Brigham Young's gift of tongues at Mendon
Published October 5, 2026 at 2:01 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
In September 1832, Brigham Young began a journey from Mendon, New York, to Kirtland, Ohio, accompanied by Heber C. Kimball and Joseph Young. They traveled by horse and wagon, visiting various friends and branches of the Church along the way, where they exhorted the members and prayed with them. During these prayers, Brigham Young first exercised the gift of tongues. Upon arriving in Kirtland, the group learned that the Prophet Joseph Smith was working in the woods; they went to find him and later returned together to his home. That evening, as a small group of brethren conversed about the things of the kingdom, Joseph Smith called upon Brigham Young to offer a prayer. During this prayer, Young again spoke in tongues. Immediately after they rose from their knees, the brethren gathered around Joseph Smith to ask his opinion regarding the gift of tongues that had been manifested. Some expressed to the Prophet that they had expected he might condemn the gift brother Brigham had exhibited. Instead, Joseph Smith declared that it was the 'pure Adamic language' and explicitly stated, 'No, it is of God.'
In Their Own Words
“In September, 1832, Brother Heber C. Kimball took his horse and wagon, Brother Joseph Young and myself accompanying him and started for Kirtland to see the Prophet Joseph. We visited many friends on the way, and some branches of the Church. We exhorted them and prayed with them, and I spoke in tongues. As soon as we arose from our knees the brethren flocked around him, and asked his opinion concerning the gift of tongues that was upon me. He told them it was the pure Adamic language. Some said to him they expected he would condemn the gift Brother Brigham had, but he said, “No, it is of God, and the time will come when Brother Brigham Young will preside over this Church. The latter part of this conversation was in my absence.”
— Brigham Young, Manuscript History of Brigham Young
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 20 February 1872 (Vol. 34, No. 8). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1872-02-20_34_8 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Lee Copeland, "Speaking in Tongues in the Restoration Churches," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 24, no. 1 (Spring 1991): 11–35. https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/speaking-in-tongues-in-the-restoration-churches Full first-person account: Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1801–1844 https://josephsmithfoundation.org/brigham-young-1801-1877
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