Dan Jones

First Presidency Message The Thing of Most Worth By President Gordon B. Hinckley First Counselor in the First Presidency Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Thing of Most Worth,” Ensign, Sept. 1993, 2 I never cease to marvel at the great instruction that was repeatedly given by the Lord to different persons who inquired of him through the Prophet Joseph Smith about what would be the most important thing they could do. Said the Lord, “Behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father.” (D&C 15:6.) The scriptures contain many examples of noble men and women who, with commitment and dedication, shared the word of the Lord with others. Added to those inspiring accounts can be counted also the almost inexhaustible supply of stories and experiences from the Saints of the latter days who have consecrated their all to the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. A nineteenth-century example that has always been compelling to me is the story of Dan Jones, the Welshman who was with the Prophet Joseph Smith the evening before the Prophet’s martyrdom. A brief review of his life is worth telling. Dan Jones was born 4 August 1810 in Halkin, Flintshire, Wales. When he was seventeen, he went to sea. He learned of ships and sailors, the sting of salt spray whipped by a stiff wind, the pitching of a boat in a terrifying storm. In 1840 he came to America. Here he acquired and captained a small boat that plied the waters of the Mississippi. He carried passengers primarily from New Orleans to St. Louis. His boat was subsequently lost. By 1842, when he was thirty-one, the short, stocky Welshman owned a half interest in the Maid of Iowa, a boat large enough to carry three hundred passengers. While engaged in river traffic, Dan learned of the Mormons, who had been driven from Missouri and had found temporary refuge in Quincy, Illinois, and then had gone on to establish “Nauvoo the Beautiful” on ground where the river makes a sweeping bend, creating the illusion of a peninsula reaching out into the water. Indications are that Dan Jones read some of the anti-Mormon castigations then prevalent. All of this piqued his curiosity. He wanted to learn more about these people. He met them, was taught, and accepted the truth. In January 1843, he was baptized in the cold waters of the Mississippi River. The following April he took a boatload of English converts up the Mississippi to Nauvoo. There he met Joseph Smith. It was mutual respect and appreciation at first sight. In June of the following year, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested and taken to Carthage. Dan Jones was among those who accompanied them and was locked in jail with them. On the last night in Carthage, when apparently the others had gone to sleep, Joseph Smith whispered to Dan Jones, “Are you afraid [to die]?” He replied, “Has that time come, think you? Engaged in such a cause, I do not think that death would have many terrors.” To this Joseph responded with the last words of prophecy he is known to have spoken: “You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die.” 1 The next day the Prophet asked Brother Jones to deliver a letter to Orvil H. Browning of Quincy, Illinois, requesting that Mr. Browning represent Joseph and Hyrum in their forthcoming trial. While Brother Jones was leaving the jail and walking through the mob, his life was threatened. As he rode off on horseback, bullets flew about him, but none touched him. In his haste to get away, he lost his direction and thereby avoided a mob who might have killed him. He finally reached Quincy and there learned of the shooting of Joseph and Hyrum that sultry afternoon of 27 June 1844. He never got over his love for the Prophet. He never flinched in his loyalty to the cause to which Joseph Smith had dedicated his life. The fulfillment of the Prophet’s statement came some months later when Dan Jones was called to go to Wales. His wife, Jane, accompanied him. They traveled with Wilford Woodruff and others to the British Isles. Elder Jones was assigned to labor in north Wales. Though he had the great asset of speaking both Welsh and English, he accomplished relatively little in touching the hearts of the people of that area. On the other hand, William Henshaw, who did not speak the Welsh language, enjoyed considerable success in the south. When Brother Henshaw was released a year later, Elder Jones was called to preside over all the work in Wales. He made his headquarters in Merthyr Tydfil in southeastern Wales. Working with a handful of missionaries, he witnessed a remarkable harvest. From 1845 to 1848, approximately 3,600 were baptized. It is estimated that in terms of population, one out of every 278 people in Wales at that time was baptized into the LDS Church. Opponents had access to newspapers and other publications to attack the Mormon missionaries. But the press would not open its columns to Elder Jones. He therefore determined that he would answer with publications of his own. He enlisted the help of his brother, John Jones, a Protestant minister who owned a printing press. It is said that John printed Dan’s literature during the week and denounced him from the pulpit on Sunday. Dan Jones’s publication was the first Mormon periodical published in a language other than English. 2 Issued in 1846, it carried the title Prophwyd y Jubili, which, translated into English, read Prophet of the Jubilee. We catch the spirit of his sometimes feisty manner in his opening article: “Dear Reader,—Behold the beginning of a new era in our age, yea, the most remarkable which has ever been, the most wondrous in its preparations, the most goodly in its deeds, and the most glorious in its effects of every previous age. Once more the golden keys of heaven have been entrusted to men for them to open all treasures, to unlock all mysteries and for the clarification of all errors in the midst of mankind. Already the doors of eternity can be seen opening on their rusty hinges, its hidden pearls and the treasures old and new are once again starting to shine before the eyes of men as in the days of God! Let the inhabitants of the earth rejoice, and let every Welshman give a hearkening ear to the good news of great joy which is sounded through this last trumpet.” 3 He had an interesting missionary technique. It was essentially one of controversy, a technique not fit for our time but used well by him then. He feared no one. He moved with great boldness. Of his method it has been written: “He would often advertise in a town for several weeks that he was coming to ‘convert’ the whole town. He would inform the mayor, the city council, the ministers, and the police force of his intentions. He would have the local members of the church distribute thousands of tracts to all the city. When he arrived at the railroad station he was often met by all of the officials of the city and many excited citizens.” 4 Ministers of other churches lashed out against him. They used their pulpits and the public press. Of their antagonism against him, Dan Jones wrote, “Most of the stories that were told on poor Brother Joseph in America, are here fathered on Captain Jones, and I often hear those who don’t know that little man [himself], unhesitatingly denounce him as ‘a curse upon this nation.’ ” 5 Public opinions raged this way and that. But instead of shrinking, Dan Jones capitalized on controversies. He drew such public attention that people had to decide whether the gospel of the Mormons was true or false. An increasing number of converts came into the Church while a veritable storm arose against the Mormons in general and Elder Jones in particular. He was vilified in the press. He was shouted at in the streets. His life was threatened. In those circumstances he wrote, “I delight in the trophies of war. I came here to fight for the spiritual freedom of my brethren, and I thank heaven … that He is knocking off their shackles by hundreds! Who that has tasted of the sweets of liberty would say, ‘hold!’ ” 6 This was also the season of gathering the Saints to the Rocky Mountain West. Nauvoo had been abandoned. Its sacred temple had been desecrated and burned. Leaving behind their Mississippi home, the Saints laboriously crossed Iowa to the Missouri River, where they established Winter Quarters. That was in 1846. The next year the first company threaded their way up the Elkhorn and along the Platte through what is now Nebraska, up into the highlands of present-day Wyoming, and thence into the valley of the Great Salt Lake. “Come to Zion” was the call. The converts for the most part were extremely poor. But they had been urged to save and scrimp to become a part of the great gathering. The first group to leave Wales consisted of some three hundred-plus who assembled at Swansea and there took a boat to Liverpool. At Liverpool it was necessary to divide the group, with 249 going on the Buena Vista and 77 on the Hartley, which was to follow. Elder Jones was to go with those on the Buena Vista. Compounding his many worries, his wife, Jane, had given birth to their daughter Claudia shortly before the departure date. It was first determined that she would remain behind and he would return for her later. She developed a different idea. After he was gone, she took passage with her baby and caught up with him at Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was seven weeks’ sailing from Liverpool to New Orleans. Today we can scarcely imagine the misery of such a journey, with 250 people crowded on a relatively small ship for that period of time. It was necessary to take enough food for the entire trip. The shipping company was required by law to carry the basic food supplies, but the people were invited to bring other things to add taste to their meals. At New Orleans the Buena Vista’s passengers were transferred to a riverboat which carried them to St. Louis. Though they had survived with minimum loss through the long journey across the sea, they were now faced with a plague of cholera. Between New Orleans and St. Louis and then, via another ship, up the Missouri to Council Bluffs, some sixty-seven died along the way. An individual would appear perfectly well one day and would expire the next. The boat stopped frequently along the way to permit burials. At Council Bluffs, the first Welsh-speaking branch of the Church in America was organized. Here also the immigrants secured ox teams and wagons. These people had been miners and craftsmen. They knew nothing about driving oxen and handling a heavy wagon over a road that was really only a rutted trail. They had to be taught how to hook up and unhook, how to speak to the plodding oxen, how to care for them when their feet became sore. They left Council Bluffs on 13 July 1849 and spent 108 days traveling to the valley. On October 18 a terrible snowstorm struck when they were in the high country of Wyoming. Sixty head of their cattle died. Finally, on October 26, they arrived in Salt Lake Valley. It had taken them eight months to travel from Liverpool to Salt Lake City. One-fifth of their company had died of cholera, and others had been lost, including a few whose testimonies had withered along the way. Today we can leave London around noon and arrive in Salt Lake City the same night. Once in Utah, Dan Jones settled in Manti, where he was elected the first mayor in 1851. A year later, however, he was called to serve a second mission in his native land. Again he responded without hesitation. With a few others, he began the long trek east. When about eighty miles out of Salt Lake City, he met a group of Welsh Saints coming to the valley. They had been baptized during his first mission, and they could scarcely contain their feelings when they met their beloved leader, they on their way to the valleys of the west, and he on his way to the valleys of Wales. They sang; they wept; they spoke with words of true affection. They spent a happy day together before parting. As they were separating, Elder Jones gave William Morgan a letter to be delivered to the Presiding Bishop of the Church, Edward Hunter. It breathes the spirit of this remarkable man and his love for his Welsh brethren and sisters: “Esteemed Bishop Hunter.—Many of my compatriots are coming across in the 13th Company; I do not know their condition; perhaps their money and their provisions are scarce. If so, when they reach the Valley, I shall be grateful to you for furnishing them their needs, through the hand of [Brother Morgan], and I shall pay you in Manti, San Pete Valley.” 7 According to an editorial in the Millennial Star, Dan Jones was the “greatest benefactor the Welsh ever had.” 8 Once back in Wales, Elder Jones again put his whole energy into the work. During his second mission, some two thousand new converts came into the Church. It was remarkable. By this time, the Perpetual Emigration Fund had been established. With this kind of financing and with the Church chartering ships to cross the Atlantic, an individual could travel all the way from Liverpool to Salt Lake Valley for the equivalent of about forty-five dollars. Yet even that money was hard to come by, and only because of the fund was it possible for most of these converts to leave their native land and travel to Zion. Out of his experience, Elder Jones wrote a pamphlet giving detailed instructions to those who would go. I like the counsel found in the opening paragraph: “First, pay your rightful debts to everyone, or obtain the kindness of those you owe either to freely forgive or to allow you time to pay at the end of your journey; without doing one or the other we do not advise anyone to emigrate towards Zion.” 9 He insisted on this. Honesty and integrity were of the essence of this man. Again he crossed the sea in 1856 with another large group of Welsh Saints. They became part of the handcart migration of that fateful year. They made it to the valley without great suffering, but the two companies who followed after them, the Willie and Martin Companies, suffered terribly because of the snowstorms in which they were caught. Elder Jones did not travel with the earlier-going handcart company. He came with a group of returning missionaries who were able to travel faster than those with carts. It was this group that found the Willie and Martin Companies beleaguered in the Wyoming storms and brought word to Brigham Young, who immediately marshalled resources to go out and help them. By this time in his life, Brother Jones was suffering from ill health, sick from the exertions of his service, a victim of terrible weariness. From this time onward, the candle of his life burned lower. His beloved wife, Jane, died 24 February 1861. Less than a year later, on 3 January 1862, he died of tuberculosis at the age of fifty-one. As friend to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, he had walked with prophets. He was unflinching in his loyalty to the cause they preached. His dedication was unquestioned. His zeal in teaching the gospel was seldom equaled. In 1844 he had looked into the eyes of those who killed the Prophet and Hyrum, and in his native language he published an account of that tragic event. He was persuasive and powerful, whether speaking in English or the Cambrian (Welsh) tongue, in bearing witness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew something of the cost of