“‘Scattering the Seeds of the Gospel Widely,’” Global Histories: Northern Ireland (2019)
“‘Scattering the Seeds of the Gospel Widely,’” Global Histories: Northern Ireland
“Scattering the Seeds of the Gospel Widely”
Seeking greater economic opportunity in England’s rapidly industrializing garment industry, William and Jane Black moved with their four children from Lisburn, Ireland, to Manchester, England, in 1837. Soon after, William and Jane were invited to a meeting where they heard William Clayton, a Latter-day Saint missionary, preach, and they were soon baptized.
In July 1840 William Black was called to preach with Elder John Taylor of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and James McGuffie, another Irish convert, in Northern Ireland. During their brief stay, the companions baptized a few converts. That fall, Theodore Curtis, an American missionary, preached near Hillsborough, where he baptized five more converts and organized the first branch in Northern Ireland.
John Taylor Baptizing Thomas Tait, by Paul Mann, 1987.
Throughout the 1840s several missionaries preached in Ireland, primarily near Belfast. The effects of the Great Famine and ongoing religious conflicts in Ireland, however, made missionary work difficult. By the middle of the 1850s the six branches in Ireland had about 90 Saints regularly attending, and many early converts immigrated to England, Scotland, Wales, and the United States.
In July 1854 James B. Ferguson, an Irish convert, arrived with a small contingent of missionaries from Utah. Ferguson immediately began working to find new converts and to renew the faith of the Irish Saints. “The work generally is assuming a much better appearance,” Ferguson wrote to his wife the following spring. “We are adding gradually to our numbers and scattering the seeds of the Gospel widely.” Buoyed by their success, the missionaries soon began preaching in Londonderry and Dublin as well as in counties Fermanagh, Monaghan, Down, and Armagh. In 1855 many Irish Saints signaled their recommitment to the restored gospel by being rebaptized. Renewing their commitment to the Word of Wisdom, many also quit smoking and drinking tea and donated the money they saved to the Perpetual Emigration Fund to help Saints throughout the British Isles gather to the United States. By the end of 1856 Church membership in Ireland had more than doubled to over 200.
In 1857, however, as conflict with the United States government increased in Utah, all American missionaries were called home. With limited local support and continued encouragement to immigrate to Utah, the Irish branches languished, and in 1867 the Irish Mission was closed. When missionaries returned in 1884, most of those who accepted baptism soon immigrated to Utah. By 1900 fewer than 150 members remained in Northern Ireland.
Church growth in Northern Ireland accelerated after the Irish Mission was again opened and organized in 1962. Members and missionaries worked together to find new ways to share the gospel—including through musical performances and engagement with local media. In the first 18 months after the mission’s organization, membership grew from 600 to 2,500.