Bishop George Farnworth's Vision of Kindred Spirits
Published October 15, 2026 at 5:37 AM
Contributed by
Young Woman's Journal Research
On July 16, 1888, at approximately 10:00 a.m., Bishop George Farnworth was traveling between Pigeon Hollow (a locality near Mount Pleasant) and the Ephraim graveyard in Sanpete County, Utah. While en route, he experienced an intense and strange sensation that he had never felt before. As he proceeded, he looked up and saw a vast multitude of men standing before him. To his right and slightly ahead stood a large man, approximately the size of his father, with a pleasant countenance. Farnworth recognized him, and the man spoke, saying, 'These are your kindred! And we have been waiting, waiting, waiting! Waiting for your temple to be finished.' Overcome by the power of the vision, Farnworth cried out, 'God help me!' and the entire multitude responded with a loud, unified 'Amen.' Farnworth felt a divine power he could not describe. He continued to Ephraim to attend to his business but remained deeply moved. Later, he visited the Manti Temple and informed the recorder of the experience. The recorder examined the temple records, successfully identified the names of Farnworth's ancestors, and Farnworth began performing the sacred ordinances for them, continuing the work thereafter. In a 1985 account, he clarified that his travel route was specifically from Mount Pleasant to Manti.
In Their Own Words
“The morning of the 16th of July, 1888, about 10 o'clock, while I was traveling between Pigeon Hollow and the Ephraim grave yard, I felt a very strange sensation such as I never before experienced. Under this influence I went along and chancing to raise my eyes, it seemed that right in front of me there was a vast multitude of men; to the right and a little in front stood a large man about the size of my father. I looked at him and he looked at me. He had a very pleasant countenance. I felt that I knew him. He spoke to me and said: 'These are your kindred! And we have been waiting, waiting, waiting! Waiting for your temple to be finished.' I was so overcome that I cried out, 'God help me!' and the whole multitude responded with a loud 'Amen.' I felt a power that I cannot describe. I went on to Ephraim to attend to my business, but I was so overcome that I could hardly attend to it. I went to the Manti Temple and told the recorder what I had seen. He looked over the records and found the names of my kindred, and I have been doing the work for them ever since.”
— George Farnworth, The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 1, no. 7
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 1 no. 7 (April 1890). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/9201 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Saga of the Sanpitch, Volume 17 (1985), p. 446. https://www.sanpetecountyutah.gov/DocumentCenter/View/446/1985-PDF Full first-person account: The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 1 no. 7 (April 1890), p. 234 https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/9201 Full first-person account: The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 1 no. 7 (April 1890), p. 234 https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/9201 Full first-person account: The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 1 no. 7 (April 1890), p. 234 https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/9201
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