Apostles and Prophets Go To The Saints
By Davis Bitton

The assignment [several years ago] of Elders Dallin H. Oaks and Jeffrey R. Holland to be area presidents in the Philippines and Chile, respectively, provokes some historical reflection.

From the beginning of the restoration, an inescapable challenge was for the Church leadership to communicate with local leaders and members. The gathering was one answer, for if converts from near and far all assembled in one place, they could be instructed. Church conferences — soon standardized as a semiannual event — were another answer. Local leaders and members would come into meetings where they could hear their prophet and other general authorities.

But at no point did every single church member gather to a geographical center, and obviously never were all members able to attend general conference.

Sending out published summaries of conferences and official documents served an important purpose, and the different periodicals could convey these to their readers. But this was not the same as having living persons, who could shake hands and hear about problems, speak and inspire, counsel and advise.

One of the stated responsibilities of the Twelve Apostles, when that body was created in 1835, was to be "special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world" (D&C 107:23).

With the mission of the Twelve to England, starting in 1837, a pattern was established of apostolic leadership. With headquarters in Liverpool, England, one or more apostles presided over the British Mission.  They also, with the opening of other missions, took responsibility for missionaries and members on the continent.

Interestingly, too, for a generation or more individual apostles were assigned to live at places like Ogden, Brigham City, Logan, St. George, and, later, the Mexican colonies.

It is scarcely unprecedented for general authorities and even apostles to provide ecclesiastical leadership in places away from church headquarters.

From the entrance of the pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, or at least from 1848 (when settlements began to be established away from Salt Lake City), Brigham Young faced the challenge of communicating with the people. One device, of course, was the annual and semiannual general conference, to which, in principle, people could come from near and far.

But quite early he also recognized the value of going out and seeing the people in their home environment, which became steadily more difficult as settlements were established farther and farther from the center. In 1862, for example, as historian Gordon Irving has described in an excellent article about these tours, President Young and his party traveled south, stopping and holding meetings in Pleasant Grove, Payson, Nephi, Round Valley, Beaver, Parowan. At Summit, the road was lined on both sides with cheering, waving schoolchildren. Cedar City, Kanarra, Toquerville, Pocketville, Grafton, Harrisburg, Washington, Santa Clara followed in succession before finally the newly settled St. George was reached.

At each of these locations both going and coming, and at settlements in Sanpete Valley on the return trip, Brother Brigham gave practical encouragement and advice. By the time they finally got back to Salt Lake City, they had been gone for more than three weeks. In thirty public meetings, Brigham had preached a total of twenty-four sermons.

At each stop and others, going north as well as south at different times, the president would listen and learn. He observed with his own eyes, heard reports and complaints from individuals, and obtained answers to questions about the local situation. Crops, buildings, irrigation ditches, needed skills, interpersonal relations — all were topics of interest to him.

But he was especially there to give. Speaking to people individually but especially in public meetings, he counseled and chastised, urged continued faithfulness and increased effort, and inspired the Saints by reminding them over and over again of the large picture. "Without these visits," according to the Deseret News in 1868, "the people might become narrowed up in their feelings."

Traveling by wagon was slow and arduous. When the railroad arrived, the travel was expedited. For at least part of the way, depending on how far the different branch lines had been built after the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the traveling party could go by train. But the old reliance on teams and wagons continued to a certain extent throughout the nineteenth century.

By the mid-twentieth century, it was possible for the president of the Church and other general authorities to travel by train and automobile to stake conferences in the United States. But going overseas was still a major undertaking.

President David O. McKay, whose administration extended from 1951 to 1970, expected he would be remembered for the internationalization of the Church and the construction of temples. Compared to the situation before 1950, some important strides were indeed made. President McKay traveled to Europe — how well I remember his reception by members and missionaries in France! And temples were erected in Switzerland, New Zealand, and England.

But, as the saying goes, we had seen nothing yet. The explosion of missions, stakes, wards, and temples has especially characterized the past twenty or thirty years.

And it came to pass that when Spencer W. Kimball was prophet, seer, and revelator, he and a group of apostles traveled thousands of miles to see the saints of God in different parts of the world.

Okay, I’ll cut the scriptural lingo. But this was indeed true of President Kimball, and I had the unexpected privilege of joining him on one of these trips to Europe in the late 1970s. Not that I was a person of any particular importance, but another member of the presidential party had to cancel at the last minute, and I was asked be a substitute.

It was not a journey to a single destination but to a series of area conferences. The prophet’s party stopped in Paris and then continued to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Dortmund. At each location, we were greeted by local church leaders and taken to a hotel where reservations had been made.

At each place on the evening before the main conference sessions, a cultural program was held. For the benefit of us visitors but also, of course, of the members who had traveled from distant locations in their own or adjacent countries, choirs sang, folk dances were performed, plays or skits were put on. With colorful flags and costumes, youthful exuberance and happy smiles, everyone seemed to rejoice.

It was a quarter of a century since I had finished my mission in France. Yet some of "my" old converts, members, and friends were in attendance. It did my heart good when a priesthood chorus sang vigorously "O Babylon, O Babylon, we bid thee farewell."

And of course the high point for everyone was for the saints to see general authorities, especially their prophet. I will never forget the occasion in Amsterdam when the group of us entered the packed auditorium as a Relief Society chorus sang with tears of joy "Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice." I was thrilled to be a witness of something electric.

Our prophet today still recognizes the great value of making personal contact with the Latter-day Saints. "From the outset [of his presidency]," writes biographer Sheri L. Dew, "President Hinckley desired to get out among the members, thank them for their faith and faithfulness, express his love, and bear testimony of the divinity of the work ... Wherever he traveled he looked for opportunities to touch as many as possible — usually in large congregations, but when possible one-on-one."

Thanks to air travel and the generosity of a donor who makes a private jet available, our president can go to Asia, South America, the islands of the sea, and different parts of Europe. Children in Nigeria and the Netherlands line up with their parents to see their dear leader.

On September 20, 2002, President Hinckley spoke to a group of assembled Saints in Moscow, Russia. Meridian Magazine carried the text of his remarks, including the following:

And so on. It is hard to see how he could have better expressed a message of relevance and love. Certainly those in attendance — and at similar gatherings for conferences and temple dedications throughout the world — will never forget his visit.

"Come listen to a prophet’s voice" — indeed. Not everyone can do that in person, perhaps, and the time may come when the written word and televised image will have to do. But up to the present, the apostles and prophets have seen their mission in large part as getting out among the people, teaching, ministering, and inspiring.