The Temple in St. George had been completed by that time, and Thomas was strongly reminded of his father's dying injunction to "never forget the dead." He was so strongly impressed with the fact that it was his duty to go to St. George and have the work done for all of his ancestors whose names he had, that he talked the matter over with his neighbor, Newton Tuttle, who became so enthusiastic on the subject that he proffered to go to St. George with him, and to furnish the team to convey them on the trip.
Though impelled by the Spirit to go to the Temple, he still had doubts as to whether he would be allowed to engage in ordinance work therein, because of having the running sores on his leg. He accordingly conferred with Bishop Anson Call on the subject, but the Bishop was unable to answer his query.
Thomas then appealed to the Lord in prayer to know whether it was His will that he should go, and whether the dead knew what was being done on earth in their behalf. He had perfect confidence that the Lord would hear and grant his wish, as He had heard and answered his prayers many times in the past.
Directly afterward he had a dream in which he thought he was traveling from the north to the south, and that his wife's sister, Sarah, was with him. They were walking along the road, and he was talking to her of the things of the Gospel. They came to a very large field of wheat—the finest he had ever seen. He saw a number of men at work harvesting, as the wheat was ripe. Other men were seen lounging in the shade, and neglecting the crop, which seemed to be in danger of being wasted.
He asked his companion to observe the scene before them, as it was typical of worldly conditions—some doing their utmost to save the master's crop, while others are careless and indifferent.
All at once it seemed to grow dark—so dark that he could not see where to go, and he lost his companion. While standing still, wondering where to go, he saw a small light a long distance away, and as he approached it, it grew larger and brighter. Then a large white building appeared in view, such as he had never seen before. A number of steps led up from the east side, and the door stood open; but he could see no one around, and everything looked white as snow. He entered the door and looked around, and saw another flight of steps. At the top of the steps stood a woman whom he recognized as one of his neighbors, and who came towards him and embraced him.
He awoke and pondered over his dream, and came to the conclusion that the Lord had another wife for him, as the woman he saw seemed to be waiting for some one.
Some time after that he asked Bishop Call some questions concerning the dead, which the Bishop did not venture to answer, but suggested that he go and talk with President Brigham Young, and offered to go with him.
They accordingly visited President Young, who answered the questions that Thomas wanted to be enlightened upon in a way that was satisfying and very comforting to him, and explained Temple work to him in a way that he had never fully understood before.
After conversing about an hour, he said: "Brother Briggs, how many of the names of your dead kindred have you?" On learning that he had only seven names, he asked: