EMM 2018 Missionary Guide

England Manchester Mission Mission History & Song England Manchester Mission Springwood, Suite G5 Booths Park Chelford Road Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 8GS England Phone: 01565 755 878 (Int’l: +44 1565 755 878) 2 Mission History A Brief History of the Church in Great Britain and of the England Manchester Mission Missionaries privileged to serve in the England Manchester Mission (the EMM) tread in the footsteps of some of this dispensation's most powerful missionaries and stalwart Saints. The list of LDS luminaries who walked these streets before us is long and impressive. Within the mission boundaries are the birthplaces of John Taylor (Milnthorpe), B. H. Roberts (Warrington), George Q. Cannon (Liverpool), and John Longden (Oldham). Furthermore, the work of the British Mission (from which the EMM was created in 1976) has been directed by numerous men who either were or later served as General Authorities, including seven who would become presidents of the Church. As we delve into historical accounts of their labours, it becomes obvious that the tests and trials they endured here helped prepare them to sit in the leading councils of the Church. In the 1830's, during the difficult days of Kirtland and Missouri, the newly-restored Church was struggling for survival. Internal strife, disunity among leaders, apostasy, and financial problems were some of the challenges faced by the Prophet Joseph Smith. In the midst of these troubles, Joseph later wrote, "God revealed to me that something new must be done for the salvation of the Church." The bold, almost all-or-nothing solution, inspired of God, was to send some of the most capable men in the Church to Great Britain as missionaries. The first missionaries to England, led by 36 year-old Heber C. Kimball, included Orson Hyde (32), Willard Richards (33 and single), Joseph Fielding (40), John Snyder [or Snider] (37), John Goodson, and Isaac Russell (the latter three from Canada). Both Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde were members of the Quorum of the Twelve. When Joseph Smith informed Elder Kimball that the Lord wanted him to "go to England and proclaim my gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation," Heber was overwhelmed. He considered himself unfit for the task of preaching to a nation noted for learning and intellect. Nevertheless, in a marvellous expression of faith, he and six others accepted the call. Today's missionaries to Great Britain, most with bulging suitcases and ample funds, would find it difficult to imagine the state of poverty in which those early missionaries began their labours. They had little money and the scantiest of wardrobes. Heber would have been coatless but for the last-minute donation of a coat by a friend who took it from his own back. At daybreak on 19 July 1837, after 19 days at sea, they reached Liverpool. As they came within a few feet of the dock, Heber eagerly jumped ashore. Several days later, the Spirit directed them to go north to Preston where it was, by coincidence, Election Day. As they arrived at their destination, they saw an election banner bearing the words “Truth Will Prevail” which they took to be a good omen and promptly adopted that phrase as their mission motto. Earlier that year, Queen Victoria, at age 18, had become queen. The Industrial Revolution was in “full swing”. Great Britain was then the most powerful nation and the greatest industrial power on earth. Manchester, with a population of 170,000, was the textile centre of the world. The apostle missionaries described three classes of people – lords, tradesmen, and labourers or mechanics. There was a great “gulf” between the upper and the lower class. In 1842, the average age at death for labourers was 17; for tradesmen, farmers, and “graziers” it was 20; and for professionals and the gentry it was 38! The lower class, many moving to the cities for industrial employment, often lived in crowded misery, filth and poverty. Child labour was common. Charles Dickens was 25 years old in 1837, so the England encountered by the first missionaries was much like the England of Oliver Twist, Scrooge, and A Tale of Two Cities. Upward opportunities for the lower classes were severely limited – more so than in America from whence the apostles came. Only one in seven British males could then vote. The social and economic problems of the time led to a growing determination of British citizens to emigrate, particularly to the United States and Canada. In 1830, 55,000 immigrants left Great Britain. In the late 1840’s and early 1850’s, with impetus from the Irish potato famine (1845-49), that number was as high as 250,000 per year which tells much about the conditions of the time. The inclination to emigrate, the Temperance movement, and the humility which accompanied the economic troubles of the time all worked in favour of the Mormon missionaries. Many in Britain were looking for “a better day”, even a Zion. Six of the seven arriving missionaries took lodgings in a boarding house at the corner of St. Wilfrid and Fox Streets in Preston. Joseph Fielding met and initially stayed with his brother, the Reverend James Fielding, who invited the elders to attend his Sunday service on 23 July 1837 at Vauxhall Chapel. At the conclusion of the morning service, he announced that the Mormon elders would occupy the pulpit in the afternoon. Having prayed for such an opportunity, the elders gladly obliged and preached to a packed house. After the Wednesday service, during which they again preached, many of Fielding’s flock applied for baptism. Thereupon, Reverend Fielding not only denied the elders further use of the chapel but he also became a bitter enemy of the Church. The chapel, which no longer stands, was north of Charlotte Street near the entrance to Norwich Place off St. Austin's Road. It was also 23 July 1837 that Joseph Smith, in Kirtland, received the 112th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants in which the Lord said to Thomas B. Marsh, president of the Quorum of the Twelve: “Wherefore whithersoever they [the First Presidency] shall send you, go ye, and I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name, an effectual door shall be opened unto you that they may receive my word. whomsoever ye [the Twelve] shall send in my name . shall have power to open the door of my kingdom unto any nation whithersoever ye shall send them.” Sunday, 30 July 1837, the day set for the first baptisms, was historic in more ways than one. About daybreak, the missionaries in the St. Wilfrid Street boarding house were attacked by legions of evil spirits attempting to stop the work. Elder Isaac Russell was EMM – Mission History & Song 3 the first to be troubled by them and he asked Elder Kimball to cast them out. As Elders Kimball and Hyde gave Elder Russell a priesthood blessing in their top floor room, Elder Kimball was also attacked and fell unconscious to the floor. His description of the events that followed revealed much of the unseen world and remains one of the most significant encounters between the priesthood of God and the evil spirits of the adversary. He recounted: "The first thing I recollected was being supported by Elders Hyde and Richards, who were praying for me; Elder Richards having followed Russell up to my room. Elders Hyde and Richards then assisted me to get on the bed, but my agony was so great I could not endure it, and I arose, bowed my knees and prayed. I then arose and sat upon the bed, when a vision was opened to our minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us. We gazed upon them about an hour and a half (by Willard's watch). We were not looking towards the window, but towards the wall. Space appeared before us, and we saw the devils coming in legions, with their leaders, who came within a few feet of us. They came towards us like armies rushing to battle. They appeared to be men of full stature, possessing every form and feature of men in the flesh, who were angry and desperate; and I shall never forget the vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me in the eye. Any attempt to paint the scene which then presented itself, or portray their malice and enmity, would be vain. We distinctly heard those spirits talk and express their wrath and hellish designs against us. However, the Lord delivered us from them, and blessed us exceedingly that day." Elder Kimball later described the experience as one of “exquisite pain” and “great distress.” As horrible as the experience was, Elder Kimball “learned by it the power of the adversary (and) his enmity against the servants of God.” From hearing of the incident, Joseph Fielding learned that “the Devil produces Confusion, Disorder and Misery [and] the Spirit of God produces Calmness, Order and Happiness”. Elder Kimball recovered from the attack that morning and proceeded to conduct the baptismal service as planned, but he worried that he had somehow brought the attack upon them through unworthiness on his part. It was not until he returned to the United States and reviewed the event with the Prophet Joseph Smith that he learned the real reason for the attack. In response to the question about his personal worthiness, the Prophet replied: "No, Brother Heber, at that time you were nigh unto the Lord; there was only a veil between you and him, but you could not see him.

Load more