D&C 118

It is from this revelation that I saw, what I consider to be, one of the best examples of faithfulness and obedience.

It is in this revelation that the Lord instructed -

"...let the Twelve be organized; and let men be appointed to supply the place of those who are fallen."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 118:1)

And then to the Twelve, He instructed them -

"...to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.
4 And next spring let them depart to go over the great waters, and there promulgate my gospel, the fulness thereof, and bear record of my name."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 118:3 - 4)

And then He added a very specific commandment -

"Let them take leave of my saints in the city of Far West, on the twenty-sixth day of April next, on the building-spot of my house, saith the Lord."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 118:5)

I'm sure that the Brethren may have considered this charge to be no big deal as great progress was being had in Far West.  But "good times" did not prevail.  Little to their knowledge was that by next spring, the Prophet Joseph Smith and other followers had been incarcerated in the Liberty Jail.  The governor of the State of Missouri had issued an extermination order of all Mormons in the state.  And the saints were forced to leave the state, finding refuge in Quincy, Illinois.  It is under this condition that in the following spring, on April 26th we learn -

"...the Saints had been completely driven from Missouri and into Illinois. Not only that, some of the Missourians knew of the plan of the Twelve to leave from Far West on that date. They were determined to prevent it, so that Joseph Smith would become a false prophet, at least as far as this prophecy was concerned. Any Mormons who entered Missouri were “fair game.”

Nevertheless, the prophecy was fulfilled. Just after midnight, on April 26, 1839, Apostles Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and George A. Smith, along with about twenty other members of the Church, gathered at the Far West Temple site, as a preliminary to the mission of several of the Twelve to England. They sang part of a hymn, rolled a large stone up to the southeast corner of the foundation, all seven of the Apostles present offered prayers, and then the group sang the hymn “Adam-ondi-Ahman.”

We will quote from History of the Church for what happened after this:

 “Thus was fulfilled a revelation of July 8, 1838, which our enemies had said could not be fulfilled, as no ‘Mormon’ would be permitted to be in the state. “As the Saints were passing away from the meeting, Brother Turley said to Elders Page and Woodruff, “Stop a bit, while I bid Isaac Russell [an apostate and enemy to the Church] good bye;” and knocking at the door, called Brother Russell. His wife answered, ‘Come in, it is Brother Turley.’ Russell replied, ‘It is not; he left here two weeks ago;’ and appeared quite alarmed; but on finding it was Brother Turley, asked him to sit down; but the latter replied, ‘I cannot, I shall lose my company.’ ‘Who is your company?’ enquired Russell. ‘The Twelve.’ ‘The Twelve!’ ‘Yes, don't you know that this is the twenty-sixth, and the day the Twelve were to take leave of their friends on the foundation of the Lord's House, to go to the islands of the sea? The revelation is now fulfilled, and I am going with them.’ Russell was speechless, and Turley bid him farewell. “The brethren immediately returned to Quincy, taking with them the families from Tenney's Grove” "(History of the Church, Vol. 3, page 340).  Ridges, David J. (2005-07-01). The Doctrine and Covenants Made Easier, Part 3)

The reason I reference this experience as one of the greatest examples of faithfulness and obedience is that under the conditions that had transpired, I am sure the Twelve could have easily justified that leaving from Quincy would be more than justified.  Why head in the wrong direction just to begin their missions.  The fact is they followed the instructions of the Lord and the Prophet and were blessed accordingly.