Elders made county
ONE of Southport’s most iconic architectural structures from the mid-1960s, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the ‘Mormon Church’), is celebrating its 55th anniversary, and History Hunters has also dug deep into the archives to reveal some amazing feats of faith by some Southport residents, long before the LDS church was built in the resort – or anywhere else in Lancashire for that matter.
Mention the name ‘Mormon’ and many people will recall the worldfamous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Osmonds pop group, or perhaps the well-known fact that the church has its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some will associate the Mormons with the building of awe-inspiring religious edifices of great beauty, although family historians will, of course, know them from their excellent family history research and records website ‘FamilySearch’ (which includes the database I.G.I. the International Genealogical Index).
Southport, as many know, has always been justifiably proud of its churches – although many have unfortunately been lost over the years – and the impressive Sixties structure in Preston New Road, created by the members, for the members, was most certainly a ‘dream’ structure for all concerned; in fact, this church is the only building of 1960s architectural merit in the town and, has quite a few interesting facts surrounding it, with a long link to the past.
Despite being compared to an overturned ship’s hull when it was being constructed, there are some wonderful photographs of the striking building being created, in the church archives, discovered by PR spokesperson Debbie Sayers Fullwood, who kindly lent them to us – but more of that next week.
Now, before we detail the actual building of the church in Preston New Road (next week), we will look into the background of Mormonism in Lancashire – where it all started in this country, as it is interesting to understand the impact the Red Rose County provided for the development of the faith.
The religious enthusiasm of the Victorian period – and what historian Francis Bailey calls ‘the triumph of the principle of freedom of worship’ – led to a diversity of sectarian developments, and in Southport (contrary to the prevailing tendency) we find a great deal of that diversity, with all denominations welcomed.
As with the general spirit of the age, religious development kept pace with the rapid expansion of the town with the settlement of well-to-do members of various denominations, as a wide variety of pioneering missions and chapels sprang up – and yet religious zeal, so marked in Southport, witnessed great tolerance from the different factions.
Although the building of the church was very modern, compared to other denominations, the history of The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints stems back 183 years to 1837 – the year Holy Trinity, only the town’s second church, was built.
It was shortly after that a Southport branch opened with several of its members attending the first General Conference of the Church in the British Isles, on Sunday, April 8, 1838, in Preston – a town with the longest continual branch of this church anywhere in the world.
To many people ‘Mormon’ suggests an American religion, as many will have met the smartly dressed young missionaries of the church, some with North American accents. Although the largest concentration of LDS members is in Canada and the United States (as the Church was the fastest growing religion), the truth is that Mormons are part of a ten million strong-plus worldwide Church with only half of its members in the States. More to the point is that a very significant proportion of these ‘American’ members are, in fact, descendants of 19th century British converts – many of them Lancastrians!
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organised on April 6, 1830, and it all began in this country in the summer of 1837– on July 19, 183 years ago when seven Mormon
Elders first set foot in England, having sailed from New York. Not only was this the first mission in England, but the first mission outside of the USA, and for the first time in Europe, of what was to become a sea of missionaries of the Church of Latter Day Saints.
Elders Heber Kimball, John Goodson, Orson Hyde, Joseph Fielding, Isaac Russell, John Snyder, and Willard Richards arrived practically penniless, just three days after the accession of Queen Victoria. This quorum of apostles reached Preston, their destination, in the middle of an election campaign and one of the first sights that greeted them were banners flying everywhere reading ‘Truth Shall Prevail,’ which they took as a good omen, a foreshadowing of the success that was to come.
Their fervour did indeed win the support of several members very quickly, although the early success was not well received in every quarter, as members of other flocks began to switch their allegiance to the strangers in town. It was said that: ‘Kimball bored the holes, Goodson drove the nails and Hyde clinched them.’
They spent time holding house meetings and persuading people to accept baptism, and within 10 days, the missionaries had baptised the first English converts on the banks of the River Ribble. Missionaries frequently preached from the steps of the Obelisk in Preston’s Market Place, until they rented the old ‘cockpit’ (formerly owned by the Temperance Movement).
News of the proposed baptisms soon spread and on the Sunday the church archives suggest that more than 8,000 people witnessed the baptism of those nine people, the crowds gathering in what is now Avenham Park. The enthusiasm of the converts for baptism was such that two of them raced to the place chosen for the ceremony, both intent on becoming the first Mormon baptised in Britain.
A week later 50 more were baptised, and by the time Kimball popped back to the States in 1838, about 1,500 people had been baptized in
England. Not surprisingly, Preston is now regarded as the cradle of the Church in the British Isles.
Branches of the Church were rapidly established in almost every town and village along the Ribble Valley, and soon spread to other parts of Britain, including Southport.
It was a great triumph for the seven elders but one which the missionaries were nearly denied. It was during this time in south-west Lancashire that Kimball and his fellow Missionaries had an ‘insane’ satanic experience when ‘a legion of demons’ attacked them, according to their historical accounts. These state they were ‘attacked by evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us, and we saw devils coming in legions with their leaders who came within a few feet of us. They came towards us like armies rushing to battle.’
However, their faith withstood the onslaught and the elders resolved to continue their mission with increased ardour, and by the end of 1837, the elders were able to arrange the first General Conference of their church in Britain.
The main apostle at the time, Heber Chase Kimball, led another mission from the United States to make a return and expand their efforts around the Ribble Valley, spending 1840 (and some of 1841) in the area in and around the south of Preston.
Kimball & Co. revisited Southport on May 20, 1840, and met people with all kinds of debilitating diseases and handicaps who were in town to bene