Elder Rowan Berry is about the same age as John Brown, the first missionary in Alabama and, it seems based on his talk in Sacrament meeting, he has the same exceptional speaking ability.
The experience of missionary John Brown in Alabama is typical of other early missionaries. Community members assumed the 17-year-old dressed in ragged clothing was a simple cotton picker. They gathered to hear him speak one day in 1843, expecting entertainment by mocking the young preacher. After he began, however, the crowd members silenced and "were as motionless as statues of marble." Brown was well-treated afterward.
In early 1844, there were approximately 120 members of the Church in Alabama in three congregations. Three months later, in areas including Mississippi, there were approximately 190 members in seven congregations. Early converts were often baptized in the Alabama River, and many immigrated West to avoid persecution. In 1930, there were nearly 2,520 members of the Church in Alabama. Several members came to Alabama employed by the military and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Today, there are over 38,000 members of the Church in 7 stakes / 76 wards and branches in Alabama's singular mission. The Birmingham Temple, the only temple in "the heart of Dixie" is located in Gardendale, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. The 10,700 square foot temple, with two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms, was dedicated on September 3, 2000 by President Gordon B. Hinckley to become the Church's 98th operating temple.
Nuestros pensamientos y oraciones están contigo, Elder Berry.
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