious.
We sang hymns on the bus where Brent and Eddy accompanied us; Eddy playing the violin and Brent on the harmonica (he’s very good – said he learned during a scout trip to Colorado in the 60’s)
Area Authority David Cook is an attorney who works in Rochester some 22 miles from the Tomlinson Inn. When we called him, however, he was just 7 minutes from our location and came right over. He bought the Tomlinson Inn and they brought every area missionary there to be set apart as they began their mission. They had thought of making the Inn into a bed and breakfast at one time. Hopes are that the church will secure the site as they have the Brigham Young family (split) homes.
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