Mormonism in the UK

Mormons in the UK

The number of Mormons in the UK has risen from 6,500 in the 1960s to 190,000 members (LDS 2008 figures).

The London Temple ©

Although the first Mormon Temple in Britain (at Newchapel in Surrey, pictured) was not built until 1958, the church has had a foothold in this country almost since it was founded by Joseph Smith in the USA.

The third President of the Church, John Taylor, was an English convert.

Beginnings

The Mormons arrived in Britain at the very beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria.

The first Mormon missionaries were sent to England in 1837, led by the Apostle Heber C Kimball. They preached in Preston in July, and baptised their first nine converts the same month in the river Ribble. The first convert to be baptised was George D Watt.

By the next May they had converted over 1000 people.

By 1850, the Church had 30,747 members in England, and only 26,911 in the USA. By 1854 they had 50,000 members.

Emigration

The growth was not destined to continue in England, as the newly converted soon began to emigrate to the USA.

The first batch of emigrants set out for the USA in 1840, and organised mass-migration followed. In 1853, for example, there were nearly 3,000 emigrants.

Preston Temple

Preston remained strongly associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in 1998 the second Mormon Temple in Britain was opened there, close to the town of Chorley and the M6 motorway.