Good morning ladies and gent's. I hope your Summer is going well. Last week I was driving to church, but the call of the mountains was stronger than the call of the wood benches. I followed the promptings of the mountains last week, so I hope you had a chance to visit and mingle during class time.

Today's lesson is titled, "Go Ye into All the World, and Preach My Gospel." It seems as though the lesson would be primarily about missionary work, but it is primarily a summary of some events of the Kirtland period. In the end, we will go where we decide to go with the lesson, but I thought I'd give you that backdrop.

Since we have a lot to cover today, let's dispense with the opening prayer.

To start, how many of you have served full-time missions? Okay, that's quite a few. I have a few questions for those of you who served. How many of you found your missionary experience to be difficult? Wow, pretty much all of you. How many of you found your missionary experience to be fulfilling? Okay, about half. How many of you found it to be a significant positive influence in your life? About a third. How many of you found it to be a traumatic, negative experience in your life? About a third. Wow, that's a little more than I had expected. For those of you who didn't answer that it was a positive or negative experience, would you care to share some of the aspects of your mission that you cherish.

Yes, Sam. Thanks for that comment. I understand that some people form lifelong friendships with people they meet on their mission.

Thank you Tom. I know a few people who met their spouses on their missions. Some say that's a blessing... and some say that's a curse....

Yes, Glenda. Oh really... You got to see members of the college swim team naked at the beach... Tell you what Glenda, let's discuss that one out in The Foyer after class.

Yes, Rex. That is really one of the key things I cherish as well. I found my mission to be a chance to mature, grow, and become more focused. I found college after my mission to be much more easy than college before my mission.

Okay, let's move into the lesson a little more directly. First, let's talk about some of the important things that happened in Kirtland. What are some of the things in the church's history that are important that happened during the Kirtland period?

Yes, Glenda, the Law of Consecration, which failed miserably, was given.

Yes, Tom, the Word of Wisdom was given not as a commandment after Emma complained about having to clean up tobacco cha and spit. I keep wondering why Joseph didn't clean up the mess. Did he consider himself above that? That reminds me of an interesting point that most folks don't understand. During this time frame, there were two forms of medicine that were most popular. The allopathic line of medicine was most popular in the cities. That included the administration of mercury, antimony, and other harsh chemicals and minerals. The Thomsonian medical tradition was most popular in rural areas, particularly the northern rural areas. It was essentially applied ethnobotany or herbalism as it is commonly known today. Joseph Smith was a big supporter of Thomsonian medicine. A couple of years ago, I read a book on the basic foundations of Thomsonian medicine. I thought I was reading section 89 of the D&C. The same fundamental basic concepts were there. Many people think that the Word of Wisdom included some amazing previously unknown insights into how to eat in a healthy fashion. In the end, it was a repetition of the most popular medical approach in the rural northern states.

Yes Jessica, we also learned more about the Second Coming. Several people were given blessings in that time frame informing them that they would live to see the Second Coming.

Yes Sally, what is your question? I'm a little vague on the genesis of that idea. I know that Brigham Young did give some patriarchal blessings that stated that the person would serve a mission to the moon to the Quaker-like people. I don't recall specifically if Joseph brought that up in Kirtland.

Yes Brent, the first revelation permitting polygamy was given in 1831 in Kirtland. It was never canonized.

Anyways, there were a lot of important thing that happened during the Kirtland period. There are many more things we could discuss, but let's move on.

In D&C 88:81, we read: "Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor." In essence the members of the church were told to be missionaries. The lesson brings out the point that the members in Kirtland sacrificed greatly to share the gospel. There are several faith-promoting stories that illustrate the point, but we will skip those.

It would have been difficult to be a missionary at that time with no structured programs, no scripts to use for teaching, no tried and true door approaches, no referrals, etc. But there were many missionaries that went forth. Some were successful and some were not. Much of it depended on luck of the draw. Much depended upon the personal charisma of the missionary or missionaries.

When I think of the history of the church, I find interesting points of contradiction. We are taught almost incessantly the point that families are first. I think of many of the early missionaries and how they were asked to abandon their responsibilities for their families and go on missions to far away lands for unknown, extended periods of time. Why would the church ask members to do things which contradict one of the fundamental messages of the church?

Yes, Brent. I can understand your perception that the number one message that the church teaches is obedience. But obedience to whom?

Yes Sally. So you believe it is obedience to God. Okay, anyone else?

Back to you Brent. You believe it is fundamentally obedience to your priesthood leaders? What does everyone else think, is it obedience to God, or obedience to priesthood leaders?

Yes, Karl. So your understanding is that church dogma teaches us that priesthood leaders are God's representatives, so if we are obedient to our priesthood leaders we are being obedient to God? Oh I understand, you don't really believe that, but that is what you have been taught.

Okay, the next section talks about the apostles' mission to England. The lesson manual spoke of Section 112, the fulfilled prophecy and the success of the apostles in England. As I was reading Section 112, I was struck by a couple of prophecies that I would like to discuss briefly.

In D&C 112:4, addressed to Thomas Marsh, we read: "Let thy heart be of good cheer before my face; and thou shalt bear record of my name, not only unto the Gentiles, but also unto the Jews; and thou shalt send forth my word unto the ends of the earth." I found that to be rather odd. Thomas Marsh did not go on a mission to the Jews, nor to the ends of the earth. He went to England. So it looks like a couple of prophecies didn't quite work out here. How about another one?

In D&C 112:115, we read: "Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come." First off, I suspect that there had been some "rebelling" against Joseph. I wonder why people would rebel? It also says that the keys were given to Joseph and not be taken from him until the Second Coming. That one doesn't look like it worked out either. Why don't we make a big deal about these types of unfulfilled prophecies?

Thank you Sally for the reminder and the quote. Let me restate what Sally has told us. Elder Oaks made a shocking comment when speaking of the book Emma Hale Smith: A Mormon Enigma. He said, "My duty as a member of the Council of the Twelve is to protect what is most unique about the LDS church, namely the authority of the priesthood, testimony regarding the restoration of the gospel, and the divine mission of the Savior. Everything else may be sacrificed in order to maintain the integrity of those essential facts. Thus, if Mormon Enigma reveals information that is detrimental to the reputation of Joseph Smith, then it is necessary to try to limit its influence and that of its authors."

Perhaps we don't hear much about these unfulfilled prophecies the because it may be detrimental to the reputation of Joseph Smith as a prophet.

The last section of the lesson discusses the fact that there were many dissenters. Many people left the church in Kirtland. We are running out of time, but there were many reasons for people to re-assess their commitment to Joseph and to the church, the bank incident; initial revelation on polygamy; the power struggles; the initial looks at evolving power structure, theology, scripture, re-written and corrected revelations, etc. Still there were many who were faithful and loyal to Joseph and to the church through this time period.

This is a fascinating period in church history. The average member knows almost nothing of this history. It is interesting and fascinating. Read up on it. If you read a little, you will know more than 99% of the members.

Brent, would you give us a closing prayer. Thanks.

See you next week. The lesson is on being chastened and tried, even as Abraham. I guess I could use a little more chastening. Or maybe not...