faith in moving forward the work of the restored gospel. He would have given his life for it. The fact is that he did so. His tremendous exertions, his unflagging zeal in speaking and writing, the long and tedious journeys back and forth across the sea and the plains all took a toll. He never spared himself in the cause to which he dedicated his life. The Saints of Wales loved Captain Jones, as they affectionately called him. They listened to him. They leaned on him. They followed his counsel. They accepted his testimony and used it as the foundation of their own. Tens of thousands in the Church today are descended from those whom he and his associates taught and baptized. In terms of the number of converts, Dan Jones must certainly be included in the half dozen or so most productive missionaries in the history of the Church. He dedicated his life to the teaching of righteousness and the building of faith. I add my testimony of the greatness of his contribution and of the everlasting consequences in the lives of generations of people when we will take the Lord at his word and share the gospel with others: “Behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father.” (D&C 15:6.) May each of us examine our own lives, our own environment and conditions, and then prayerfully, energetically, and with dedication set about to bring the souls of our families, neighbors, friends, and associates unto the Lord. Gospel topics: Book of Mormon, Church history, consecration, missionary work, testimony Notes 1. Rex LeRoy Christensen, “The Life and Contributions of Captain Dan Jones,” Master’s thesis, Utah State University, 1977, p. 17. 2. Ibid., p. 24. 3. Ronald D. Dennis, trans., “Prophet of the Jubilee …” (pamphlet), Provo, Utah: Ronald D. Dennis, 1981, p. 1. 4. Christensen, “Life and Contributions,” pp. 39–40. 5. Ibid., p. 27. 6. Ibid. 7. As cited in Ronald D. Dennis, The Call of Zion (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center, 1987), p. 77. 8. Christensen, “Life and Contributions,” p. 44. 9. Ronald D. Dennis, trans., Yr arweinydd i Seion (The Guide to Zion) (Swansea, Wales: Dan Jones, 1855), p. 1. Ideas for Home Teachers Some Points of Emphasis You may wish to make these points in your home teaching discussions: 1. The Lord repeatedly has said that “the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people.” (D&C 15:6.) 2. A nineteenth-century Welsh member, Dan Jones, is a noble example of one who consecrated his all to building up the kingdom of God. 3. Brother Jones was vilified in the press and his life was threatened, yet he helped teach the gospel to thousands of fellow Welshmen and did not spare himself in the cause to which he dedicated his life after joining the Church. 4. There is no end to the contribution we make or to the everlasting consequences in the lives of people when we help bring the souls of others to the Lord. Discussion Helps 1. Relate your feelings about sharing the gospel with families, neighbors, friends, and associates. 2. Are there some scriptures or quotations in this article that the family might read aloud and discuss? 3. Would this discussion be better after a pre-visit chat with the head of the house? Is there a message from the bishop or quorum president? [illustration] Illustrated by Clark Kelley Price [illustration] Painting by Clark Kelley Price © 2006 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved

Here a is Link to the youtube video on Dan Jones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZKvE5VyE3E

DAN JONES RECOUNTS HIS CONVERSION TO MORMONISM Published in History of the Latter-day Saints, From Their Establishment in 1823 until the Time that 300,00 of Them Were Exiled From America Because of Their Religion in 1846. Translation of Welsh Title Merthyr Tydfil: Published for sale by Capt. Jones (1847) p 59-62 Translated from Welsh by Ronald D. Dennis 1978 From our part we express gratitude to Mr. Sharp for the information we obtained about the Saints, for while living in America through reading his and others' accusations our attention was directed toward the Saints even before we met them. Through a careful investigation of the accusations I perceived clearly that it was impossible for them to be true, either because in their zeal they overstated the case or because they contradicted themselves in some way. All this caused me to question: “Why has everyone agreed to make such false accusations against this obscure people?” I saw that this was dirty work and that those who committed such things were worse than those who suffered them! Before this it had not even once occurred to me that the “Mormons,” as they were called professed or believed the Christian religion or our Bible, and I frequently asked what could cause all this against them more than against anyone else. To be sure, they must have possessed some virtues to excite liars against them. Thus, they must have been more virtuous than their persecutors before they would suffer so much torment, imprisonment and losses. In this way I reasoned about them for a time, without seeing any of them or reading anything of their work. Among the other stories which I heard, one was “that they had all things in common;” another “that Joe Smith had tried to walk on the water,” “that he claimed miraculous power;” and others which said “that he claimed to be the Christ.” Also I read “Spaulding Romance,” as it is called, supposedly the original source of the Book of Mormon and the work of a Mr. Spaulding. And though I perceived sufficient internal proof in the other stories to prove to my satisfaction that they were lies, yet, I admit that I was hardly able for the life of me--even after having obtained solid facts to the contrary--to refrain from believing the Spaulding story. It was woven so skillfully--confirmed by so many witnesses who I supposed to be of high character, especially when I saw that it was supported by so many Reverends, whom I regarded at that time with no small “reverence,” and worth of trust. Yes, I hardly thought it possible for those who possessed that title to say, much less to testify of anything more than that which they knew to be the “gospel.” But it is amazing how I was disappointed in this! Not willingly, rather against my will to a certain extent, I was forced to admit with surprise my errors; and not before then was I able to bestir myself from the shackles with which the men of title had bound my soul, almost unawares to me before this! Nor could I rid the poisonous effects of this story from my mind. If either of these deserved the bliss which Jesus Christ promised when everyone should say evil about them, I freely admitted that it was the Mormons who deserved it. Soon, purely be accident, there fell into my hands a segment of a letter which the wife of Joseph Smith had written to some religious sister when she was with her husband in the Missouri prison; and I shall never forget the feelings which that segment of a letter caused me to have. I perceived clearly that not only did its author believe in the New Testament, the same as I--professing the apostolic faith, and rejoicing in the midst of her tribulations at being worth to suffer all that for a testimony of Jesus and the gospel--but also it contained better council, more wisdom, and showed a more gospel-like and godly spirit than anything I had ever read! I read it over and over. I almost considered it the fruit of the ideas from the apostolic age rather than the writing of the wife of such a presumptions and entirely ungodly man as Joseph Smith had been portrayed to me. But the more I read it, the greater my wish because to possess the spirit and hopes of its author, even if it meant