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The Call to Preach

During the 1830s Latter-day Saints commenced missionary work in various parts of the world. After declaring the restored gospel to the inhabitants of New York, missionaries began preaching in Ohio and Missouri; and while elders were serving in these three states, others began preaching in New England, the mid-Atlantic states, and the South. During the early 1830s, missionaries carried the message of the restoration not only into every state of the young nation, but into eastern Canada as well. Before the decade had passed, missionaries from Kirtland and other parts of North America had carried the gospel across the Atlantic to responsive communities in England.

During most of the thirties, Kirtland was the major center for Latter-day Saint missionary activity. Many elders received calls to preach and, endowed with deep convictions, went forth to serve. Sometimes, however, converts were ordained prematurely. Some who accepted calls to preach possessed more enthusiasm than genuine knowledge or ability. Recognizing the need to regulate ordinations and supervise the activities of missionaries, Church leaders residing in Kirtland provided members with instructions and educational experiences designed to enhance their understanding of the gospel and their ability to communicate with others.

Kirtland was a favorable location for organizing and directing the missionary program. A few miles north of the community was the "Old Girdled Road," one of the main highways of the Western Reserve, which connected Cleveland with settlements in western Pennsylvania and New York. Fairport harbor was also nearby; there members could board sailing vessels that would carry them along the shores of Lake Erie. After proceeding east to Buffalo, New York, missionaries could skirt Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and penetrate upper Canada, or they could travel along the Erie Canal to the Hudson River. From the Albany region, elders could move south toward New York City or continue east into New England. While many elders went east from Kirtland, others went south and west. Like the spokes of a wheel, roads radiated from Kirtland to many sections of the Western Reserve. Kirtland was also near the Ohio Canal, which ran through the Western Reserve to the Ohio River. From this juncture individuals could continue directly overland to the southern states or proceed along the Ohio to the Mississippi, which in turn was the main western highway transporting people north and south, from Missouri and Illinois to Mississippi and Louisiana.

An Internal Call to Preach

Some of the first elders who served as missionaries began preaching without having received an official call from Church leaders. They were acting in harmony with a revelation received by the Prophet, which stated: "If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; for behold the field is white already to harvest."