Heber C. Kimball — Joseph Smith's Whispered Call to Open England to the Gospel (June 4, 1837)

“On Sunday, the 4th day of June, 1837, the Prophet Joseph came to me, while I was seated in front of the stand, above the sacrament table, on the Melchisedek side of the Temple, in Kirtland, and whispering to me, said, 'Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.' The idea of such a mission was almost more than I could bear up under. I was weak, and felt myself one of the very weakest of God's servants. I asked Brother Joseph what I should say when I got there; he told me to go to the Lord and He would guide me, and speak through me by the same spirit that directed him. My feelings on this occasion were such as I cannot describe. I felt of my own weakness and unfitness for such a work, and that I was a man of 'a stammering tongue,' and altogether unfit for such a great work. I felt almost ready to sink under the burden which was placed upon me. However, I went home and told my wife, Vilate, all about it. She was a woman of great faith, and she encouraged me to go, and said she would pray for me, and that the Lord would bless me and bring me back again. I felt that I could not leave my family, but I knew that the Lord had spoken, and I felt that I must go. I started on the 13th of June, 1837, in company with Elders Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, and Joseph Fielding. We arrived in Preston, England, on the 22nd of July, and on the 30th of the same month, we preached the first principles of the Gospel in the Rev. James Fielding's chapel. The Lord was with us, and the work of the Lord began to spread, and many were baptized into the Church. We opened the door of salvation to that nation, and the work has continued to roll forth from that day to this.”

— Heber C. Kimball, as recorded in Orson F. Whitney, The Life of Heber C. Kimball