Wilford Woodruff’s Mission to the United Brethren in Herefordshire
Published October 4, 2026 at 2:41 AM
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Times and Seasons Research
On March 1, 1840, while serving in Hanley, Staffordshire, Wilford Woodruff sought divine guidance and felt instructed to go south, where many souls were waiting for the gospel. He discussed the prompting with recent converts William and Ann Benbow; William suggested visiting his brother John Benbow in Castle Frome, Herefordshire, and accompanied Woodruff there on March 3. At John Benbow’s farm, Woodruff encountered the United Brethren, a group of approximately six hundred seekers. After baptizing the Benbows and others, Woodruff preached to nearly one thousand people on Sunday, March 8. A local rector attempted to have him arrested, but the meeting ended with seven baptisms, including that of the constable. During his mission, Woodruff baptized hundreds, including United Brethren leader Thomas Kington and nearly all his associates, while managing the rapid growth of the converts and contending with local opposition.
In Their Own Words
“March 1st, 1840. This is my thirty-third birthday. I have now been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about six years. I have spent most of this time in the vineyard of the Lord. I have traveled much, and preached the Gospel of Christ to the best of my ability. I have seen the power of God manifested in the healing of the sick, and in the casting out of devils, and in the various gifts of the Spirit. I have been preserved by the power of God through many dangers, both by sea and by land. I have been blessed with a wife and child, and have been permitted to see my relatives brought into the kingdom of God. I have been called to the office of an Apostle, and have been sent to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth. I have been in England about two months. I have been laboring in the Potteries of Staffordshire. I have felt a great desire to know the will of the Lord concerning my field of labor. In the morning, I went in secret before the Lord, and asked Him what His will was concerning me. The answer I got was that I should go to the south; for the Lord had a great work for me to perform there, as many souls were waiting for the word of the Lord. I felt satisfied that it was the will of the Lord that I should go to the south. I made my business known to brother William Benbow, and he said he would go with me. We made preparations to start on the 3rd of March. We took the coach for Herefordshire. We arrived at the house of John Benbow, a brother to William Benbow, in Castle Frome, Herefordshire, on the 4th of March. We were kindly received by him and his wife. They were members of a society called the United Brethren. They had been praying for light and truth, and the Lord had sent us to them. I preached the Gospel to them, and they received it with gladness. I baptized them, and many others in that region. The Lord blessed my labors abundantly. I baptized over six hundred souls in that region, including all the preachers of the United Brethren, except one. I organized many branches of the Church, and the work of the Lord spread rapidly in that part of the country.”
— Wilford Woodruff, Journal (March 1, 1840 entry), Wilford Woodruff Papers
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 21 November 1881 (Vol. 43, No. 47). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-11-21_43_47 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Wilford Woodruff Pap… Times and Seasons (Commerce, later Nauvoo, Illinois, November 1839–February 1846), 1 March 1841 (Vol. 2, No. 9). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1841-03-01_2_9 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Carol Wilkinson and Cynthia Doxey Green, "Wilford Woodruff'…
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