my own imprisonment. Then my mind was not satisfied until I could get hold of one of the Mormons. And after getting one, we sat up many more that just two or three nights to investigate the differences of opinions there were between us concerning the gospel. And to my great surprise, I perceived that I was almost a full-fledged Mormon already, which when I understood it frightened me greatly, because I foresaw my popularity finished the minute I took that contemptuous name on myself, and consequently, my livelihood and all. These considerations prompted me to search for sufficient counter-arguments to pacify my conscience and to refute them. But I shall be forever obliged to cut through all the obstacles or whatever the consequences would be of obeying the promptings of a conscience awakened in the face of the divine work of the Scriptures. I obeyed the divine law of baptism in the Mississippi, or the “father of waters,” and I know that I shall never regret that act if I have strength to persevere to the end. In spite of my conversion, somehow I had not one particle of love for old “Joe Smith.” I could swallow almost everything except his being a prophet of God. For as long as I could remember, I had formed some strange ideas as to what kind of men the early prophets ere. I thought that they should wear--and consequently “Joe Smith” should wear before he could be a prophet--either a sheep or goat skin, a long beard, and long, white hair, and his face should be long and wrinkled with a high and retiring gaze, murmuring quite a lot and very saintly. I almost thought that he ought to be a wanderer on the mountains without ever coming to a house or to a table, but living on locusts and the like. And when he came among people to deliver his divine message, he would do that in a manner that would prove to everyone that he was a prophet. While the baseless imaginings like these were contending for space in my mind mixed with the thousand and one false accusations so unfounded which I had heard about that remarkable person, I took my steamboat with over 300 immigrants (Saints) from St. Louis to Nauvoo. When we arrived a large crowd of respectable looking people came to greet us very hospitable. Such hand shaking and kissing among the women, and such a “hearty welcome” as they met each other rather surprised me. Even greater than my surprise was my disappointment when I ran my eyes over the crowd and failed to find anyone similar to the prophet I had pictured. But then a large, comely man came up to me in the crowd on the boat, took my hand and squeezing it kindly, said, "God bless you brother" several times. Before I could ask his name he was out of sight. And then he came by again, at which time I understood that my eyes for the second time beheld Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet! Although things were busy I took time to study him. And everything I saw in him was contrary to my expectation. His fair countenance and his cheerful, guileless face rather convinced me that he was not the cunning and deceitful man I had heard about. His humility and the wondrous and respectful love which everyone showed him obliged me to believe that this was not the cruel oppressor who considered everyone his slave. Yes, in short, I was soon convinced that much of what I had heard about the man was false accusations. I went with him to his house, and he related to me in a few words a history of more sufferings because his religion that I had hardly thought possible for anyone to endure so long. Yet he was as certain of his business and as steadfast in his determination as a perpetual rock. He took pride in it all as if he were winning, and before leaving his company I was rather surprised how anyone could doubt that if there ever was a prophet, Joseph Smith was one. Then I saw and chatted with the one who had written the segment of a letter which had surprised me so; but the letter contained not half her wisdom. Beside her I saw three boys and one girl, the oldest about 10 years of age. In the corner in her armchair was Joseph=s aged mother (over 80) to whom he was very respectful. He said that old age had taken his dear father to the grave during the persecution. After this I went with him about the city (for it was worth of the name by then) and I saw everyone about his separate task, looking like everyone else, but more comely and diligent than others. Having circled the place, I failed to observe a drunkard, or a place to get drunk, or an oath or even one useless act! “Could it be,” I said, “that everything I heard about this place and this people is false? If not, where is the huge wall which surrounds the city so that no one may come back from it alive?” (As I have heard). There were not two rocks together there for that purpose! Where were all the “slaves” I had heard about, and the business of “all things in common” and many of the other strange things? Everyone here is as free and independent as anyone I ever saw, yes, and each one enjoying his possessions, fruit of his diligence, his family, his money, and his thoughts and his own opinions unhindered. And there was even a state defense for all that freedom. Instead of “Joseph Smith taking others’ possessions” or any of the other elders either being supported at the cost of others, as did the “Reverends” and the writers who accused them, they support their families at their own expense. In this way I got everything to the contrary of what I had heard about the place and its inhabitants, until by the time I arrived back at the boat I was rather ready to say that I would not believe anything from then on about them except what I saw. At least I determined to believe to the contrary of what the Mormons' enemies said about them. And doubtless there were hosts like myself who went there with minds filled with prejudice, and who returned from there with a completely opposite opinion about the place and the people. I saw hosts of such during the time that we were carrying several thousand immigrants there after that.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Jones_(Mormon) Dan Jones (August 4, 1810 – January 3, 1862) (often referred to as Captain Dan Jones) was an influential Welsh missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jones is well known for having heard the "final prophecy" of Joseph Smith, Jr., namely, that Jones would fulfill a mission to Wales before he died. Early life Jones was born in Halkyn, in the county of Flintshire, north-east Wales, the sixth of Thomas Jones and Ruth Roberts’s eight children. When he was sixteen years old, Jones became a sailor. On January 3, 1837, Jones married Jane Melling, a childhood friend from Halkyn. In 1840, Jones and his wife immigrated to the United States, where Jones became captain of the Ripple, a steamship on the Mississippi River. The Ripple primarily carried passengers between New Orleans and St. Louis. After the Ripple struck a rock and sank, Jones captained the Maid of Iowa, which could transport approximately 300 passengers. Conversion to Mormonism During his travels on the Mississippi River, Jones heard of the Mormons, who had recently settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, a city on the river. Jones sought out the Latter Day Saints to learn about the new religious movement. He believed what the Mormons told him and was subsequently baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in January 1843. The following April, Jones used the Maid of Iowa to transport approximately 300 English Latter Day Saint converts from Mississippi to Nauvoo. Jones also used his ship to haul freight required for the building of the Nauvoo Temple. Joseph Smith, Jr. preached from the deck of the Maid of Iowa on more than one occasion. Joseph Smith and the "final prophecy" In June 1844, Joseph and Hyrum Smith were arrested and imprisoned in Carthage Jail. With Willard Richards and John Taylor, Jones was chosen to accompany the Smiths to jail to offer support and protection. The night before Joseph and Hyrum were killed, Joseph Smith asked Jones if he was afraid to die. Jones replied, "Has that time come, think you? Engaged in such a cause, I do not think that death would have many terrors.” Smith replied with what many have identified as his "last prophecy": "You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die."