a sense of urgency

"... go to the Ohio; and there i will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with the power from on high;"
D&C 38: 32

it was said the 2 purposes for the saints stay in kirtland were; first, get the law; second, be empowered by on high... they accomplished that and much much more.

many of the apostles call the Kirtland area the "crown jewel" of church history sites. Sixty five sections of the D&C where revealed here; the first presidency was organized here, Joseph was first recognized as the president of the church in kirtland; the organization of the church was set up; the school of the prophets was the first formal missionary training program and on and on. it was overwhelming to hear all that happened during the 8 years the saints resided in the kirtland area... the most impressive and inspiring was the fact that 4 of the 5 known visitations that God the Father and the Savior made during the organization of the church were made in kirtland.

- in the room above the whitney store where the school of the prophets was held ( pictured above red rm with the benches)
- the kirtland temple
- the school house on the morley farm (wooded area)
- in the revelation room at the johnson farm. (pictured with bright orange like trim moldings benches and a table)

i stood in each of these rooms, or near the site where the school house once stood... again it is an awe inspiring feeling to know that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ were here. they appeared and instructed the leadership of the church re: the organization, the structure and the doctrine which was to again be Christ's church here on the earth. the oath and covenant of the priesthood, the revelation on the 3 degrees of glory, the word of wisdom... Christ was setting up his kingdom and joseph was his prophet. i stood in those rooms, again i wondered what it must have been like, what that must have felt like... it is a special place... i stood in those places

It was also made known to joseph, in the morley schoolhouse, during the first official conference of the church that the church would eventually move to the rocky mountains and that the gospel would spread to north and south america and the whole earth. twenty three newly named High Priests where in the room, these were rough frontiersman... not exactly high society folks. i'm sure they had no idea where the rockies were and may just have started to understand what a temple was all about, or who or when or where each of them would be called on missions. they were quality, hardworking, ordinary people. they walked by faith, when joseph told them of the word of wisdom revelation they instantly supported, walked to the fireplace, threw in their pipes and chewing tobacco and never touched the stuff again. during this first conference satan again made his presence felt, just as he did in the sacred grove, Joseph had to cast out devils so the church could roll on and these men were being taught what they must do.

eight years was all joseph would have to set up the church, prepare his people, send out missionaries to begin spreading the gospel. he had seen what the church was to become, i also believe he knew he wouldn't be there when most of it would happen.

when joseph and emma arrived in kirtland in feb. of 1831, there were 150 saints... by june of the same year there were close to 2000. growth and industry had to happen. imagine the number of families who sacraficed all just to get there with nothing more than the shirts on their back. image what the saints that were there had to do to welcome and care for them, imagine the amount of work that needed to be done to house, feed and protect them, imagine the strains of a prophet to care for his people, organize a community, as well as prepare them for the trials he knew would come.

we know he grew into his calling as a prophet, he also had to grow into his leadership role. he knew and was determined to get all that he could done before he had to leave this earth. kirtland was a place of learning, of industry and of preparation. the Lord never let the saints rest. each family had to set up their own household, as well as build a temple, and build all the necessary support facilities of a growing community as the surrounding sawmills, printers, grist millers etc stopped services to a growing mormon community... we often look to brigham as the example of a great colonizer and leader, that he was... my guess is he became that by modeling himself after many of the things joseph must have taught him.

throughout the day i was struck by the magnitude of the calling joseph had, by the things he knew he had to get done, by the short time he had to do it in. i have felt that each modern day prophet feels a sense of urgency to get things done; ie Joseph setting up the framework of the church in this despensation; Brigham to trek west; Pres. Bensen a renewed importance on the Book of Mormon, Pres. Hinckley the building of temples. the Lord gives his prophet instruction on what they must do and they have so little time here on earth to get it done. joseph knew what he was called to do and worked tirelessly to get it done. in his last hours in the carthage jail he spoke fondly of his time in kirtland. it was here that he accomplished the most, it was here that ordinary folks, working together, accomplished extraordinary things. i had great respect for the prophet before i got here, i can't even express the feelings i have for him now.