The Church in the United Kingdom

The first missionaries to go overseas were sent to England in 1837, only seven years after the Church was founded. A group of seven missionaries arrived in England on July 19, 1837, preached in Preston, and baptized 9 new converts on July 30. By the next week, 41 more converts were baptized.

Between 1837 and 1900, as many as 100,000 converts emigrated to join the main body of the Church in the United States. In fact, by 1870 nearly half of the population of Utah were British immigrants. In the 1950s, membership in the United Kingdom (which includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) increased as Church leaders encouraged members to stay and build the Church in their native lands.

In 1958 a temple was dedicated in London. In 1998 another temple was dedicated, in Preston, the site of the first preaching more than 150 years ago. Preston is the home of the oldest continuous branch of the Church anywhere in the world, dating back to 1837.

Here are a few facts about the Church today in the United Kingdom:

Membership	181,756
Missions	7
Temples	2
Wards and Branches	347
Family History Centers	120

Photograph by John Luke