Preston

After our allotted time at the emigration gallery we jumped on the coach and headed towards the Preston Temple. It felt amazing to just have a little quiet time as we sat on the grounds and enjoyed the sunny weather.

The Preston Temple.

Colorful lily pads in the sunlight.

The temple and some roses.

After we spent some time at the temple we picked up our tour guide and headed to the lovely town of Preston where the first missionaries from the Church preached the gospel for the first time.

It was under this post that the Gospel was first preached in the British Isles. It was also in this place that President Gordon B. Hinckley first preached the Gospel as well, not far from here he read the famous words from his father: "Forget yourself and go to work." From here our guide took us the the place the first group of missionaries lived in Preston.

Okay, so I didn't quite know what to expect, actually, I didn't really think that it would still be standing (though I don't know why . . . there are much older buildings all over Britain). Anyways, it was quite funny to turn the corner and find a small alley full of garbage. In the picture above you can see a bricked up doorway, just to the left of the window. This was the door that the missionaries would enter the building.

The missionaries lived in the top two floors and it was here that they saw the legions of evil spirits rushing towards them. We didn't see any for ourselves but we could imagine.

Here is some of our group squished into the alley. Our tour guide is in the front and I am the one holding the notebook against the wall on the right. It must have been a sight to see, 50 people gathering in and around this alley, we had many strange looks from passers by. As we wandered through the city we learned a lot about the history of the Church in England and the first missionaries. We also saw the "Missionary Oak," the Oak tree to commemorate all the missionaries who have served in Britain and I thought about my daddy.

One of our last stops was the River Ribble where the first baptisms look place.

If you look hard you can see the spot where they performed the baptisms, on the other side of the river just to the right of the bridge. The story goes that there was a race across the bridge to determine the first person to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Britain.

It was an amazing day! I really enjoyed learning all that I could about such an integral part of the Church that we know today.