Wilford Woodruff’s Spirit-Led Mission to Herefordshire and the United Brethren

In early March 1840, while preaching in Hanley, Staffordshire, Wilford Woodruff felt prompted to travel south. He recorded asking the Lord for direction, including a private prayer on his birthday, March 1, and receiving the impression that many souls were waiting for the word of the Lord. Recent convert William Benbow suggested that Woodruff visit his brother John Benbow, a farmer at Castle Frome, Herefordshire, and offered to accompany him and help pay his way. On March 3, Woodruff, William Benbow, and William’s young son traveled by omnibus to Wolverhampton, by coach to Worcester, and then walked about sixteen miles to John Benbow’s farm; accounts place Woodruff’s arrival on March 4 or March 5. There Woodruff found approximately 600 members of the United Brethren, a Christian reform group whose members had been praying for light and included 45 preachers. Woodruff’s preaching and baptisms in the area led to about 1,800 conversions over eight months. The accounts also describe the United Brethren’s 42 licensed preaching places, including one chapel. Jane Benbow and Thomas Kington are named among the people involved in the broader account of the mission.