Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel

Elizabeth “Liz” Ali was raised in San Fernando, Trinidad. While residing in England she was introduced to the restored gospel by her great-aunt, Dora Dopson. “The answers to my many questions seemed to be jumping off the pages,” she said as she reflected on her first reading of the Book of Mormon. “I prayerfully did what Moroni asked us to do” (see Moroni 10:4–5). After Liz was baptized, she had many profound spiritual experiences while serving in the Church and preparing to attend the temple.

During occasional visits to Trinidad, Liz and her husband, Emil Dopson, began sharing the gospel with family and friends. Despite occasional negative responses, Liz persisted, knowing she “could not restrain the Spirit.” Near the end of a visit, Liz felt prompted to share her testimony with her aunt, Lucy Payne. “I feel this is something special and serious,” Lucy told her husband after she read about Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

Though several American Latter-day Saint families held occasional meetings in their homes, no formal Church organization existed in Trinidad in the late 1970s. In October 1976, after Liz and Emil moved their family back to Trinidad, Liz wrote a letter to Church President Spencer W. Kimball, requesting missionaries.

One month later, two young missionaries stepped out of a taxi at Liz and Emil’s home and announced that President Kimball had requested that they come. Liz was excited and grateful that the prophet had responded so quickly. The following Sunday, the small group of members and interested friends in Trinidad held a sacrament meeting, which they opened with the hymn “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel.”

When Lucy Payne met the missionaries, she was initially unimpressed. As she watched them work, however, she began to love them. “My heart went out to these two young guys who were doing the Lord’s work so humbly,” she said. Lucy began introducing the missionaries to her friends and family, repairing their clothing, and feeding them dinner as often as possible. On June 2, 1977, a small group gathered at Galfar Beach to witness Lucy’s baptism. Despite the heavy rains, Lucy waded into the stormy seas with Emil, where she became the first local convert baptized in Trinidad. “I felt very proud of myself on taking a stand to be baptized into the Church,” she said later.

The missionaries had a list of people who had requested information from Church headquarters. Local members helped them contact those on the list and took the lead in sharing the gospel when government officials declined additional visas for foreign missionaries. Additional baptisms soon followed. The Trinidad Branch was organized in Port of Spain in June 1980.