Three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are ministering throughout Great Britain this week. President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, along with Elders Jeffrey R. Holland and Quentin L. Cook, are meeting with missionaries and members of the Church.
The leaders share a fondness for Great Britain, where they served as missionaries as young men. President Ballard arrived in 1948 and served for nearly two and a half years in what was then the British Isles Mission.
Elder Holland and Elder Cook served together as companions in 1962. This week, they are together in England for the first time since that service.
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On Tuesday, October 26, 2021, President M. Russell Ballard traveled to Scotland, making a stop in Tranent, outside of Edinburgh, which he said holds special meaning to him. It is where his great-grandmother, Margaret McNeil, was born in 1846 and lived until she was 10, when she and her family sailed the Atlantic and settled in Utah. He visited the cemetery where her grandparents are buried.
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President M. Russell Ballard and his youngest son, Craig, visit the church at the cemetery where the grandparents of his great-grandmother, Margaret McNeil, are buried. The photo was taken on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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A stained-glass window inside the church near the cemetery where the grandparents of President M. Russell Ballard’s great-grandmother, Margaret McNeil, are buried.
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President M. Russell Ballard and his youngest son, Craig (left), and Elder Massimo De Feo of the Seventy (right) visit the cemetery where the grandparents of President Ballard’s great-grandmother, Margaret McNeil, are buried. The photo was taken on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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The cemetery where the grandparents of President M. Russell Ballard’s great-grandmother, Margaret McNeil, are buried. The photo was taken on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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The Scottish Parliament Building on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Massimo De Feo (right) make a brief courtesy visit with Stephen Kerr, a Latter-day Saint and member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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President M. Russell Ballard makes a brief courtesy visit with Stephen Kerr, a Latter-day Saint and member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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Missionaries of the Scotland-Ireland Mission sing during a meeting with President M. Russell Ballard on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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Missionaries of the Scotland-Ireland Mission listen to President M. Russell Ballard on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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President M. Russell Ballard waves goodbye after meeting with the Scotland-Ireland Mission on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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The coast of Scotland on October 26, 2021.
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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Pat, speak to missionaries from the England Manchester Mission in the Chorley Stake Center on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Pat, sit for a photo with missionaries from the England Manchester Mission, on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Pat, outside the Preston England Temple on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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The road near the Preston England Temple on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Pat, outside the Preston England Temple on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visit in Liverpool, England, on October 25, 2021. Both served as young missionaries in England.
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President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visit the docks in Liverpool on October 25, 2021. It was from this place that many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visit the docks in Liverpool on October 25, 2021. It was from this place that many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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Elder Quentin L. Cook and his wife, Mary, visit the docks in Liverpool, England, on October 25, 2021, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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Elder Quentin L. Cook visits the docks in Liverpool, England, on October 25, 2021, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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On October 25, 2021, President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visited the docks in Liverpool, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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On October 25, 2021, President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visited the docks in Liverpool, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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On October 25, 2021, President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visited the docks in Liverpool, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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On October 25, 2021, President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visited the docks in Liverpool, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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On October 25, 2021, President M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook visited the docks in Liverpool, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
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Elder Quentin L. Cook and his wife, Mary, greet missionaries from the England Leeds Mission, on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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Elder Quentin L. Cook and his wife, Mary, spoke to missionaries from the England Leeds Mission on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
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On Tuesday, President Ballard traveled to Scotland, making a stop in Tranent, outside of Edinburgh, which he said holds special meaning to him. It is where his great-grandmother, Margaret McNeil, was born in 1846 and lived until she was 10, when she and her family sailed the Atlantic and settled in Utah. He visited the cemetery where her grandparents are buried.
“When you come here, the footings of my foundation are here, the blessing of being who I am. It is wonderful to see it,” he said.
President Ballard also made a brief courtesy visit with Stephen Kerr, a Latter-day Saint and member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
In the afternoon, President Ballard joined missionaries of the Scotland-Ireland Mission. He shared many of his personal experiences as a missionary in the British Isles and encouraged them to share the message of the Restoration everywhere they go.
Elder and Sister Holland spent the morning in the Chorley Stake Center with missionaries of the England Manchester Mission, along with new missionaries who are studying in the Preston Missionary Training Center.
“I hope they all feel about their mission the way I feel about mine,” Elder Holland said. “I want them all to love it so much. I want them to have that kind of mission. And as they realize that the scriptures are their principal missionary tool, and if they’ll combine the gifts of the Spirit with the scriptures, they can’t help but succeed.”
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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Pat, speak to missionaries from the England Manchester Mission in the Chorley Stake Center on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.Elder and Sister Cook traveled to Leeds, meeting Tuesday afternoon with missionaries of the England Leeds Mission. He shared his experience of being with President Ballard on Monday at the docks in Liverpool, where many early Latter-day Saints set sail for America.
“It’s a thrill to be here and to think about how significant Liverpool was in the Restoration of the gospel and the history of the Church,” Elder Cook said.
Elder Cook also spoke about the significance of the area that now encompasses the Leeds mission in the early history of the Church in Great Britain. He specifically gave praise to people of faith from this region who were instrumental in the founding of America when they arrived on the Mayflower in 1620.
The three Apostles will continue their ministry visit throughout the country this week, ending with a special conference on Sunday that will be broadcast for all Latter-day Saints in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Watch Newsroom for updates.
