In August of 1971, with Church
membership at close to three million, President
Joseph Fielding Smith met with members of the
Church in Manchester, England, at the first area conference
held by the Church. People came from across
Europe to hear the words of the Prophet of the Lord. For many of the
members of the Church, this was the first time to be
in the presence of the Lord's representative. Addressing the congregation,
President Smith told the members: "It is a matter of great
satisfaction to me, and I am sure to my brethren,
that the Church has now grown to the point that it
seems wise and necessary to hold general conferences
in various nations. We are members of a world
Church, a Church that has the plan of
life and salvation, a Church set up by
the Lord himself in these last days to carry
His message of salvation to all His children
in all the earth. So I say we are and
shall be a world Church. That is our destiny. It is a part of the
Lord's program."
In fulfillment of the
prophecies of Joseph Smith, this first area conference
was a crucial step in not only taking the Gospel
to the corners of the Earth before the coming of the
Lord, but in establishing and strengthening converts and
congregations across the globe.