[1] The following morning, June 27, 1844, Smith asked Jones to deliver a letter on his behalf to Orville H. Browning in Quincy, Illinois, requesting that Browning act as the Smiths' lawyer in their upcoming trial. As Jones departed the jail on horseback, bullets were fired at him, but none struck him. In his haste and panic, Jones took the wrong road to Quincy and became lost. It was later learned that an anti-Mormon mob had been waiting to intercept him on the correct road to Quincy. When Jones finally reached Quincy later in the afternoon, he learned that Joseph and Hyrum Smith had been killed by a mob at the jail in Carthage, Illinois. First mission to Wales In late 1844, Brigham Young asked Jones to return to Wales as a missionary for the church. Jones and his wife traveled to England with Wilford Woodruff and a number of other persons who had been asked to serve as missionaries in the British Isles. After approximately one year and little success, Jones was asked to preside over the missionary efforts in Wales. At this time, there were just over 200 Latter-day Saints in Wales. Under Jones's leadership, between 1845 and 1848 the missionaries in Wales baptized approximately 3600 persons. In terms of population, one out of every 278 people in Wales at that time was baptized into the LDS Church.[2] When Jones left Wales, there were seventy-two branches of the Church and 4645 Latter-day Saints.[3] In 1846, Jones began to publish a Welsh language periodical for the church entitled Prophwyd y Jubili—Prophet of the Jubilee. It was the first Mormon periodical to be published in a language other than English.[ 4] In 1847, Jones published the most famous of his many Welsh language pamphlets and tracts, Hanes Saint y Dyddiau Diweddaf (History of the Latter-day Saints). Mormon pioneer On February 26, 1849, Jones departed Wales with over 300 Welsh Latter-day Saint converts. Jones sailed from Liverpool to New Orleans on the Buena Vista and from New Orleans to Council Bluffs, Iowa by riverboat. Once Jones and the Welsh converts arrived in Council Bluffs, the church organized the first Welsh speaking branch of the church in the United States with Jones serving as the branch president. On July 13, 1849 Jones and many of his Welsh converts left Council Bluffs with other Mormon pioneers in the George A. Smith company. Jones arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on October 26. Like many early Latter-day Saints, Jones practiced plural marriage. On November 8, 1849, shortly after his arrival in the Utah Territory, Jones married his first plural wife, Elizabeth Lewis. Second mission to Wales After arriving in the Utah Territory, Jones settled in Manti and was elected mayor in 1851. However, in 1852 Church President Brigham Young asked Jones to again return to Wales as a missionary. During this second mission, which lasted until 1856, Jones baptized approximately 2000 persons in Wales, most of whom eventually immigrated to Utah. In 1852, Jones oversaw the translation of the Book of Mormon into the Welsh language; it was only the third language other than English that the book had been published in (previous translations having been published in Danish and French). Jones was briefly the editor of Udgorn Seion, the church's Welsh language periodical that succeeded Jones's Prophwyd y Jubili. Later life and death Jones returned to Utah in 1856. However, upon his return he began to suffer ill health, probably partially as a result of his missionary exertions and life's extensive travels. Jones became the captain of the Timely Gull on the Great Salt Lake, a vessel that was owned by Brigham Young and used to carry salt, cedar wood, and flagstone. On February 18, 1857, Jones married his second plural wife, Mary Matilda LaTrielle, in Salt Lake City. Jones' first wife, Jane, died on February 24, 1861. Less than one year later on the 24th anniversary of his marriage to Jane, Jones died of tuberculosis at Provo, Utah at the age of fifty-one. Jones was survived by six children—two from each of his wives. His first wife gave birth to eight children that did not survive childhood. Legacy Gordon B. Hinckley, former President of the LDS Church, has stated that Jones "must certainly be included in the half dozen or so most productive missionaries in the history of the Church." One of the dormitories at the LDS Church's Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah is called the Dan Jones Building. An official publication of the LDS Church pays tribute to Jones, stating that, "Dan Jones, [was] one of the greatest missionaries" in church history.

Maid of Iowa was a steamboat first owned and captained by Dan Jones. It was first launched in 1842, and was used as a passenger ship on the Mississippi river. The boat is best known for transporting British Mormon converts to settle in Nauvoo, Illinois. History[edit] The Maid of Iowa was built and owned by Levi Moffitt and Dan Jones. It was first launched on the Mississippi River in the fall of 1842. Shares of the boat were purchased by Joseph Smith in 1843, for use by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The boat played an important role in the establishment of Nauvoo, Illinois, as Mormon converts from abroad landed in New Orleans and journeyed up the Mississippi river to settle in Nauvoo.[2] The boat was small relative to other steamboats of the time. On one voyage, a large steamboat tried to run the Maid of Iowa off the river, but Captain Jones prevented this by threatening to shoot the pilot of the larger ship.[3] The first use of the boat was as a ferry between Nauvoo, Illinois and Montrose, Iowa. It was also used to carry freight, such as coal, lumber, lead, military supplies, wheat, corn, and pork. When used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it was also used for pleasure cruises, a church meeting place, and for hauling the workers and supplies for work on the Nauvoo Temple. After Joseph Smith was killed, it was sold in 1845 to Peter Hoelting to haul freight on the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. It was last reported carrying freight on Soap Creek in Iowa in 1850.[2]

