Elder Parley P. Pratt's mission

Even though John loved teaching about Christ in the Methodist Church, he knew that there was something more he was to preach about. He and the people of his study group examined the Bible carefully. They wanted to find a religion that had apostles, prophets and the gift of the Holy Ghost – exactly the same organization Jesus had set up when He was on the earth. The study group fasted and prayed that God would help them, believing that the true church should have all the blessings Christ gave the early Saints.


The Methodist weren’t happy with this study group. The ministers told the study group that they could still be Methodists, but they couldn’t preach any more. The group continued to meet and fast and pray.

Elder Parley P. Pratt was called on a mission to Canada. Before he left, Heber C. Kimball blessed Elder Pratt that on his mission, “Many [would be] be brought to the knowledge of the truth . . . and from the things growing out of this mission, shall the fullness of the gospel spread into England.”

John Taylor's First Missionary Efforts

John’s zeal for missionary work extended beyond the youthful prayer group and long before he joined the Church. He became friends with an older gentleman who had a critical wife. The man attended church and prayed to be able to endure. When the man’s wife died, he married a kind woman who was easy to live with. Soon the man forgot the Lord and spent his time in the pubs, drinking heavily. John called him to repentance. The man felt ashamed and began to attend church again. He didn’t drink any more.


Because of John’s understanding of the Bible and his ability to preach, he was called as a local minister in a town several miles from Penrith. This was a great honor and responsibility for he was only seventeen and still working as an apprentice to a furniture maker. One Sunday while he and a fellow church member walked toward the town where he was to preach, John stopped on the road and told his companion, “I have a strong impression that I have to go to America to preach the gospel!” From that time on, John looked forward to life in the Americas.

Brigham Young's Mission to England

After the Saints were driven out of Missouri and the Prophet Joseph was free from prison, Brigham was called on a mission to England in 1839. He and his family were living in an old army barracks in Montrose, Iowa, on the swampy banks of the Mississippi River. Many of the Mormons, including Brigham and Mary Ann, got sick with malaria. Brigham could hardly get out of bed. Even though he was ill, he knew he needed to begin his mission. He wanted to serve the Lord because he loved missionary work.


His sister Fanny told him to stay home until he felt better, but he said he was going even though he was unwell. He started out, crossing the Mississippi River, but only got as far as Heber C. Kimball’s house on the other side. Heber and his family were also sick. Brigham rested there for four days. Mary Ann (Brigham's wife) found out he was still close by and came across the river to see him. Brigham and Heber could hardly walk because of their sickness, but they knew they had to leave for England. They climbed into the open wagon box to start the trip. Their wives stood in the doorway, watching. Heber said as they rode off, “This is no way to leave. Let’s give them a cheer.” Heber and Brigham wobbled to their feet and raised their hats, shouting, “Hurrah for Israel.” Heavenly Father blessed them to get well, and they were on their way to a successful mission with others of the twelve apostles.

Brigham and the other apostles converted between seven and eight thousand people during the year they were in Great Britain. What far-reaching effects those missionaries have had when we consider the generations of Church members that have come from these baptisms, missionary work performed by their descendants and temple work completed by family members.

Missionary Work

Even before Brigham Young was baptized, he and his brother-in-law John P. Greene went to Canada to meet with Brigham's brother, Joseph Young, a Methodist minister. Brigham told Joseph that the Lord had spoken through a prophet in the latter-days.

Brigham and his brother, Joseph were baptized and went back to Canada. "We traveled two hundred and fifty miles in snow a foot and a half deep, with a foot of mud under it. We traveled, preached and baptized 45 people in the dead of winter." Brigham Young

"I wanted to thunder and roar out the Gospel to the nations. It burned in my bones like fire pent up, so I [began] to preach . . . Nothing would satisfy me but to cry abroad in the world, what the Lord was doing in the latter days." Brigham Young.

Missionary Work in India

Did you know that Lorenzo Snow was the first Apostle to think about missionary work in India? He sent missionaries there and they baptized almost 200 people.