'There is a book, sir, I wish you to read'
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MENDON, N.Y. — After a day of preaching and traveling, Samuel H. Smith, the younger brother of the Prophet Joseph, was probably tired and hungry that evening in April 1830 when he arrived at the Tomlinson Inn looking for lodging.
He could have climbed into the hayloft of the large barn and spread his bed roll and fallen asleep, as did many travelers of the day.
Instead, he took advantage of one more opportunity to share the gospel and entered the tavern where stagecoach travelers and other guests would eat. He strode across the wooden floor and, while holding out a copy of the Book of Mormon to a man named Phineas Young, simply said, "There is a book, sir, I wish you to read."
That one, quiet conversation created a ripple that soon affected the course of the Church and continues to expand its circle of blessings today.
Phineas bought the book and soon received a witness of its authenticity. He then gave it to his brother, Brigham Young, who gave it to his sister, Fanny Young Murray, the mother-in-law of Heber C. Kimball. After intense study these men and their families joined the Church.
"We sometimes feel we have to build bridges of trust and friendship before we can share the gospel," said President David L. Cook of the Rochester New York Palmyra Stake. "Yet, the Prophet's younger brother, a witness of the plates, didn't feel that need. He went to Phineas Young, held out the book and boldly urged him to read.
"When young men and women from the stake are to be set apart for their missions, we come out here and recount how Samuel, who had been proselyting in the Palmyra area, stopped to spend the night at the Tomlinson Inn. Less concerned with his needs, he wanted to take advantage of one more opportunity to share the gospel and entered the tavern. His request of Phineas Young began a chain reaction of events that led to the conversion of future great leaders of the Church.
"The inn is located on Boughton Hill Road in Mendon, about 15 miles from the Smith home in Manchester," President Cook continued. "A stagecoach line carrying passengers between Canandaigua and Buffalo would stop there for food and lodging in the early 1830s. In those days, lodgers with limited means would go to the hayloft and sleep on a bedroll in the barn, while those with means would eat in the tavern and sleep in the inn.
"Before setting the missionaries apart, I remind them what a bold testimony and extra effort can mean in proclaiming the gospel," President Cook said.
The opportunity to be set apart in a room where a heavenly hand orchestrated the conversion of early leaders has left a meaningful impression on missionaries.
"It has absolutely made a difference in the quality of my service," said Elder Gregory Crystal who currently serves in the Oregon Portland Mission. "Having lived where the great events of the Restoration took place brings the reality of this work to life."
Elder Michael Lebbon concurs. Completing the last days of his training at the Provo Missionary Training Center before beginning service in the Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission, Elder Lebbon said that he took time to prayerfully stroll through the Sacred Grove to consider the depth of his diligence before being set apart in the Tomlinson Inn.
"I felt blessed to be in such a place of historic significance," he said from the Provo Missionary Training Center. "It inspired me to serve the best I can, like Samuel Smith who continued to open his mouth, even though he felt he wasn't successful. But he was. And if I open my mouth, who knows what can happen."
Elder Lebbon joined the Church in 1996 and has since played the role of Nephi in the Hill Cumorah Pageant, an experience he said deepened his testimony.
The Tomlinson Inn is one of many significant sites of early Church history in Mendon, President Cook said. The events of the Restoration that took place here make "Mendon the greatest untold story of the Church."
Since moving to the Rochester area a few years ago, President Cook and his wife, Kathleen, became interested in the history of President Cook's third great-grandfather, Heber C. Kimball.
They knew that Heber and Brigham Young were close friends in Mendon and, after checking records and maps, were able to generally locate Heber's property near the junction of Tomlinson Corners. A few months later they bought the Tomlinson Inn when it was listed for sale. Since then, they have learned that their ancestor's property would have been part of the current property of the inn. "If my ancestor were alive today, he would be residing in the stake where I preside," President Cook said.
The tavern remains much today as it was when Samuel Smith met Phineas Young in April 1830. Large willow trees with wide sweeping branches, and century-old elm trees shade the rural home. But some renovations have been made over the years. The inn portion of the structure was enlarged in 1860 and a kitchen area to the side of the tavern was also expanded. The inn is now a comfortable home for Sister Cook's parents, George and Marjorie Rice, who reside there and serve as a counselor and assistant matron in the Palmyra New York Temple.
