A Brief History of the Church in

Wales

Overview

In October 1840, missionaries Henry Royle and Frederick Cook first preached in Wales. They found people receptive to their message. Over the next decade, the preaching of Latter-day Saint missionaries—from the pulpit and in the press—brought thousands of Welsh into the Church. Many converts heeded the call to gather to Zion in the Rocky Mountains (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:63–64).

Early missionaries published several tracts, periodicals, and volumes of scripture in Welsh. Welsh translations of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price were published serially. The compiled and bound volume was the first non-English-language edition of the triple combination of latter-day scripture.

For nearly a century, many Welsh converts braved the journey to the western United States, and Welsh settlement profoundly impacted the Church in the Intermountain West. The Church in Wales, however, suffered after converts left. In 1904, with fewer than 200 members in all of Wales, the British Mission closed the Welsh Conference.

In the early 20th century, stalwart Latter-day Saints sustained the few small branches that remained concentrated around Merthyr Tydfil. Their diligence allowed the Church to remain in Wales. After 1958, when a temple was dedicated near London, the Church once again established itself in Wales. The Merthyr Tydfil Wales Stake became the first stake in Wales when it was organized in 1975.

Quick Facts

• Official Name: Wales (part of the United Kingdom)/Cymru

• Capital: Cardiff

• Largest City: Cardiff

• Official Languages: Welsh and English

• Land Area: 20,761 km² (8,016 mi²)

• Church Area: Europe

• Missions: 2 (portions of the England Manchester and England Birmingham Missions)

• Congregations: 24