"Sunday, April 8th, the day of the conference, came. The Saints began to assemble at an early hour. By nine o'clock there were from six to seven hundred present from various parts of the country. After the meeting was opened by singing and prayer, we had a representation of the following branches, viz.: Preston, Penwortham, Walkerfold, Thornley, Ribchester, Chatburn, Clithero, Barshe Lees, Waddington, Leyland Moss, Leyland Lane, Eccleston, Hunter's Hill, Euxton, Whittle, Dauber's Lane, Bamber Bridge, Longton, Southport, Downham, Burnley, Bedford, Alston, Brampton, Bolton, Chorley. The total number of Saints represented were about two thousand, which, with the exception of the branches in Preston, Bedford and Cumberland, were principally raised up by my own labors, as I spent my time in the branches, except on Sundays, when I preached in Preston. The branch in Preston numbered about four hundred, that in Bedford forty, and the branch in Cumberland sixty."
All this was the work of only eight months. Two thousand had been baptized and enough branches organized to form the base work of three or four conferences, incorporating in the missionary work about that number of the counties of England. Thus the work had already widely spread, yet only three or four Elders had been out in the ministry. Heber C. Kimball himself had converted in eight months about one thousand five hundred souls. He continues:
"We gave instructions to the official members, reminding them of their several duties and callings, and the responsibilities which rested upon them; pressing upon them the necessity of being humble and faithful in the discharge of their duties, so that by patience, meekness and love unfeigned, they might commend themselves to God, and the Church of Jesus Christ, over whom the Holy Ghost had made them guardians.
"Feeling it necessary for the good of the kingdom to leave someone in authority over the whole church, I nominated Joseph Fielding to preside, with Willard Richards as his first counselor, and William Clayton his second counselor. The nominations met with the approbation of the whole assembly, who agreed to hearken to their instructions and uphold them in their offices. These brethren were then ordained to the High Priesthood, and set apart to preside over the Church in England. Eight Elders, several Priests, Teachers and Deacons, were set apart and ordained to the several offices to which they were called. One of the brethren ordained was going to Manchester, and another to the city of London."
"We then confirmed forty individuals, after which about one hundred children were blessed. The same day twenty persons were baptized for the remission of sins. We then proceeded to administer the sacrament to the numerous assembly, and gave some general instructions to the whole church respecting their duty to God and to each other, which were listened to with great attention.
"At this conference we were favored with the company of Elder Willard Richards, also Elder Russell, who had returned from Cumberland. He met with considerable opposition from his own kindred, as well as from ministers of the different denominations, who sought every opportunity to destroy his influence. Notwithstanding the great opposition he was instrumental in bringing upwards of sixty souls into the kingdom of God, and left them rejoicing in the truth, under the watchcare of Elder Jacob Peart. Thus the great work was commenced in three places, Preston, Bedford and Alston, which forcibly reminds me of the parable of the leaven which the woman hid in the three measures of meal."
The conference closes with another of those almost dramatic pictures with which this eventful history abounds.
"At 5 p. m.," says the Apostle, "we brought the conference to a close, having continued without interruption from 9 a. m., and appointed 7 o'clock the same evening to deliver our farewell addresses. At the appointed time we repaired to the 'Cock Pit' which was crowded to excess. Brother Hyde and myself spoke to them concerning our labors in that land, the success of the ministry, and the kindness we had experienced at their hands, and told them we expected before long to see them again, after we had visited the Church and our families in America. When we spoke of our departure their souls were melted; they gave vent to their feelings and wept like little children, and broke out in lamentations like the following: 'How can we part with our beloved brethren!' 'We may never see them again!' 'O, why must you leave us!' I could not restrain my feelings, and they found vent in a flood of tears. It would have been almost an impossibility for us to have left this affectionate people, if we had not had the most implicit confidence in the brethren who had been appointed to preside over them in our absence; but knowing they had the confidence of the Church, we felt that affairs would be conducted in righteousness.
"Immediately after dismissing the congregation we met the official brethren, about eighty, and instructed them in their duties, and dismissed at 1 o'clock the next morning."