English saints a testament of faith – Kristine Frederickson on MormonTimes.com

In 1837, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left from Kirtland, Ohio, where there were between 2,000 and 3,000 members of the church, to serve missions in England. The elders landed in Liverpool, England, and within one year had converted 6,000 people. By 1852, about 57,000 had joined the church in the British Isles.

Told by the LDS prophet to gather, many converts immigrated to America and made enormous contributions to the kingdom. My research leaves me no doubt that many of these individuals were prepared to accept the gospel before this life and that amenable conditions under the inspiration of an evangelical revival facilitated conversions in that land. Each convert's story was accompanied by miracles, and each stands as a testimony in and of itself.

As members of a global church, we would do well to become more familiar with the circumstances and the stories of converts around the globe both in the past and in our day. To that end, this and a number of columns in the future will attempt to reinforce the concept of a truly international church spanning many nations, cultures and peoples.

The first Mormon temple to grace the British Isles was the London Temple, the 12th operating temple of the church, dedicated in 1958. It is actually in Newchapel, Surrey, southeast of London and perhaps three to four minutes as the crow flies from Gatwick International Airport. The second, the Preston England Temple, dedicated in 1998, is situated in the area where missionaries first taught the gospel with extraordinary results.

In Preston, Heber C. Kimball , Orson Hyde and Joseph Fielding, some of the first missionaries to England, secured permission to preach to members of a nonconformist congregation in Vauxhall Chapel. When congregants began requesting baptism, the congregation leader closed his doors to the missionaries. However, the work had begun.

On July 31, 1837, nine individuals were baptized with 8,000 spectators observing the ordinance from the banks of the River Ribble. The work progressed rapidly, and by October there were about 140 members in Preston.

Opposition arose almost immediately and persecution continued unabated. This did not stop the elders from branching  into outlying villages — Bedford, Alston, Gamlingay, Potton, Little Croxton, Morden, Bassingbourn, St. Albans, Kempston, Baldock, Eccleston, Longton, Walkerford, Clitheroe, Waddington, Chatburn, Downham and other villages in the Ribble Valley.

The experiences of the missionaries in Chatburn reflect their success in many of these areas.