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| Orson Pratt |
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| Lyman E Johnson |
The
Eastern States Mission was organized on 6 May 1839 as the second mission of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first missionaries to serve in
New Jersey were Elders Orson Pratt and Lyman E Johnson. They began their
service in 1832. In 1837, Elders Parley P Pratt, Benjamin Winchester, and
Jedediah M Grant followed. Branches were formed in Toms River, Paterson, Lodi
Print Works, Wacake, Newark, and Mead’s Basin. The following are excerpts from
the journal of Parley P Pratt, written shortly before the mission was
organized: “…we preached, advertised,
printed, published, testified, visited, talked, and prayed in apparent vain. To
all appearance there was no interest or impression on the minds of the people
in regard to the fullness of the Gospel. We hired chapels and advertised, but
the people would not hear so we felt as though we had spent our money, time,
and effort in vain. …The Lord gave unto me a revelation concerning the
missionary work…The Lord had many people in this area and through the Holy
Spirit he would gather them into his fold…Because of our labors and diligence
in serving the Lord, I knew there would be more doors opened to us and more
people to teach than we could handle. ..As we continued to preach and teach,
branches of the church were formed in New Jersey, Brooklyn, and throughout
various parts of Long Island.”
Thus,
in 1839, Elder Parley P Pratt had organized a branch in Jersey City where he
had invested considerable proselyting efforts.
By
1848, twenty-one branches of the Church existed in New Jersey. When President
Joseph Smith Jr called for the Saints to “gather” to Nauvoo, most of the
branches moved to Illinois. As late as 1879, there was still a small group of
Saints in Perth Amboy. In the 1920’s there was again a branch in Newark.
The
name of the mission was changed from Eastern States Mission in 1974 to the New
York, New York Mission, New Jersey being a part of that mission. By 1987, the
growth of the Church made a further change in boundaries advisable and the New
Jersey Morristown Mission was formed. On 1 July 1995, the New Jersey Morristown
Mission was split once again, to create the New Jersey Cherry Hill Mission. In
the New Jersey Morristown Mission today, there are approximately 35 branches
and wards in the Morristown, Caldwell, and Scotch Plains Stakes as well as the
Paterson District.
Presently
the New Jersey Morristown Mission has 130 missionaries. The languages of these
missionaries are English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Diverse language skills are
greatly needed in this multi-ethic area. Converts to the Church today come from
a wide variety of backgrounds—Europe, Africa, Central and South America, the
Caribbean Islands, the Middle East, and Asia.
Past
Mission Presidents: President Dan J Workman (1987-1990), President Clinton D
Davis (1990-1993), President Boyd R Poulton (1993-1996), President Bruce A
Schreiner (1996-1999), President Robert L Webb (1999-2002), President Merrill R
Norman (2002-2005), President Stephen K Parkinson (2005-2008), President A
Lee Bahr (2008-2011), and President Jon Jeppson (1 July 2011-)
