Wales: Chronology

October 6, 1840 • Cloy, WalesHenry Royle and Frederick Cook were assigned as the first missionaries to serve in Wales.

October 1840 • North WalesThe Overton Branch, the first branch in Wales, was created. Missionary success brought opposition by local ministers.

October 31–November 2, 1840 • North WalesElders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles preached in Wales.

1842 • Merthyr Tydfil, WalesWilliam and Mary Ann Lewis Henshaw relocated to Merthyr Tydfil, in the heartland of South Wales, and began to preach the gospel there.

January 19, 1843 • Nauvoo, IllinoisDan Jones, a native of Wales, was baptized in the Mississippi River.

February 19, 1843 • Merthyr TydfilWilliam Rees Davies and his family, the first Welsh-speaking converts, joined the Church in Merthyr Tydfil. They spread the gospel among the Welsh-speaking inhabitants.

April 1844 • Merthyr TydfilSeveral branches in South Wales were organized into the Merthyr Tydfil Conference, with William Henshaw as president.

September 1844 • WalesReuben Hedlock published a small tract outlining the restored gospel; this was the first Church publication in Welsh.

Dan Jones

January 1845 • Wales

Dan Jones began preaching in his homeland.

December 1845 • WalesDan Jones was appointed president of the Church in Wales.

July 12–13, 1846 • Merthyr TydfilA general conference was held at the rented long room of the White Lion Inn. This venue was the first rented Church meetinghouse in Wales.

July 1846 • Rhydybont, WalesUnder Dan Jones’s direction, the first Church periodical in the Welsh language, Prophwyd y Jubili (Prophet of the Jubilee), was published.

1846 • WalesDan Jones published a collection of 133 hymns in Welsh. This was the first Latter-day Saint hymnal published in a language other than English.

August 14, 1848 • Manchester, EnglandWilliam Howells, a Welsh convert, was called to serve as the first Latter-day Saint missionary in France.

January 1, 1849 • Merthyr TydfilWilliam Phillips replaced Dan Jones as president of the Church in Wales.

January 28, 1849 • Llanelli, WalesDan Jones dedicated the Llanelli meetinghouse, the first meetinghouse of the Church in Wales.

1849 • RhydybontProphwyd y Jubili was renamed Udgorn Seion (Zion’s Trumpet), and John S. Davis replaced Dan Jones as the editor.

February 26, 1849 • Liverpool, EnglandThe first of many groups of Welsh converts departed Liverpool for Salt Lake City.

1851–52 • RhydybontWelsh translations of the Doctrine and Covenants, Book of Mormon, and Pearl of Great Price were published serially and distributed with Udgorn Seion.

1852–56 • WalesDan Jones served a second mission in Wales.

1854 • WalesDan Jones was again called to preside over the Church in Wales and to edit Udgorn Seion. During his time as president, Jones published more than 250,000 pamphlets.

September 1854 • Swansea, WalesThe headquarters of the Church in Wales were moved from Merthyr Tydfil to Swansea.

October 1854 • Merthyr TydfilA cholera epidemic swept through Merthyr Tydfil. Many were healed after receiving priesthood blessings.

1856–1904 • WalesAs large numbers of Welsh converts immigrated to Utah, the Church in Wales was weakened.

July 24, 1904 • Cardiff, WalesHeber J. Grant, president of the European Mission, closed the Welsh Conference, discontinuing the regular assignment of missionaries to Wales.

1920s • WalesAs converts continued to emigrate, the Church in Wales was reduced to a single district with a few members scattered throughout the country.

September 6, 1936 • Merthyr TydfilElder Joseph F. Merrill presided at the conference of the reopened Welsh District.

July 26, 1937 • Merthyr TydfilA small meetinghouse, built by Church members, was dedicated by Heber J. Grant, President of the Church.

November 25, 1937 • Merthyr TydfilThe Merthyr Tydfil Branch Mutual Improvement Association hosted a gold and green ball at the Drill Hall.

December 1939 • United KingdomWith World War II looming, Hugh B. Brown, president of the British Mission, called Andre K. Anastasion as acting mission president.

1940–44 • WalesDuring World War II, local members were called by the British Mission to preach to their neighbors.

March 29, 1944 • London, EnglandHugh B. Brown returned to Britain and resumed his duties as president of the British Mission.

1947 • Cardiff and Merthyr TydfilMissionaries from North America returned to serve in Wales.

September 7–9, 1958 • Newchapel, SurreyDavid O. McKay, President of the Church, dedicated the London England Temple.

March 2, 1961 • Merthyr TydfilPresident David O. McKay presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for a larger meetinghouse and visited his mother’s birthplace.

1962 • Wrexham and RhylMissionaries returned to North Wales. Within a few short months, new branches were established in Wrexham and Rhyl.

August 1963 • WalesTo accommodate the increase in new converts, the Church announced a program to build new meetinghouses in Deri, Rhiwbina, and Cardiff.

April 7, 1974 • WalesGeneral conference was broadcast from Salt Lake City to meetinghouses in Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, and Swansea.

January 12, 1975 • Merthyr TydfilThe Merthyr Tydfil Wales Stake, the first stake in Wales, was created with Ralph Pulman as president.

1990 • WalesLocal members and descendants of Welsh emigrants joined together to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Church in Wales.

June 7–10, 1998 • Preston, EnglandMembers from Wales attended the dedication of the Preston England Temple, now the temple for the Welsh Saints.

2011 • WalesChurch membership in Wales exceeded 9,000.

Eid al-Fitr at Cardiff meetinghouse

August 5, 2015 • Cardiff

The Church made the Cardiff meetinghouse available for the Interfaith Council of Wales for an event honoring the Islamic celebration Eid al-Fitr.