He served as the second president of the British Mission (1838–1840), coordinating the activities of missionaries in sections of the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.

It is significant that of the ten children, at least eight were to spend their lives closely involved with the evangelism of the gospel, albeit within differing religions.

Thomas Fielding served the ministry in the Church of England, initially at Papworth under the rector, Harvey James Sperling.

His sister, Mercy, born 15 June 1807, married fellow Latter Day Saint Robert Blashel Thompson, who served as a missionary to Canada and later became associate editor of Times and Seasons.

She became stepmother to his six children by his first wife and on 13 November 1838 bore him a son, Joseph F. Smith, and later a daughter, Martha Ann.

In June, he accompanied apostles Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, along with four other missionaries on board 'The Garrick', across the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool, where they landed on 19 July 1837.

The early success of this first mission was due largely to the willingness of Joseph's brother, James Fielding, to open his pulpit to the missionaries.

Matthews had established a congregation on Hope Street, Liverpool, adapting principles of the Latter Day Saint gospel to suit his own purposes.

[4] Joseph Fielding had high hopes that his brother and other members of his family remaining in England would join the Church and spent much of the voyage praying to that end.

The decision of the missionaries to go first to Preston, Lancashire, was because Joseph and his friend John Taylor had written about this new, restored gospel to James Fielding.

"[5] In this way, James laid much of the ground work for the conversion of his members to the Mormon faith when they were invited by him to preach in his chapel, which they did for the first time on Sunday 23 July 1837, speaking at two services and again during the week.

Learning of the proposed baptisms, and foreseeing correctly that he was going to lose his flock, James visited Apostle Heber C. Kimball, the mission leader, the night before, forbidding him from doing so.

[6] His brother did not take kindly to losing his flock, most of whom would join the Church, despite a late attempt to have Robert Aitken (an English priest and preacher) offer baptism to his congregation.

He was saddened by his brother's eventual rejection of the Latter-day Saint gospel and confided to his diary that he felt, "rather lonely."

His missionary companions Heber C Kimball and Orson Hyde were busy with their individual evangelism; both were experiencing great success but each tended to work alone.

Elder Kimball, perhaps in keeping with his frontier background, felt more comfortable in spending most of his time in the country areas outside of Preston.

Hyde, an eloquent speaker, he saw as very faithful and diligent, with great power in preaching; so much so that other preachers did not dare come against him.

To Joseph, Elder Kimball was a spiritual giant: "I like brother K's company, but he is so far before me that it casts me down, and I have grieved the Spirit of God by murmuring when I ought to have rejoiced and been thankful."

At other times, however, his diligent service resulted in feelings that he was blessed with both an increase in faith and an enlargement of the mind, "it is evident that I am most pleasing to the Lord when I am most engaged in the work," he confided to his diary.

Fielding was released as mission president when Brigham Young and other apostles arrived in England in 1840, but continued to serve as a missionary until September 1841.

He and his wife and their two children left Liverpool for the United States on 21 September 1841, on board the 'Tyrian', bound for Nauvoo, Illinois via New Orleans, with Joseph leading the company of 207 saints.

The ship slipped anchor and those on board sang, 'How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,' as hats and handkerchiefs were waved in fond farewell.

"Soon all was a dim speck upon the ocean; recorded Parley P Pratt, "a few moments more and they were vanished from view on the wide expanse and lost in the distance.

In New Orleans, the company "took one of the best steamboats (the "General Pratt"), and for 11 shillings English each, and luggage, sailed to St. Louis, 800 or 1000 miles.

Unexpectedly, Joseph and Hannah received a substantial loan of money from her brother in England, George Greenwood.

The group only just crossed the Mississippi River with its nine wagons, 21 cattle and 43 sheep, before Joseph’s land was taken over by the Nauvoo attackers, from where they fired into the city.

Fielding and both of his widowed sisters chose to follow Brigham Young and move west with the greater part of the Saints.

They hastened to the river but the citizens judged it not best to let men leave when they were so much needed, but the sick, the women and children got over as fast as they could.

The group only just crossed the Mississippi River with its nine wagons, 21 cattle and 43 sheep, before Joseph’s land was taken over by the Nauvoo attackers, from where they fired into the city.

They hastened to the river but the citizens judged it not best to let men leave when they were so much needed, but the sick, the women and children got over as fast as they could.