UNIVERSITY OF CHICHESTER An accredited institution of the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON Department of History The Emergence and Development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints in Staffordshire, 1839–1870 by David Michael Morris Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy This thesis has been completed as a requirement for a higher degree of the University of Southampton November 2010 UNIVERSITY OF CHICHESTER An accredited institution of the University of Southampton ABSTRACT DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Doctor of Philosophy The Emergence and Development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints in Staffordshire, 1839–1870 By David Michael Morris This thesis analyses the emergence, development and subsequent decline of the LDS Church in Staffordshire between 1839 and 1870 as an original contribution to nineteenth–century British regional and religious history. I begin by examining the origins of the US Mormon Mission to Britain and a social historical study of the Staffordshire religious and industrial landscape. In order to recover the hidden voices of Staffordshire Mormon converts, I have constructed a unique Staffordshire Mormon Database for the purposes of this thesis containing over 1,900 records. This is drawn upon throughout, providing the primary quantitative evidence for this fascinating yet neglected new religious movement. From the data I explore the demographic composition of Staffordshire Mormonism using a more precise definition of class than has been the case previously, whilst also considering gender and age variables of Mormon converts. Subsequent chapters explore the qualitative dimensions of the conversion experience as a dynamic rather than event–based process, the demands of Church membership and commitment, the formal and informal institutional structure of the LDS Church and the hazards of emigration to the US in order to illuminate a number of key questions around which the thesis has been structured: Who were the Staffordshire Mormons? What was it about the Mormon message that appealed to the impoverished men and women of the newly industrialised Midlands? What was the nature of religious authority in the Mormon faith and in what ways did the formal Church administration adapt and respond to shifting urban contexts? Mormonism declined as rapidly as it had grown; this thesis investigates this little–known working–class religious movement and the lives of those Mormon men and women of Staffordshire who, against much personal, social and physical opposition, strived for what they regarded as a better future for themselves and their families. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... II TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... III LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................... VI LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................ VII DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP .................................................................... VIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & ABBREVIATIONS .................................................... IX INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. XI The Historical Landscape of Staffordshire, 1839–1870 ........................................... xii Structure of Thesis ................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER 1 THE EMERGENCE OF THE BRITISH MISSION, 1837–1870 ............. 1 The Origins of the British Mission .............................................................................. 1 Dissent and Leadership, Kirtland, Ohio ....................................................................... 4 The Significance of the British Mission ...................................................................... 7 The First Apostolic Mission (1837–1838): Family Estrangement and Denominational Rivalries .......................................................................................... 10 The Second Apostolic Mission (1840–1841): Consolidation .................................... 18 Mormonism in the British Isles: Ireland .................................................................... 22 Mormonism in the British Isles: Scotland ................................................................. 24 Mormonism in the British Isles: Wales ..................................................................... 26 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 2 BRITISH MORMON HISTORY: SOURCES AND APPROACHES ........ 32 The LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City ............................................................... 33 Unpublished Primary Sources: Diaries and Correspondence .................................... 35 Church Membership and Institutional Records ......................................................... 39 The Staffordshire Mormon Database ......................................................................... 40 Published Primary Sources: Periodicals and Publications ......................................... 44 The Latter–day Saints’ Millennial Star ...................................................................... 45 Published Primary Sources: The Journal of Discourses and Welsh Periodicals ....... 47 Published Primary Sources: the 1851 Census of Religious Worship ........................ 49 Approaches to British Mormon History: The Historiography so Far ........................ 50 Unpublished Theses ................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 3 WHO WERE THE STAFFORDSHIRE MORMONS? A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS .................................................................................................... 60 iii The Historiography of British Mormon Demographics ............................................. 60 Staffordshire Mormon Dataset – Methodological Approaches ................................. 63 Social and Industrial Landscape of Nineteenth–Century Staffordshire ..................... 68 Comparative Class Analysis of Staffordshire and its Mormon Population ............... 71 Comparative Class Analysis of Three UK Mormon Samples ................................... 75 Comparative Class Analysis between Staffordshire Mormonism and Primitive Methodism ................................................................................................................. 77 An Age and Gender Analysis of Staffordshire Mormons .......................................... 80 An Analysis of the Age Patterns of Staffordshire Mormon Baptisms ....................... 82 A Gender Analysis of Staffordshire Mormons .......................................................... 87 Age and Gender Comparisons with Other Nonconformist Studies. .......................... 91 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 92 CHAPTER 4 THE CONVERSION EXPERIENCE ................................................. 94 The Historiography of Conversion: Sociological and Historical Reflections ........... 95 Catalysts for Conversion .......................................................................................... 100 Baptism and a New Birth ......................................................................................... 112 New Life in the Church – The Conversion Career Fulfilled ................................... 115 Hymnody.................................................................................................................. 118 CHAPTER 5 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE BRITISH ISLES ............. 122 Priesthood and Authority within the LDS Church ................................................... 122 The Leadership and Organisational Structure of the British Mission...................... 126 Organisational Responsiveness in the British Mission: the Formation of Conferences, Pastorates and Districts ...................................................................... 131 Branch Life in the Staffordshire Conference ........................................................... 136 The Decline of the Staffordshire Conference .......................................................... 143 Mormon Reformation in the Staffordshire Conference ........................................... 147 CHAPTER 6 EMIGRATION AND THE DECLINE OF STAFFORDSHIRE MORMONISM .............................................................................................. 152 The Doctrine of the Gathering ................................................................................. 153 Organisational Aspects of Emigration ..................................................................... 157 The Perpetual Emigrating Fund ............................................................................... 159 The Perils of Emigration .......................................................................................... 163 Emigration Patterns in the UK and Staffordshire .................................................... 170 The Impact of Emigration upon Declining Membership in British Mormonism .... 177 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 180 APPENDIX A BRITISH ISLES STATISTICAL REPORTS 1837–1900