a link to the Youtube Video on Dan Jones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZKvE5VyE3E 11 May 1843 Dan Jones was called on a mission to Wales. Found in "Essentials of Church History" by Joseph Fielding Smith Was a body guard to the Prophet Joseph Smith CAPTAIN DAN JONES 4 Aug 1810 - 3 Jan 1862 Dan Jones, familiarly known as Capt. Dan Jones, and recognized as the founder of the Welsh Mission, was born August 4th 1810 in Halkin, Denbigh, Flintshire, Wales, the son of Thomas and Ruth Jones. He received a college education, emigrated to the United States about 1840 and located in the Western States, where he became the owner and captain of a little river steamer called, "The Maid of Iowa." He is first mentioned in Church history when be brought a company of Saints (in charge of Parley P. Pratt and Levi Richards) to Nauvoo, Illinois in April 1843, these Saints having been detained during the previous winter at St. Louis, Missouri and other places, after their arrival from England. It was on this occasion Dan Jones first met the Prophet Joseph Smith, who, in stepping up to him, said: "God bless this little man." Soon afterwards he became a convert to "Mormonism" and was baptized in the early part of 1843. In May 1843, the Prophet Joseph Smith purchased a half interest in the "Maid of Iowa" and Captain Jones commenced running the boat between Nauvoo and Montrose as a ferry boat. When the Prophet Joseph was arrested at Dixon, the following June, Captain Jones with a force of armed men navigated the rivers for the purpose of intercepting steamboats which might be engaged in kidnapping the Prophet Joseph into Missouri. In May 1844, the Prophet bought out the interest of Dan Jones in the "Maid of Iowa". When the Prophet started for Carthage June 24, 1844, Dan Jones was one of the brethren who accompanied him, and from Carthage he was sent with two others with an important message to Gov. Thomas Ford. He spent the night of June 26 -27, 1844 with Joseph and fellow prisoners in Carthage Jail. When all were apparently fast asleep, Joseph whispered to Dan Jones: "Are you afraid to die?" Dan answered: "Has that time come, think you? Engaged in such a cause, I do not think that death would have many terrors." Joseph replied: "You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die." In the morning of June 27th, Joseph requested Dan Jones to descend and inquire of the guard the cause of a certain intrusion which had taken place during the night. Frank Worrell, the officer of the guard, who was one of the Carthage Grays, said in a very bitter spirit: "We had had too much trouble to bring 'Old Joe' here to let him ever escape alive, and unless you want to die with him, you had better leave before sundown, and you are not a damned but better than 'Old Joe', for neither he nor his brother nor anyone who will remain with them will see the sun set today." Joseph directed Jones to go to Gov. Ford's quarters. He saw an assemblage of men and heard one of them, who was apparently a leader, making a speech, saying: "Our troops will be discharged this morning in obedience to orders and for a sham we will leave the town, but when the governor and McDonough's troops have left for Nauvoo this forenoon, we will return and kill those men if we have to tear the jail down." This sentiment was applauded by three cheers from the crowd. Captain Jones went to the governor, told him what had occurred in the night, what the officer of the guard had said, and what he had heard while coming to see him, and earnestly solicited him to avert the danger. His Excellency replied: "You are unnecessarily alarmed for the safety of your friends, sire: the people are not that cruel." Irritated by such a remark, Jones urged the necessity of placing better men to guard them than professed assassins, and said, "The Messrs, Smith are American citizens, and have surrendered themselves to your Excellency upon your pledging your honor for their safety: they are also master masons, and as such I demand of you the protection of their lives." Governor Ford's face turned pale, and Jones remarked, "If you do not do this, I have but one more desire, and that is, if you leave their lives in the hands of those men to be sacrificed ____ _____." "What is that, sir? He asked in a hurried tone, "It is," said Jones, "that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper time and place, that I may testify that you have been timely warned of their danger." Jones then returned to the prison, but the guard would not let him enter. He again returned to the hotel, and found Governor Ford standing in front of the McDonough troops, who were in line ready to escort him to Nauvoo. The disbanded mob returned to the rear, shouting loudly that they were only going a short distance out of town, when they would return and kill "Old Joe" and Hyrum as soon as the governor was far enough out of town. Jones called the attention of the governor to the threats then made, but he took no notice of them although it was impossible for him to avid hearing them. Jones then requested the governor to give him passports for himself and friends to pass in and out of the prison, according to his promise made to the prisoners. He refused to give them passes, but he told General Deming to give one to Dr. Willard Richards, Joseph Smith's private secretary. While obtaining this, Jones' life was threatened, and Chauncey L. Higbee said to him in the street, "We are determined to kill Joe and Hyrum, and you had better go away to save yourself." Afterwards Almon W. Babbitt met Dan Jones in the street and informed him that Joseph wanted to see him, but not being allowed to pass the guard, Brother Babbitt brought a letter from Joseph, which he handed to Dan Jones with directions to take it to Quincy forthwith. The guard, being aware of the letter, told the mob that 'Old Joe' had sent orders to raise the Nauvoo Legion to come and rescue him. The mob gathered around Jones and demanded the letter. Some of them wanted to take it from him by force and said that Jones should not get out of Carthage alive, as a dozen men had started out with their rifles to waylay him in the woods. Having previously ordered his horse, Jones took advantage of their disagreement and started off at full speed. By mistake he took the Warsaw road, and so avoided the men who were lying in wait for him In 1845 Dan Jones, complying with a former call, left Nauvoo on a mission to Great Britain, and on his arrival in Liverpool, England was assigned to labor in Wales, his native country. He proceeded at once to Merthyr Tydfil, where he organized himself and family into the Walsh conference and commenced preaching the gospel with much success so that in the course of a couple of years he became the means of baptizing and adding to the Church about two thousand souls in Wales. He also circulated thousands of pamphlets in the Walsh language. Persecution raged against him, but the more his opponents persecuted him, the better success he had. Elder Jones also published a monthly periodical in Walsh, entitled "Phophqvd y Jubili" (The Prophet of the Jubilee). Among his other publications was the "Compendium" of the book of reference (288 pages), illustrative of the doctrines of the Church. All the publishing was done in Merthyr Tydfil. Having finished his mission in Wales, Captain Jones sailed from Liverpool February 26, 1849, with 249 emigrating saints on board the ship "Buena Vista". The company arrived in Kanesville, Iowa in May 1849, and crossed the plains with Dan Jones as captain, in twenty-five wagons. Under the date of August 12, 1849, George A. Smith wrote as follows while crossing the plains: "Captain Dan Jones understands his duty and surely he has done nobly in building up the kingdom of God in his native land and conducting the company he has across the mighty deep". The Welsh Saints were included in George A. Smith's company. After the arrival in the Valley the so-called Walsh settlement was formed on the west side of the River Jordan, but most of the Walsh settlement was included in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Wards, Salt Lake City. The arrival of the Walsh Company under Captain Jones was practically the introduction of the Welsh element into the Church. In the fall of 1849, Dan Jones was called to accompany Parley P. Pratt and others on an exploring expedition to Southern Utah. On this journey the Captain rendered efficient aid to the expedition and was closely associated with Elder Pratt. The company returned to Salt Lake City early in 1850. After this