Missionary Work: Me!

As I have had the opportunity to learn about the church history here in England, my thoughts have often been turned to my time as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While my mission was not the full 18 months because of health reasons, I am so grateful to have been able to serve my Heavenly Father. I am grateful that, like those early missionaries, I was able to preach what I know to be true to my brothers and sisters who don’t have the truth. My mission taught me a lot of things and the main thing was that everything happens in the Lord’s timing. His timing is better than anything we could ever dream for ourselves and if we are patient, He comes through every time. I may never know every reason why I was sent to Kennewick, Washington or why I had to come home early. I am sure the early missionaries here in Britain never knew the reach of their efforts either. I know though that I did and accomplished what the Lord wanted me to and I did it with my heart, might, mind, and strength. I am grateful to have been able to go to all of these church sites and to have felt of the joyful spirit there. I know that this church is God’s only true church on the earth today and I am grateful eternally for its restoration.

If you wish to learn more about the LDS church, feel free to ask me any questions or visit lds.org or Mormon.org.

 

Missionary Work: Herefordshire and Others

This post is a compilation of the rest of the missionary and early church history sites that I have been able to see while here in England. The first is the London, England temple. It was night when I got out of the temple, so I am not in the picture, but it is still gorgeous.

The temple was dedicated in 1958 by President David O. McKay. It is located about 25 miles outside of London. One interesting fact about this temple is that it was built without an Angel Moroni on top. It was later added by helicopter in 2008 during the celebration of the 50 year-anniversary. 

This lovely pond is where Wilford Woodruff baptized many of the saints in 1840. John Benbow was a local preacher for the United Brethren and allowed Woodruff to preach to his men. It was here that many of his congregation were baptized into the LDS church by Woodruff. “The first thirty days after my arrival in Herefordshire, I had baptized forty-five preachers and one hundred and sixty members of the United Brethren, who put into my hands one chapel and forty-five houses which were licensed according to law to preach in. This opened a wide field for labor, and enabled me to bring into the Church, through the blessings of God, over eighteen hundred souls [this number is given at a lower estimate in other accounts; it is approximate only] during eight months, including all of the six hundred United Brethren except one person.”

The Gadfield Elm Chapel is another location in Herefordshire that is important to the early church members. Wilford Woodruff preached here and it became a church for the LDS people. The United Brethren donated it after many of their members converted. It was here that Woodruff had many interesting experiences. “When I arose to speak at Brother Benbow’s house, a man entered the door and informed me that he was a constable, and had been sent by the rector of the parish with a warrant to arrest me. I asked him, ‘For what crime?’ He said, ‘For preaching to the people.’ I told him that I, as well as the rector, had a license for preaching the gospel to the people, and that if he would take a chair I would wait upon him after the meeting. He took my chair and sat beside me. For an hour and a quarter I preached the first principles of the everlasting gospel. The power of God rested upon me, the spirit filled the house, and the people were convinced. At the close of the meeting I opened the door for baptism, and seven offered themselves. Among the number were four preachers and the constable. The latter arose and said, ‘Mr. Woodruff, I would like to be baptized.’ I told him I would like to baptize him. …

Herefordshire Beacon was where the country of England was dedicated to the spreading of the gospel. It is remarkable to be able to see so much history and so much success in this country. Wilford Woodruff had this to say about his work here, “I brought eighteen hundred into the Church in that mission, and I will say that the power of God rested upon me and upon the people. There was a spirit to convince and a people whose hearts were open and ready to receive the gospel.” England has remained the longest mission in church history and its members are a huge part of that. Those who did not make the journey to America found ways to keep their religion alive and practice the things they had been taught. I have been blessed as I have gone to each of these places to have been able to walk in the shoes of the church leaders before me and to experience what it was like for them in the early days of the church. 

Quotes were taken from various LDS talks and can be found at these sites. 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/01/harvest-in-herefordshire?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1971/09/history-of-the-church-in-great-britain?lang=eng

MIssionary Work: Preston, England

So, many of you know that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so blessed as I have been in England these past few months to be able to have gone to many of the significant church history sites here. For a project I am doing for my institute class, I decided to show some of them here in part of a few blog posts about missionary work in the UK as well as my own mission. This first post covers some of the important church history sites in Preston, England.

These first two pictures are in the center of Preston. This is where the first 7 missionaries that came to England began their preaching. These missionaries included Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding, John Goodson, Isaac Russell, and John Snyder. Missionary work in the church was not like it was today. They often preached to large crowds in town centres like this one in Preston. Elder Heber C. Kimball of the Council of the Twelve later recalled: “On Sunday, the 4th day of June, 1837, the Prophet Joseph came to me, while I was seated in front of the stand [of the Kirtland Temple], and whispering to me, said, ‘Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: “Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.”

This was where the missionaries stayed in their initial time in Preston. During their stay here, they began to doubt themselves and the work they were embarking on. If you put yourself in their shoes, you would be hesitant as well. Many of the missionaries recounted a night that dispelled all of their fears. They were praying about the work in Preston and they recounted evil spirits overtaking the house and all of them. It was after this experience that they decided that Satan did not want them there and that Preston was where they needed to be. 

This beautiful park in Preston holds a lot of significance to the members of the church. Within the park, multiple plaques can be found that commemorate the missionary work that has taken place here. The park is on the banks of the River Ribble, where the first members in England were baptized. Below are some of the plaques that I found when I was able to visit. 

This tree is the Missionary Oak that was planted by the young men and women of a local stake to remember and look forward to the past, present, and future missionaries that have or will serve in this country. 

This is the River Ribble. It was amazing to be able to be here and take in the Spirit that is present here. While I was there I had a sense of joy and excitement. I can only imagine as those many members got into the river to be baptized, how excited they were. I know when I was baptized as a member of this church, I did not know how blessed I was. If only I could have known then what I know now, I would have been as overjoyed as I am sure these individuals were.

This was another location where the early missionaries preached in Preston. This was where the first church conference in Britain was held, along with other church meetings and services. It is called The Old Cock Pit because before becoming a gathering place for the Mormons, it was a cock fighting ring. It was abandoned when the missionaries came along, but the space was perfect for the missionaries to use. 

The last stop on our mini-Preston tour, is the Preston temple. The temple is the second to be opened in the United Kingdom and it was announced in 1992. President Hinckley, who was the prophet and president of the church at the time, also served his mission here in the 1930s. It was dedicated in 1998 and has even houses the Preston MTC on the premises. 

It was while I was in the Preston temple that I was able to really feel of the members of the church here today. I was able to speak with a lot of them and feel of their excitement and their gratitude toward the gospel and the blessings that it brings to them. I am so grateful to have been able to visit these early church history sites up here in Preston. It really strengthened my testimony to not only learn about these sites but to be able to visit them as well. Below is a picture I took while on the temple grounds, something I do at every temple I visit. 

Quotes were taken from LDS talks and can be found at these links. 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1971/09/history-of-the-church-in-great-britain?lang=eng