2010
Wales
August 2010


“Wales,” Ensign, Aug. 2010, 73

Church History around the World

Wales

Missionaries first arrived in Wales in 1840 and within four months established a congregation of 150 in North Wales. In South Wales, missionaries struggled to find people to teach at first, but within 15 years, 80 percent of Welsh converts were from southern Wales.

In January 1845 Dan Jones, a Welshman who joined the Church in the United States, returned to Wales as a missionary. He began several Church publications and helped strengthen the Church. In 1846 the Welsh hymnbook became the first non-English LDS hymnal. The first LDS meetinghouse in Wales was built in 1849. At the time, there were just over 3,600 converts in Wales.

Many of the early Welsh converts immigrated to Utah. Among them was John Parry, who established the choral group that became the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The first stake in Wales, the Merthyr Tydfil stake, was created in 1975.

The Church in Wales

Membership

9,110

Stakes*

2

Wards and Branches

17

  • The Chester England Stake also includes five wards and branches in Wales.

Right: Dan Jones Awakens Wales, by Clark Kelley Price