| Description |
Members of the LDS Church who left Great Britain and emigrated to the American West played an extremely important role in the establishment of the Mormon commonwealth. Several of the British Saints even rose to prominent business, military, civic and ecclesiastical posts. However, while many biographical works have been done on this group, few studies have focussed on their early years in their native land, their British ancestral heritage, or how such a background may have shaped them to be the useful citizens that they became. To begin to explore this aspect of the Mormon British immigrant experience, this project shall conduct a case study using the family heritage and the early years of John Rex Winder (1821-1910). Winder, who was born in Biddenden, Kent, England, later lived in both London and Liverpool before joining the LDS Church in 1848. After arriving in Salt Lake City, his life became a model for LOS British immigrants. He quickly rose to the leadership ranks of both the Church and the state, the pinnacle being his appointment to be first counselor to President Joseph F. Smith in the Church's governing First Presidency. The author has researched in various historical repositories in the Wasatch Front, and in archives and locales in the subject's native England. Extensive secondary sources have been used, as well as many primary documents. Every known document or photograph on the subject, both published and unpublished, has been consulted, and the John R. Winder Family Association has consequently declared this project to be the most thorough history on the man that has been done to date. The resulting work, presented in an introduction, four chapters, and an epilogue, attempts to portray the details of John R. Winder's family legacy and his life leading up to his conversion to Mormonism. Consequently, one begins to realize the subtle, yet unmistakeable influence that these factors in his British heritage have contributed to the shaping of the future Mormon leader. The author concludes that indeed a Mormon British immigrant's United Kingdom heritage greatly affected the development of their character, even throughout lives as long as Winder's. |
