Phineas Young — The Spirit of God Comes Upon a Lay Preacher 'in a Marvellous Manner' as He Defends the Book of Mormon (April 1830)

Phineas Young, a lay preacher and the older brother of Brigham Young, had a remarkable conversion experience in April 1830 — the very month the Church was organized. His encounter with the Book of Mormon and the powerful spiritual manifestation that attended his defense of it is a witness of how the Spirit of God falls upon those who embrace the restored gospel.

In April 1830, Phineas was on his way home from preaching in the town of Lima. He stopped at the house of a man named Tomlinson to get some dinner. While engaged in conversation with the family, a young man came in, walked across the room to where Phineas was sitting, and held a book toward him, saying: "There is a book, sir, I wish you to read."

Phineas, surprised by the novel approach, asked: "Pray sir, what book have you?"

"The Book of Mormon, or, as it is called by some, the Golden Bible."

"Ah, sir, then it purports to be a revelation."

"Yes," said the young man, "it is a revelation from God."

The young man was Samuel H. Smith, one of the Eight Witnesses and a brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He told Phineas: "If you will read this book with a prayerful heart, and ask God to give you a witness, you will know the truth of this work." He testified: "I know the book to be a revelation from God, translated by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and that my brother, Joseph Smith, Jun., is a prophet, seer and revelator."

Phineas bought the book and went home. He told his wife: "I have got a book here, called the Book of Mormon, and it is said to be a revelation, and I wish to read it and make myself acquainted with its errors, so that I can expose them to the world." He read every word in the book that same week, and read it again the following week. But to his surprise, "I could not find the errors I anticipated, but felt a conviction that the book was true."

The remarkable spiritual manifestation came the next Sabbath. Phineas was requested to give his views on the Book of Mormon. He began to speak, intending to expose its errors. But "I had not spoken ten minutes in defence of the book when the Spirit of God came upon me in a marvellous manner, and I spoke at great length on the importance of such a work, quoting from the Bible to support my position, and finally closed by telling the people that I believed the book."

The effect was powerful. "The greater part of the people agreed with my views, and some of them said they had never heard me speak so well and with such power." A lay preacher who had set out to expose the Book of Mormon found himself, by the power of the Spirit, bearing powerful testimony of its truth.

Phineas then lent the book to his father, John Young, who read it through and said: "It was the greatest work and the clearest of error of anything he had ever seen, the Bible not excepted." He lent it to his sister Fanny Murray, who "read it and declared it a revelation." Many others did the same. The Book of Mormon spread through the Young family like fire, and the family that included Brigham Young, Joseph Young, and their close friend Heber C. Kimball was led into the Church.

Phineas Young's conversion is remarkable for several reasons:

— He set out to expose the Book of Mormon's errors but was converted by its truth. His intention was to find flaws, but the Spirit overcame his prejudice and gave him a conviction of its truth.

— The Spirit of God came upon him "in a marvellous manner" — a powerful, tangible spiritual manifestation that transformed his speech from criticism to testimony. Those who heard him said they had "never heard me speak so well and with such power."

— His conversion became a gateway for one of the most important families in Church history. Through Phineas's witness, his father John, his brother Brigham Young, his brother Joseph, and Heber C. Kimball all encountered the Book of Mormon and were eventually baptized. Brigham Young would become the second President of the Church.

— The encounter was providentially timed. Phineas met Samuel Smith in April 1830 — the exact month the Church was organized. The Lord was already preparing key converts, including the family of the man who would lead the Saints west.

Phineas Young's conversion stands as a powerful witness that the Spirit of God can transform a critic into a witness, and that the Lord uses even a lay preacher's attempt to expose the Book of Mormon to bring some of the most important converts in Church history into the fold.