to lead a group of missionaries to England in 1837. The mission began work in Preston, Lancashire, England. This was the church's first proselyting effort in England. After the initial baptisms in Preston, the missionaries expanded their efforts to the Ribble Valley. By the time Kimball departed for the United States in 1838, about 1,500 people had been baptized. Kimball returned with a small party to make travel arrangements for the groups and discovered the Latter Day Saints were undergoing considerable strife and pressure in the state of Missouri. While Smith was imprisoned in the Liberty Jail, Brigham Young (now ranking leader of the Quorum) and Kimball organized the removal of approximately 12,000 Latter Day Saint refugees across the border into Illinois. There the church founded the city of Nauvoo and built a temple. Kimball served on the Nauvoo City Council. In September 1839, Kimball left Nauvoo for another mission to England. He did not reach Indiana until October. He made stops at Kirtland to encourage the remaining Saints there to move to Nauvoo and other places and had a long layover in New York City. He sailed from New York on December 19, reaching Liverpool on April 6. Kimball spent 1840 and some of 1841 in England, initially in the area in and around Preston, and later working as a missionary in London. The missionaries began organizing groups of British converts to travel to the United States, beginning in 1840, and to join the main body of the church. After Smith was killed in 1844, succession to the leadership of the church was a divisive issue. Young led the majority of church members across the state line into Iowa and eventually to the Salt Lake Valley. In July 1847, Kimball was one of the first Mormon pioneers to reach the valley. Kimball stood next in leadership in the Quorum to Young. First Presidency Kimball became a member of the new First Presidency in 1847. Kimball led one of three large companies to the Salt Lake Valley in the summer of 1848. He established his families in Utah Territory (he had three wives) and supported them by farming, ranching, milling at the Heber C. Kimball Gristmill, and freighting, in addition to church responsibilities. While in the First Presidency, Kimball received special assignments to supervise the ongoing British Mission and to conduct temple ordinances. He also worked to encourage economic independence