Euro Trip - Day NiNe

Who's sick of Euro Trip posts?? Let's be honest, I kinda am. BUT - I'm doing this probably more for me so that when I get the ambition to make a photobook, I'll remember what in the world I am talking about. So PLEASE bear with me. We're just about done...well, sort of.

Anyways, today we start the actual church history part of the tour. I learned so much, I'll never be able to remember it all! But here's to trying...
Ps, I apologize in advance, this will be a long post!

First up, Gadfield Elm Chapel.

Gadfield Elm was the first chapel in England of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was originally built in 1836 by a religious group known as the United Brethren. Through the efforts of Wilford Woodruff, most of the members of this group were baptized into the Church in 1840.

The United Brethren, led by a man named Thomas Knighton, had separated themselves from the Methodists and were seeking further light and knowledge about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wilford Woodruff recorded that "on the 21st day of March I baptized Elder Thomas Kington (sic). He was superintendent of both preachers and members of the United Brethren. The first thirty days after my arrival in Herefordshire, I had baptized forty-five preachers and one hundred and sixty members of the United Brethren, who put into my hands one chapel and forty-five houses, which were licensed according to law to preach in."

After the conversion of the United Brethren, the Gadfield Elm Chapel, deeded to the Church by John Benbow and Thomas Knighton, was used for several conferences of the Church, at which Brigham Young, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke at least once. The Gadfield Elm Chapel became the center of activity for the Church in the area. With the call of the Saints to gather in America, the chapel was subsequently sold to help fund ocean passage of the converts.

Gadfield Elm was privately owned for 150 years before being bought by the Gadfield Elm Trust, a group of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founded in 1994 to preserve the chapel; it was headed by Wayne Gardner. Local members raised about $12,000 to purchase the chapel, which had fallen into disrepair. Several individuals in the United Kingdom and the United States contributed to the costs of the complete renovation.

On April 23, 2000, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a descendant of William Carter and Ellen Benbow, who joined the Church near Gadfield Elm, dedicated the chapel. President Gordon B. Hinckley accepted the deed to the chapel in 2004 from Dwain Gardner, a representative of Gadfield Elm Trust.

**Thank you mormonhistoricsitesfoundation.org for that description. Couldn't have said it better myself! Oh, and one more thing, not only was this chapel the first chapel the church owned in England, it was the first building owned by the church anywhere in the world. They owned this before they built the Kirtland Temple. It's pretty neat, the members just watch over it and there is a code to get in - and as long as you can figure out the code (they are questions most church members should be able to figure out), then you can go inside and check it out.

Gadfield Elm Chapel

Next stop was Ledbury, England.

Ledbury was the market town for the farms and villages that surrounded it in 1840. This became a base for there missionaries such as Brigham Young and Willard Richards who came to visit Elder Woodruff and join him in his proselyting. Elder Young stayed for a week in Ledbury during his visit and other missionaries sent and received mail there. One day Elder Woodruff was visiting in Ledbury when he was approached by the minister of the Baptist Church there. Upon receiving an invitation to preach in the chapel, Elder Woodruff did so and baptised several members of the congregation in the font within the chapel. The church still stands in Ledbury on The Homend in the north section of the town.

After visiting the church, we walked around all the fun little shops in the town and even met the Mayor and his wife!

A yum yum for only 50 pence! Can't beat that!

Next up, the Malvern Beacon, or Herefordshire Beacon. It was from this beacon that Brigham Young and Willard Richards met with Wilford Woodruff, who was serving a mission here, and decided to publish the Book of Mormon and a hymn book in Britain.

The climb to the top is a rewarding view of both the Malvern Hills and the many villages in which Elder Wilford Woodruff preached so successfully. On a clear day one can see the three cities of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester.

The conversion of the United Brethren and a total of approximately 1,800 members within eight months in the Herefordshire area remains to this day one of the most significant missionary experiences in the history of the LDS Church. Reflecting upon it, Wilford Woodruff wrote in his journal of the reason for his great success:

"The whole history of this Herefordshire mission shows the importance of listening to the still small voice of the spirit of God, and the revelations of the Holy Ghost. The people were praying for light and truth, and the Lord sent me to them. I declared the gospel of life and salvation, some eighteen hundred souls received it, and many have been gathered...In all these things we should ever acknowledge the hand of God, and give him the honour, praise, and glory, forever."

And again, we trust this man to guide around and teach us things??

We love our special Alan!

Next stop, the Benbow Farm - or Hill Farm.

John and Jane Benbow lived at Hill Farm above the village of Castle Frome. It was here that William Benbow brought Wilford Woodruff to see his brother. William had been converted to the LDS Church in the Potteries where Elder Woodruff had been proselyting the previous month.

Guided by spiritual promptings and the suggestions of William Benbow, Elder Woodruff came to John and Jane and shared the message of the restored gospel. Two days after his arrival, he baptised them and three of their friends in the pond on Benbow's farm. From this humble beginning, Elder Woodruff began a ministry that brought nearly all of the United brethren into the Church in the next few months. Many were baptised in the pond at John Benbow's, and Church services were frequently held on the property in the hall licensed for preaching which John provided.

It was to this hall that a constable came one day to arrest Elder Woodruff but stayed to be baptised by him. And here two clerks sent by the priest at the Castle Frome church were also converted, prompting the minister to circulate a petition to the Archbishop of Canterbury requesting he obtain parliamentary sanction for banning the missionaries from England.

The pond in which Elder Woodruff baptised so many remains today as it was then, and can be reached from the road.

The silly pictures above are not why we love Alan, this right here is why. Alan got in the pond and told us of the several early saints converted and baptized by Wilford Woodruff here.

This was the Benbow home. It was in the barn where they held the early church services it refers to above. The church owns the pond, but not the home. The family there was so kind and they let us go in (as she was doing laundry) and see the barn and look around. Apparently members in England go there often and they are used to it. In fact, the lady had a little set up with the church's history of the home and farm and was very knowledgeable about the Benbow's and the sacrifices they made.

This is the Castle Frome church. It was from here the priest sent the constable and 2 clerks to stop Wilford Woodruff from preaching. His plan backfired when they were all baptized instead.

Our last stop of the day was Worcester Cathedral. This cathedral was the inspiration for the Salt Lake Temple. We saw several castles, cathedrals and churches on this trip and they all start to look alike, but not this one. We got there just before evening song (the choir performs) and so we weren't supposed to go in. Well....Ronnie snuck in so I followed. OH MY GOSH. It was seriously amazing! Dad is still kicking me for not taking pictures, but I didn't want to be rude while they were getting ready for their performance, considering we weren't supposed to be there in the first place. So bottom line, it was pretty neat.

That wraps up day numero 9! Thanks to google for all your help in remembering why it is we stopped at all these sacred places, I guess I need to take better notes.

Day 10 we go to STRATFORD where we are famous!