Zion's Camp, Temple Visions, and the School of the Prophets

We left off last time with Harrison barely escaping death from cholera on the famous Zion's Camp march.  The story continues:

"When the camp broke up I received an honorable discharge from Lyman Wight our Commander in Chief.  After this I started for home in company with Heber C. Kimball, and arriving at Kirtland, Ohio about the last of July I found my friends well and the saints were exerting themselves to the utmost in their poverty to build the temple.  I received my endowments there in the spring of 1835. (This endowment was not the complete endowment as we know it today.  Harrison and his  wife received the full endowment in the Nauvoo Temple and we will hear more about that later.)
The Lord blessed His people abundantly in that temple with the spirit of prophecy, the ministering of angels, and visions.  I will here relate a vision which was shown to me.

It was near the close of the endowments--I was in a meeting for instruction in the upper part of the temple with about a hundred of the high priests, seventies and elders.  The saints fell to shout "Hosanna" and the spirit of God rested upon me in mighty power and I beheld the room lighted up with a peculiar light such as I had never seen before.   The room looked to me as though it had neither roof nor floor to the building and I beheld Joseph and Hyrum Smith and Roger Orton enveloped in the light.  Joseph exclaimed aloud, "I behold the Savior, the Son of God."  Hyrum exclaimed, "I behold the angels of Heaven."  Brother Orton exclaimed, "I behold the chariots of Israel."  All who were in the room felt the power of God to that degree that many prophesied and the power of God was made manifest, the remembrance of which I shall never forget while I live upon the earth.

The winter of 1836 I attended a high school together with brothers Joseph and Hyrum and most of the heads of the church.  (This is the school of the prophets we study about in church history.  If any of you have been to Kirtland you sureley visited the Newel K. Whitney store.  The school of the prophets was held upstairs.  It was wonderful to visit there and know that Harrison actually spent time in that very room.)  It was a fine opportunity for instruction.  The evenings were mostly spent in meetings for instruction in the principles of our faith and religion.  It was then and there that the lectures in the forpart of the book of Doctrine and Covenants were given.  During this winter and spring members of Zion's Camp were  called together to receive an especial blessing, according to a promise which had been made in the before mentioned revelation.  Out of this number most of the Twelve were selected, and also the first Seventy, of whom I was one.

We had a meeting every Saturday to bless and ordain such as had been called.  I was blessed and ordained under the hands of Joseph Smith, Jr., Joseph Smith Sr., and Sidney Rigdon.

I started the eighteenth of April on a mission to New York and Vermont and returned home September twentieth.  Nothing of importance transpired with me in 1837.  In the winter of 1837 I took a short mission to Ohio in company with Lucious N. Scovil.  While upon this mission, we heard persecution had been raised against the church in the burning of the printing office and the church was leaving for Far West, Missouri.  We returned home immediately and I made preparations and started west with my family on the twenty-sixth of March in company with several other families among whom was Brother Hyrum Smith.  We had an exceedingly hard journey in consequence of a great deal of rain and mud.  Arrived at Far West on the twenty-seventh of May, 1837.

The next day I went to Daviess County with Joseph and Hyrum Smith and some others to look out a new location.  I remained there nine days and helped survey the site for a city.  As a reward for rendering this assistance at that time, Brother Joseph selected me a very fine city lot."

It is exciting to read about all of the historical events we learn about in Sunday School as we study the Doctrine and Covenants and know that our ancestors were there, they were a part of it, and it strengthened their faith and testimony.  I wonder what our descendants will say about us and our historical contributions to the church.  Hopefully they will be grateful for what we did.