Dan Jones Goes to Wales and Baptizes 3,600 Converts — Fulfilling Joseph's Last Prophecy

When Joseph Smith was killed at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844, there were fewer than 200 Latter-day Saints in all of Wales. Dan Jones, the Welsh-born river captain who had been at Joseph's side the night before the martyrdom, carried within him a prophetic charge: 'You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die.'

Within weeks of the martyrdom, Dan Jones was called to serve a mission to his native Wales. He arrived in late 1845 and began preaching — in Welsh, with the fire of a convert who had stood in Carthage Jail with a prophet.

What followed was one of the most extraordinary missionary harvests in the history of the restored Church.

Under Jones's leadership between 1845 and 1848:

— Missionaries in Wales baptized approximately 3,600 converts

— 29 branches were established across Wales

— Nearly 1,000 people were baptized every year of his first mission

— The Welsh membership grew from 200 to over 3,800

Jones preached in homes, schools, theaters, inns, chapels, blacksmith shops, and rented halls. He was tireless, fearless, and extraordinarily effective. He also published a Welsh-language newspaper, 'Yr Udgorn' (The Trumpet), to carry the gospel further.

He returned to Wales for a second mission (1852–1856) and baptized an additional 2,000 converts.

By the end of both missions, Dan Jones had brought over 5,600 souls into the Church — the fruit of Joseph Smith's last prophecy, spoken in the darkness of Carthage Jail on the night before the Prophet died.

In his own later account, Dan Jones detailed his narrow escapes from death in the immediate aftermath of the martyrdom, including fleeing from a mob that interpreted his errand for Joseph Smith as an appeal for military intervention, hiding under a mattress on a steamboat while assassins sought him, and inadvertently avoiding a planned ambush by taking a wrong turn on the road to Nauvoo. Jones also noted that his successful mission in Wales was bolstered by his brother John Jones, who utilized a printing press at Rhyd-y-bont, Carmarthenshire, to publish the pamphlets and periodicals that supported the mission's growth.