Gift of Tongues and Interpretation in Manchester
Published October 13, 2026 at 5:27 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
In the summer of 1886, Joseph Eckersley attended a cottage meeting in Manchester where Elder John Holt spoke in an unknown tongue. Several present understood the message, and another member then provided the interpretation, which was confirmed as correct by others in the room.
In Their Own Words
“The writer had been a member of the Church of Christ only a few weeks when in the summer of 1886 he attended a cottage meeting at Manchester. Elder John Holt arose to bear testimony, and instantly a heavenly feeling seized the writer. Brother Holt commenced to speak in an unknown tongue, a language that was strange to all present; but there were several persons in that little body of worshipers who understood every word of exhortation and comfort that he uttered. When he sat down, one arose and gave the interpretation of what had been spoken, and others bore testimony that the interpretation given was correct. It was a manifestation of the power of God that I shall never forget, and it served to strengthen my faith in the divinity of the work in which I had recently engaged.”
— Joseph Eckersley, Millennial Star, Vol. 64, No. 48
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 27 November 1902 (Vol. 64, No. 48). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1902-11-27_64_48 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, 27 November 1902, Vol. 64, No. 48, p. 762 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1902-11-27_64_48
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