Missionary Legends

I regularly take missionaries from the Preston Missionary Training Centre on a Church History Tour of Preston and Downham.   They are always a delightful mixture of nationalities and often full of surprises.  Last week’s tour provided the coming together of descendants from four missionary legends.

The photo above depicts the great, great, great grandchildren of (from left to right): Joseph Fielding, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt and Samuel Smith.  All serving at the same time

Lorenzo Barnes

On this day – 20 December 1842 – Lorenzo D. Barnes (1812-1842) died at Idle near Bradford, England – the first missionary to die on a foreign mission.

Lorenzo was born in 1812 in Massachusetts.  In 1833 his family made contact with the Church after they settled in Ohio and he joined with gusto.  The following year he joined Zion’s Camp marching to protect the saints – an event which seemed to be of little worth until you estimate its impact in preparing men to follow and lead.  In 1835 he was called into the first Quorum of Seventy thus initiating a series of missions over the next six years in the eastern states of Ohio, New York, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Lorenzo Barnes

In January 1842 he sailed, as a missionary, to England, and on his journey he penned a poem entitled The Bold Pilgrim.  The first and forth stanzas read:

John Rex Winder

On this day – 11 December 1821 – John Rex Winder was born in Biddenden, Kent.

Biddenden, Kent, England

As a six year old boy he was assigned to scare birds away from the grain in the fields – he was a living scarecrow.  His assigned field was next to a spooky looking forest.  He recalled:

George Teasdale

On This Day…

8 December 1831 – George Teasdale (1831-1907) was born in Saint Pancras, London.  He obtained a good education which led him to being employed as an architect.  That career came to an end when he tried to distance himself from his employer’s dishonesty.  His next career move was to become an upholsterer.

He was just a nine year old boy when Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith arrived in 1840 to introduce Mormonism to the nation’s capital.  Those events bypassed his young life for his first introduction took place eleven years later when he read an anti-Mormon tract called “Mormonism” which intrigued him.  Then he discovered

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants  – this regular feature will place the spotlight on some inspiring men and women.

The phrase “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” has been used in