t the trouble was that many wanted to
get rich so fast that oftimes they would cheat each other. This of course
was inspired by the evil one, who did his best to stop the progress of the
Church. It was a very hard trial for Joseph and those of his brethren who
stood by him to see so many leading men fall away into wickedness.
Again, you may also wonder how men who have been in the company of the
Prophet and who have seen angels and heavenly visions can deny the faith,
but the fact is they sometimes do. The whole secret is this:
No matter how much a person has seen or how much he knows, if he sins and
does not repent, the Spirit of God will leave him, and he will be in the
dark. It then becomes an easy matter for him to fall away from the Church.
During the two years named above, four of the Twelve Apostles and many of
the leading men apostatized; and then, not satisfied with so doing, they
began to join the mobs who persecuted Joseph and the Saints. This led the
Church leaders to remove to Missouri, and soon after nearly all the Saints
followed them to the land of Zion.
Topics.--1. The calling of the Twelve Apostles. 2. Calling of the
Seventy. 3. The Kirtland Temple. 4. The apostasy at Kirtland.
Questions and Review.--1. From what body were the first Twelve Apostles
called? 2. Who chose the names? 3. Name the first Twelve Apostles? 4. Name
the present Twelve. 5. What is the duty of the Twelve? 6. What is the duty
of the Seventies? 7. How many Seventies' quorums are there in the Church?
8. Tell about the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. 9. Who appeared to
Joseph and Oliver in the temple? 10. What causes many to fall from the
Church? 11. What is the only safe way to remain faithful.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MISSION TO ENGLAND.
In the year 1837, when the evil one was trying with all his might to
overthrow the Church both at Kirtland and in Missouri, the Lord told Joseph
that the time had come for "something new" to be done. This was to send
missionaries to England and open the gospel door to that people.
Elder Heber C. Kimball was chosen to take the lead of this mission, and
with him went Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding, John Goodson,
Isaac Russell, and John Snider.
This was the first mission to any foreign country, and in those days of
slow travel, a trip to Europe was no small matter. The brethren set out on
their journey without purse or scrip, but the Lord opened up their way, and
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