Picturing history: Honeydon, Bedfordshire

In 1794, John Fielding and his wife, Rachel Ibbotson Fielding, moved to a farm at Honeydon, Bedfordshire, England. Their fourth, sixth and ninth children, Joseph, Mary and Mercy Rachel, immigrated to Canada in the 1830s. There, the three embraced the restored gospel as taught by Parley P. Pratt and his missionary associates.

These new members went on to have a significant impact on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Joseph accompanied Heber C. Kimball and others on the first mission to Great Britain. After most returned, he stayed and presided over more than 1,000 new Mormon converts.

While living in Kirtland, Ohio, Mercy married Robert B. Thompson. He passed away in Nauvoo in 1841.

Mary Fielding married a recent widower, Hyrum Smith, brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith. She became the mother of Joseph F. Smith, sixth president of the LDS Church and grandmother of Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th president of the church.