Point of Ayr Lighthouse: Spreading the Light of the Gospel

Point of Ayr lighthouse is a Grade II listed building near the village of Talacre on the North Wales coast. It was built to mark the mouth of the Dee Estuary and the approach to Liverpool docks. Unusually, it sits on the beach, at considerable distance from the sea at low tide, where pools of water remain among the rocks surrounding the lighthouse. This is a place where early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were baptised. Elias Morris was one such convert. He noted in his journal:

‘In March 1849 Mr John Parry came to preach to Abergele. My mother invited him to tea. When I heard of it I was angry at my mother for welcoming such deluders. But on the fifteenth I went to listen for myself. I believed his testimony and offered myself a candidate for baptism. I went with Mr Parry to … Point of Air Light House. There I was baptised in the sea. Slept at Brother Samuel Brooks w[h]ere we rejoiced together that night.’

Elias Morris was a stone mason by trade. He quickly became very involved with the newly established branch in nearby Abergele. And there, in 1849, he helped to build the small stone chapel which still stands attached to the Bull Hotel. He emigrated in 1852. In Utah Territory his masonry skills and experience were much in demand. In addition to private homes and municipal buildings he worked on three temples: Salt Lake Temple, St. George Utah Temple and Manti Utah Temple. In 1865 he returned to the British Isles as a missionary and served for four years.

Another early convert with strong ties to Point of Ayr was Samuel Brooks, the lighthouse keeper from 1825 until 1856. He and his wife Emma were baptised in 1848 and later emigrated to the United States with a large group of Welsh Saints. Tragically, Emma passed away in the Midwest just before the company began their trek west. Samuel died shortly after arriving in Salt Lake City.

For Elias Morris, the Brooks family and many others, Point of Ayr was more than a lighthouse guiding sailors to safety—it became a beacon for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.