The Good Heart of Heber C. Kimball

Lynn and I are reading a chapter on Mormon missionary work written by Elder Dallin Oaks and Elder Lance Wickman on missionaries and proselytizing in various religions. In telling the history of missionary work in our Church, they share a revealing story about Heber C. Kimball, Lynn's great-great-great grandfather proceeding his epic mission journey to Preston, England. Because we hope to be in Preston for our Church legal service mission and temple service before the end of the year, I want to share the experience. I am struck by the fact that the Prophet Joseph Smith was impressed to seek out and extend the mission call to young Heber when he could have chosen from a large number of faithful leaders around him. I believe it shows that the Lord and the prophet recognized a special spirit and a good heart in this humble and obedient servant.

"The calling of missionaries to England is representative of the boldness with which this missionary work was undertaken and the spirit of sacrifice with which it was carried out. This first overseas initiative came in June 1837, at a time when the still newly organized church consisted of only about fourteen thousand members struggling for economic survival on the frontiers of western America, in Ohio and Missouri. During a Sunday meeting, the Prophet Joseph Smith whispered to Heber C. Kimball, one of the twelve apostles, that the Spirit of the Lord had spoken that Heber should 'go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.' Heber recorded his reaction:

       O, Lord, I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I      
       go to preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and
       piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial!

"The idea of such a mission was almost more than Heber could bear, but his faith and obedience prevailed:

        However, all these considerations did not deter me from the path of duty; the moment I
        understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing
        that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I
        needed; and although my family was dear to me, and I should have to leave them almost
        destitute, I felt that the cause of truth, the Gospel of Christ, outweighed every other
        consideration.

"In less than two months Kimball and several associates were preaching to congregations in England. Eight months later hundreds of converts had joined the church and many branches had been organized."
                       From Chapter 12, The Missionary Work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
                       Saints, in John Witte, Jr. and Richard C. Martin, eds., Sharing the Book: Religious
                       Perspectives on the Rights and Wrongs of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: OIrbis Books,
                       1999).