Thomas Howells's vision of preaching in Penderyn

Thomas Howells, while serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Wales (1870–1872), experienced a vivid dream about one year prior to his scheduled visit to the Red Lion Arms in Penderyn. In this dream, he saw himself standing in a specific room within that building, preaching the gospel to a large and attentive congregation. When he finally traveled to the Red Lion to hold a meeting, he discovered the room filled to its absolute capacity, with additional listeners crowding around the windows and doors outside. Describing the experience, Howells reported feeling a profound manifestation of the Spirit, noting that he felt, in his own words, like 'a giant refreshed with new wine.' Biographical research conducted by W. Bart Christenson, Jr., which examined the 1892 missionary journal of Howells’s son, John Francis Howells, provides historical corroboration for the setting and success of this meeting in Penderyn.