Richard Jones believed in the Sunday school and the open Bible rather than in any man-made dogma, and composed two catechisms on the Bible , one elementary and one advanced. Several of his articles are to be found in Seren Gomer , Goleuad Cymru , and Y Drysorfa , under the pseudonym ‘ Cymro Gwyllt .’ About 1815 , when the painful controversy about Redemption and Atonement was at its height, and when his old friend, John Elias (q.v.) , was walking very near the edge of the precipice, Richard Jones manfully held his ground — a fairly full account of this controversy will be found in Cofiant John Jones, Tal-y-sarn , by Owen Thomas , vol. ii, 560-77. Although he was not an eloquent preacher , he always found a ready hearing, for his message was satisfying and fresh. In 1829 his Drych y Dadleuwr was published. In the introduction he writes: ‘ My intention… is not to argue… but to demonstrate the folly into which (dialectic) bigotry can lead men .’ In 1835 a collection of his hymns was published under the title Hymnau a Chaneuon Ysbrydol a Duwiol under the editorship of John Elias . He d. 26 Feb. 1833 . [In politics, Richard Jones was regarded as progressive; he withstood John Elias when Elias opposed the Reform Bill .]
Rev. Richard Thomas, B.A. (1872-1950), Caernarfon