we find Dan Jones prominently associated with public affairs in the city until he, later in the year, was called to locate in Manti, Sanpete County, where he was elected the 1st mayor of the city April 7, 1851. While in Manti we ran a threshing machine and took part in all kinds of pioneer labor. In August 1852, he was called on a second mission to Wales, during which he again did a splendid work in his native country and published the "Udgorn Seion". Returning from this mission in 1856, he had charge of a large company of Saints (703) souls, who crossed the Atlantic in the ship "Samuel Curling", which sailed from Liverpool July 5, 1856. He crossed the plains together with a number of other missionaries, who passed the different emigrating companies of Saints which crossed the plains that year. Early in 1857 Captain Dan Jones commenced navigating the Great Salt Lake in the "Timely Gull", a small boat built and owned by Governor Brigham Young. The little vessel was anchored in Black Rock Harbor February 13, 1857 with a general cargo, mainly composed of cedar wood, fine sale and flagging for sidewalks, yards, and cellar floors, which articles were offered for sale. The "Timely Gull" was the first vessel of any consequence ever launched upon the waters of the Great Salk Lake. In 1859 it was suggested that the stone coal which had just been discovered in Wales, Sanpete Valley, should be hauled from that place to the head of Utah Lake, from which point Captain Jones would boat it across the lake to supply the citizens of Salt Lake City with fuel, but this enterprise, seemingly, did not prove a success. In the meantime Captain Jones moved to Provo, which he resided until the time of his death, which took place January 3, 1861. Captain Jones married three wives during his lifetime and when he died he left his wives and children. Dan Jones was known as a most eloquent and rapid speaker, having both the English and Walsh languages completely at his command, and with his earnestness and force he could hold his audience spellbound for hours together. BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCOPEDIA VOL 3 pages 658 - 660 published 1920 by the Andrew Jenson History Company - a compilation of Biographical Sketches of prominent men and women in the Church of Jesus Christ or Latter-day Saints. This book is in the possession of the Roosevelt Stake Relief Society Organization. Aug 16, 1958 - Church News Welch Sea Captain Preaches Gospel in Native Land "Are you afraid to die?" Captain Dan Jones, lying beside Joseph Smith on the floor of Carthage Jail, heard the Prophet whisper these words. The warm air of that June night in 1844 was charged with a tense foreboding. The little Walsh river boat master asked: "Has that time come, think you? Engaged in such a cause I do not think that death would have many terrors." "You will yet see Wales, and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die," Joseph reassured his companion. Dan Jones left the jail a few hours before the fatal hour of martyrdom. A year later he was standing on his native soil preaching the Gospel. The enthusiasm and power of Elder Jones added momentum to the work already begun. In a year he baptized 700 converts and organized 28 branches. After three years activity, 3603 members had been baptized in Wales and 55 branches organized. Dan Jones had brought about 1000 people per year into the Church. In February 1849, Elder Jones reduced the Church membership in Wales by 249. This number under his leadership sailed from Liverpool bound for America and the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. ADDITIONS TO DAN JONES HISTORY David Lloyd George, once affectionately called Wales "The Little Land behind the Hills". It is known as the land of song and folklore--- of "King Arthur and the Round Table"---of the Island Valley of the Avilion (or Avalon)", and of "Camelot". Edward I of England subtitled it in 1282, and gave to his infant son, the title of "Prince of Wales." From that time on the heir to the British throne has carried that title. "A better people to govern Europe holdeth not", Said Sir Henry Sidney who was sent by Queen Elizabeth to rule Wales. Welsh folklore and song form a rich fabric through British civilization. The "littlest land" has enormous beds of coal and richest minerals of all kinds of any country in the world. From this varied background came the Welsh Saints to Utah, under the leadership of Dan Jones, a native of Flintshire, who was born August 4, 1811. He is familiarly known as Captain Dan Jones, and recognized as the founder of the Welsh Saints. At 32 he had earned for himself a college degree, sailed the seven seas, and immigrated to the United States, where he located in the Mississippi Stated section, and Church History first mentions him as plying a small river steamer called "The Maid of Iowa" up and down the great river. Before this in 1841, he had obtained a license and enrolled at St. Louis to play a small steamer called "The Ripple" for coastal trade and fisheries. In 1843 he brought a company of Saints (in charge of Parley P. Pratt and Levi Richards) to Nauvoo, Illinois from St, Louis. At this time he met the Prophet Joseph Smith, who, in stepping up to him said, "God bless this little man." Soon afterward he became a convert to "Mormonism" and was baptized in the early part of 2843. In May, the Prophet bought a half interest in the "Maid of Iowa" which Jones ran as a ferry boat between Montrose and Nauvoo , and Jones became the trusted friend and body guard of the Prophet, plying the boat to catch river runners who tried to capture Joseph. The last recorded prophecy of the Prophet while they were lying on the mattress on the top floor of Carthage Jail the last night of the Prophet's life (Jones was protecting Joseph on one side with his own body) was this: Joseph asked Dan if he were afraid to die. "Has that time come?" asked Jones. "Engaged in such a cause, I do not think death would have many terrors." Joseph replied, "You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die." A little later he sent Jones with a letter to Governor Ford. History states he took the wrong road and thus avoided the mob who were waiting for him and making up to attack the jail. But Jones testified many times that a white cloud or an apparition appeared at the end of the road, which his horse would not penetrate, which shielded him from the mob's view. Turning he went the other way, delivered his message to Ford who paid not the slightest heed to Joseph's requests, and when Dan tried to get back into he jail to his chief, the guards refused him to enter again. Thus, within a few hours, he evaded death twice by divine guidance to fulfill that far-reaching prophecy of the Prophet on his last night in mortality. A few months later, Dan Jones was on his way to Wales, his native country, as a missionary. He was a vigorous little man with deep set eyes, high cheek bones and thick hair, short of stature, but with vigor, forcefulness, ingenuity and initiative to make up for his size. He could speak eloquently and rapidly in either his native Welsh or in the Queen's English, with vividness sparkling with figures of speech. He could hold his listeners spellbound for hours, whether they were tough miners or country gentlemen. On his arrival in Liverpool, England, he was assigned to Wales. He proceeded at once to Myrthyr Tydfil, where he organized himself at once to the Welsh Conference and commenced preaching the Gospel with such success that in the course of four years he and his companions became the means of baptizing and adding to the Church about 4000 souls in Wales. Dan Jones also circulated thousands