The importance of the first missions to Great Britain in Mormon history cannot be overstated. The strength, energy and faith gained by the infusion of converts from this area were desperately needed, coming just after the periods of apostasy and persecution in Ohio and Missouri. British Saints began arriving in Illinois before and after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and they played key roles in the development of Nauvoo and the exodus west. The first of the British Saints to join the church did so by accepting baptism in the River Ribble, beginning in July 1837. The river runs along the bottom of Avenham Park in Preston, Lancashire. Those first baptisms were performed in the general area seen here.
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— Kenneth Mays