The Mission of the Twelve to Britain — D&C 118 Prophecy Fulfilled at Far West (April 26, 1839)

In July 1838, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation (Doctrine and Covenants 118) calling the Twelve Apostles to serve a mission to Britain. They were to "take leave of my saints in the city of Far West, on the twenty-sixth day of April next, on the building-spot of my house" — that is, they were to depart from Far West, Missouri, on April 26, 1839.

The revelation could not have come at a worse time. On October 27, 1838, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued his infamous "Extermination Order," commanding the Missouri state militias that all Mormons must be exterminated or driven from the state. By April 1839, the Saints had been completely expelled from Far West, and the area was saturated with anti-Mormon mobs who knew of the revelation and openly taunted the Saints that it could never be fulfilled. In November 1838, Joseph Smith and the First Presidency had been arrested and incarcerated in Liberty Jail until April 1839.

Despite these tragic conditions, Brigham Young — as the senior apostle — organized both the exodus to Illinois and the fulfillment of the revelation. Apostasy plagued the Church, worsened by the Kirtland bank collapse and by the Vision of the Three Degrees of Glory (D&C 76), which offended some members who wanted a vengeful God rather than a merciful one. Four apostles had apostatized; Quorum President Thomas B. Marsh had turned against the Church, and Apostle David W. Patten had been killed by a mob.

In March 1839, the Twelve held a conference in Quincy, Illinois, and debated whether the prophesied return to Far West was even possible. Some argued that because of the changed circumstances, the Lord would not expect the Twelve to carry through — they could just as easily leave on their mission from Illinois. Because the Twelve were wanted, dead or alive, in Missouri, many found it hard to believe the Lord would require them to return to the very spot from which they had been driven.

"But I felt differently," Brigham Young reported, "and so did the Twelve who were with me." All members of the Twelve present agreed to risk everything and return to Far West in order to fulfill the revelation.

On April 8, several antagonists confronted Theodore Turley, a Seventy, and taunted him with a copy of the revelation, promising and threatening that if the Twelve tried to return, they would be killed — the mobs would be waiting for them.

Despite the dangers, before dawn on the morning of April 26, 1839, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Theodore Turley, and other Church leaders secretly met at the designated temple-lot spot in Far West. During the short service, Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith were ordained to the apostleship, other ordinations took place, and several dissidents were excommunicated. The prophecy was fulfilled exactly as revealed.

Upon leaving, Theodore Turley stopped at the home of the dissident who had threatened him earlier and announced that the meeting had taken place, the prophecy had been fulfilled, and the dissident had been excommunicated.

Despite abject poverty and illness, eight apostles accepted the call to serve in Britain: Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Parley P. Pratt, Willard Richards, and George A. Smith. These men became the principal leaders of the Church for the next sixty years. Three members of the Twelve — William Smith, John E. Page, and Lyman Wight — rejected the call and were eventually excommunicated.

The impact of the mission of the Twelve to the British Isles cannot be overstated. The apostles gained invaluable leadership and spiritual experience, learned to follow the Spirit, and witnessed countless miracles and spiritual manifestations. The mission directly resulted in thousands of convert baptisms and indirectly in tens of thousands more. Over ten thousand of these converts left Britain and strengthened the struggling Church in America. By June 1842 there were 8,245 members in the United Kingdom; by 1847 there were 18,000; and by 1851 there were 33,000 members — not counting the over 11,000 who had already immigrated to America. In 1851, there were more members of the Church in the United Kingdom than in America.

This historic episode demonstrates that the promises of the Lord will be fulfilled — and that "faith precedes the miracle."