Lon-y-Dyffryn (1822)
In the year 1822, the whole county had a very powerful visitation. This is considered one of the foremost, if not the foremost, revivals that Anglesey has ever had. Harvest came – a season of harvesting and gathering in the sheaves with rejoicing throughout the whole county, after having sown in tears. Zion became a joyful mother of children; and the talk throughout the regions was, ‘This and that man was born in her.’ We cannot follow it to every neighbourhood. Aberffraw and Bethel, and their surroundings received a large portion of the shower. The Sabbath School in Bethel grew from 40 to 200. This was the year of that wonderful Association at Llangefni: the congregations of Bethel and Aberffraw met, and went together to Llangefni, and had a prayer-meeting on the main road; and Elias preached in Llangefni on Isaiah 52:10; ‘The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations,’ &c. When he described the Lord making bare his arm, and pointed with his arm, as was his custom, he undid the base of his sleeve almost all around. That was a fearful meeting. It is said that so many handkerchiefs were never seen out before, and the glorious use made of them; namely, drying the tears that were flowing while they listened to the gospel. If pocket handkerchiefs ever answered their purpose, this was when. Others were moved with rejoicing, having lost complete control of themselves! It is clear that such a sight was never seen before in Anglesey, or since. The thanksgiving was heard miles away! We almost think that the angels there rejoiced by the thousand to see sinners repenting. The people held prayer-meetings along the roads as they returned home. One was in Lon-y-Dyffryn – not far from Pen-y-garnedd. It was three o’clock in the morning when they reached their homes. Prayer-meetings were held each night in the chapels, and some in the corners of the quarries; the sound of singing and praise was throughout the whole county; the heavenly fire had taken complete control of the island. Amlwch and its environs felt the ‘powers of the world to come’ that year. The Rev. Moses Jones, of Pencaenewydd, in Eifionydd, was the chief instrument in setting these regions on fire. The Rev. Michael Roberts, Pwllheli, was to come with Moses Jones, and he was known as one of the most powerful and popular preachers of the age. Both were to be in Bethlehem on the Sabbath night, and some went from Amlwch, to hear Michael Roberts in all likelihood, because Moses Jones was a young man who had just started preaching; but Michael Roberts did not come with Moses Jones, because of ill health; but one greater than Michael Roberts came with him, namely the ‘Master of assemblies.’ Moses Jones had an unusually powerful meeting; great rejoicing broke out there, and among those rejoicing were the people from Amlwch. They went home singing and praising; on the following Thursday night, several came to the church meeting. Consequently, Moses Jones became very popular; the chapels were too small to contain the hearers. We remember when very young being very eager to hear him preach after hearing our mother talking so much about him. In the heat of this revival our dear brother, the Rev. Robert Hughes, Gaerwen, came to faith; and if what we heard is true, on top of Parys Mountain, as he returned from Llanerchymedd; he had been there to hear Moses Jones, and the dawn broke upon him, and he broke out in praise and thanksgiving. In the body of the year about 170 souls were added to the church of Amlwch.
John Pritchard, Methodistiaeth Mon, (Amlwch, 1888), 368-369
Additional Information
This is the road thee people of the revival travelled on towards Pen-y-Garnedd.