Dan Jones mission to Wales from 1845-1848.
- Toronto Sketches
- May 10, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 16, 2019
Dan Jones was one of the first missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Church"). The image below depicts Dan preaching in the middle of the street in Wales during some period between 1845-1848. Since the mid-1800's, thousands of members of the Church have served 18-24 month missions, myself included. We are sent forth to preach the gospel and invite others to Christ.
Click here for a powerful 10-minute clip of two Church leaders who discuss the mighty purpose of serving a mission and how we can better serve the Lord.
During church one Sunday, a young man was about to embark on his upcoming two-year mission and shared his thoughts and excitement for the chance to serve the Lord. That young man's exuberance caused me to reflect on my two-year experience. I served from the ages of 19-21. Serving a mission was the best decision I could have ever made. The relationships I developed with hundreds of people as we all simultaneously drew closer to the Savior was one of the most beautiful things in which I have ever participated. And selfishly, serving a two-year mission allowed me to mature and grow up quickly by developing life-changing habits and attributes that directly improved my abilities as a student in college, as a young employee in the workforce, and as a husband/son/brother in my family..
As the missionary-to-be shared his thoughts, I remembered the painting of Dan Jones and had a blast recollecting so many stories and people from my mission while I sketched the image below.
If you would like to learn more about what our Church teaches or what missionaries do, visit the Church's official site ComeUntoChrist.org. or even request to meet with the missionaries or chat online to ask them any spiritual-based questions here.
As for Dan Jones, here's an excerpt from the link at the beginning of the article;
Dan and his wife, Jane, were called to serve in Wales. Dan used his talent for speaking to teach the gospel with great conviction. He was fluent in Welsh and English, and witnesses recorded that he spoke so captivatingly that he could hold his audience’s attention in either language for hours.
Under Dan Jones’s direction, missionaries in Wales established 29 branches and baptized nearly 1,000 people each year of his first mission. He was called on a second mission to Wales in 1852, and despite growing persecution of the Church, some 2,000 people were baptized in four years.
Sketch based on "Dan Jones Awakens Wales" by Clark Kelley
Comments