William Willes
Encyclopedia
William Willes was an early Latter-day Saint songwriter and, along with Hugh Findlay
Hugh Findlay
Hugh Findlay was one of the first two Mormon missionaries to enter India and initiated Mormon missionary work in the Shetland Islands.-Conversion:...

, was one of the first Mormon missionaries
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

 to enter India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Willes was born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He was well-educated and by the age of 22 became head of a boys' school in Cardiff, Wales. He lost his position as a result of joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1848. In 1851 he and Findlay traveled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, where they met limited success. He sailed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1855.

Willes served as a "Sabbath School
Sunday School (LDS Church)
Sunday School is an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . All members of the church and any interested nonmembers, age 12 and older, are encouraged to participate in Sunday School.-Purpose:...

 missionary" after his arrival in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

. He was an accomplished singer and premiered a song by Eliza R. Snow at the Salt Lake City July 4 celebration in 1861.

Willes has the following hymns to his credit in the current LDS hymnal
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985 book)
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official hymn book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....

:
  • Come Along, Come Along, 244
  • Thanks for the Sabbath School, 278


Willes has no relation to early Mormon figure William S. S. Willes.
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