of pamphlets in the Walsh language. Persecution raged against him, but the more his opponents persecuted him, the better success he had. Elder Jones published a monthly periodical in Welsh entitles "Phophy d y Jubil" (The Prophet of the Jubilee). Among other publications was the "Compendium" or book or references (268 pages) illustrative of the doctrines of the Church. All the publishing was done in Myrthyr Tydfil. Having finished his mission in Wales, Captain Jones sailed from Liverpool February 26, 1849 with 249 emigrating Saints on board the ship "Buena Vista." The boat was a leaky one that the English said, "Let them have it and it will go down with all the damned Mormons on board." But Jones, being seaworthy and wise, repaired the ship and with prayers each day for safety they came across the ocean; unleaded everything upon the docks (much of it water soaked and spoiled,) and the ship sank in the harbor. With their wealth of melody and song the Welsh Saints came ashore carrying some of them, their crude harps and strings of hair or leather, even though they knew space in wagons would be limited. But they couldn't leave their music behind. Leaving New Orleans, the Welshmen took a steamer, "Highland Mary" up the Mississippi to Missouri. But death rode with them, for cholera claimed sixty lives, about one fourth of the company. They landed in Kanesville, Iowa in May 1849. George A. Smith wrote as follows, while crossing the plains: "Captain Dan Jones understands his duty and surely he has done nobly in building up the Kingdom of God in his native land and conducting the company he has across the mighty deep." Arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the so-called Welsh settlement was formed on the west bank of the Jordan River. Many of them later went to Wales, San Pete County, where their descendents still reside. Those on the west bank of the Jordan moved to the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Wards in Salt Lake City. They arrived under the leadership of Dan Jones and were practically the introduction of the Welsh element into the Church, and were the first foreign speaking company to enter the valley. Shortly after Brigham Young called together some of Dan Jones Welshmen to form a choral group, and appointed John Parry from Jones own native Flintshire in northern Wales to head the song group. He was a gifted musician. The first General Conference of the Church was held in the Bowery, first Tabernacle in the desert, in April 1850. At this conference the Welsh Choir sand their way into history and into the hearts of all who listened. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Joseph Smith. Thus was formed the present famed tabernacle choir. God needed music for His Church. In the fall of 1849, Dan Jones was called to accompany Parley P. Pratt and others on an exploring expedition. He was a great organizer with much executive ability. So were the average Welsh people. They have contributed to Utah a wealth of service, loyalty, and behavior that is outstanding and can never be measured. From the "Little Land of Song" has come a rich heritage of the west. The exploring company returned to Salt Lake City early in 1850. After that, we find Dan Jones prominently associated with public affairs in the city. He was often sent east to help Saints enroute to Utah. Later in the year of 1851, he was called to locate in Manti where he was elected first mayor of the city, April 7, 1851. There he also ran a threshing machine and took part in all kinds of pioneer labor. In August 1852, he was called on a second mission to Wales, during which he again did splendid work in his native country and published the "Udgorn Scion." Returning from his mission in 1856, he had charge of a large company of Welsh Saints, 703 souls, who crossed the ocean in the ship "Samuel Curling" which sailed from Liverpool, July 6, 1856. In 1856 while coming across the plains to Salt Lake, Dan Jones noticed the conditions of the Martin Handcart Company, and hurried to Salt Lake to report. He stated "The train was strung out for 3 or 4 miles. There were old men pulling and tugging at their carts, many of which were loaded with sick wives and children. We saw little children, 6 and 8 years of age, struggling through the snow and mud. As night came on, the mud and snow froze to their clothing." Early in 1856 Captain Dan Jones commended navigating the Great Salt Lake in the "Timely Gull", a small boat owned by Governor Brigham Young. The little vessel was anchored in the Black Rock Harbor, where Jones and his family lived. February 12, 1857 with a general cargo - mainly composed of cedar wood, fine salt and flagging for sidewalks, yards, and cellar floors, which articles were offered for sale. The "Timely Gull" was the first vessel of any consequence over launched up the waters of the Great Salt Lake. In 1859 it was suggested that the stone coal which had just been discovered in Wales, should be hauled from that place to the head of Utah Lake, from which point Jones would boat it across the lake, down the Jordan River into Salt Lake to supply the citizens with fuel. This venture seemingly did not prove a success. ARTICLE ALSO WRITTEN IN THE CHURCH NEWS JOSEPH SMITH'S IMP by William Hartley In Carthage Jail, Joseph Smith promised Dan Jones, a Welsh ship captain and new convert, that the small man would fill an important mission to his homeland. The captain then commenced a ministry in Wales that reads today like chapter from the Book of Acts. For, like Paul of old, Brother Jones healed the sick, cast out devils, caused near riots, preached powerfully and converted hundreds. Two abilities made him a great missionary. First, he was more warrior than calm proselytor. "We fight hard for all we get and contend toe to toe, and point to point for every inch of ground we fain: he said, adding, "And who would not fight when immortal souls are the prize and laurels of victory?" Was it was, and enemies, dubbing him "Joseph Smith's imp," fought Mormonism verbally, in writing, and sometimes with rocks and fists. His second gift, his main weapon in the cause, was ability to speak eloquently, even poetically, in both Welsh and English, in a way to melt hostile hearts and hold audiences spellbound for hours. In the summer of 1847 he tried to hold meetings in a town of 12,000 but was hauled immediately before a public hearing. Crowds came, too. The mayor "was in a hasty stew, reading a long catalogue of charges," and wanted the missionary jailed. After a dozen tries, Elder Jones finally got to speak. His words softened the mayor who soon tried to schedule a meeting hall for the elder. The mayor called in the aldermen to whom the elder gave a "broadside" each in turn until after midnight. His public defense "drew us the almost universal sympathy of the city." At meetings the next day his review of persecutions Welsh Mormons received in their native land caused the sergeant of police and others to weep like babies. During Elder Jones' four-year mission he and a dozen local missionaries converted about 1000 countrymen per year, and the Church grew from just a few branches to 55 branches and 3603 members. His second four-year mission, in the 1850's, saw another 2000 people baptized. Five years after his last mission, he died at Provo, Utah, at age 49.

CAPTAIN DAN JONES What more can I say than that he was valiant to the end. He joined the Church in Nauvoo and was a bodyguard to the Prophet Joseph. After receiving Joseph Smith’s last prophecy he went on to fulfill 2 missions to Wales. He is still known as the ’Welch Prophet’. No matter the persecutions and all that took place he never faltered. True to the end.