Day 2 of our family vacation started slow and it was so lovely. We are definitely go-go type of people on our trips so it was nice to just take it slower on this trip. In my very brief planning of our trip, I found on the Church website an itinerary for the “history enthusiast”. This fit us completely! So that is what we went with. We definitely learned that what they said would take a full day definitely didn’t take us that long (and I didn’t feel like we were rushing at all). But that just gave us more time to relax and take it easy which we were good with. And we also rearranged two of the days because it made more sense to me to start in Independence.
Independence Visitor’s Center
Our first day of Church history sites put us in Independence and we started at the Independence Visitor’s Center. We got there right when it was opening and the missionary couple that was there was so sweet. Shortly after we got there, a large tour group from Maui came in and they were just lovely. The missionary couple asked if we could join their group and we were happy to. The group was so welcoming. They wanted us in their pictures and were incredibly friendly.
Thoughts – It is such a privilege to be Lydie’s mother. Lydie was a little anxious and so I was sitting away from the group a little bit with her, and it never ceases to amaze me how she draws people in. Before the tour was over, I think half the group knew her name and would call her over to sit by them. She is an angel and such a missionary in her own way.
The videos that they showed in the visitor’s center were really impactful for our family. There was one that showed images from scenes of the early Saints to the music of Come, Come Ye Saints and it was really touching. Maybe it’s because that was how General Conference had ended just two days before or because of the place we were at, but the phrase, “All is well” was really moving.
The second video they showed us was called Only a Stonecutter. This really impacted each of us. There was a phrase in that that we talked a lot about that day – either you act or you are acted upon. We kept thinking about these stories that are so inspiring are about “ordinary” people who were led and answered the call to do extraordinary things. And I just felt so powerfully the need to remember and honor these early Saints and pioneers. And do our best to follow their examples in our world today.
After we left the visitor’s center, we went back to the car so I could change Lydie. And as I was in the car with her, my heart was just so happy as I looked out and saw Mark and the kids throwing pinecones back and forth with each other in the grass. The older I get, the more I realize that it is these moments that truly bring me so much joy. Simple, every day moments that usually take me by surprise, but are just filled with joy.
Independence Temple Lot
We then made our way across the street to the Independence Temple Lot. In 1831, this was the first site dedicated for a temple (even before Kirtland). Sadly, the temple was never able to be built but it was special to visit the spot and think about “someday”.
Flournoy House
Next up was a walking tour of Independence. We crossed the street to the Flournoy House which was a place we were not familiar with. It is the location where Bishop Edward Patridge purchased the 63 acres of land that the temple lot stands on from Jones H. Flournoy in 1831.
It is a simple, small redbrick building and is one of the oldest homes in Independence. It is currently owned by the Community of Christ.
Gilbert Whitney & Co Store
We then walked to the Gilbert and Whitney Store that was built in 1832. It is a two-story, redbrick building that was a dry goods store and also served as the bishop’s storehouse. Sidney Gilbert and Newel K. Whitney had been business partners in Ohio. In 1831, the Lord directed Sidney Gilbert to stay in Missouri and run the bishop’s storehouse. Sadly, in 1833, a mob destroyed Gilbert’s store and the Saints lost this property.
The store is very different then it once was. In fact, other than the name and the plaque on the ground, you would never know of it’s association with the Church.
Independence Printing Office Site
This was a trickier site to find and I was very grateful for GPS on my phone to help us out. In June of 1831, William W. Phelps was asked to move to Missouri and help with the work of printing and selecting and writing books for schools in the Church.
Phelps obeyed and traveled to Cincinnati where he purchased a printing press and then transported it to Missouri. In June of 1832, he published the first issue of The Evening and the Morning Star. This was the only religious newspaper in Jackson County. However, some of the articles published in The Star alarmed the local settlers. And in July of 1833, the office was destroyed and the printing press and type thrown out into the street.
During that time, Phelps had been working on printing the Book of Commandments but it was not completed. This is when the beautiful story of the two young sisters, Mary Elizabeth and Caroline Rollins, takes place. That when they saw the destruction happening to the office, they gathered the scattered pages and hid them in a nearby cornfield. These pages were later put into the Doctrine and Covenants. Later, Phelps and his family returned to Ohio where he continud to publish for the Church.
The site of the printing press is difficult to find other than a marker on the ground (just like the store), but the Independence Visitor’s Center has made a replica of the store there which made it come alive for us at the site.
Lunch at the Pavilion
We then wound our way back to our car at the visitor’s center and had lunch at the pavilion at the stake center. It was such a beautiful day. The kids ate and just ran around the large grassy area and climbed trees. They were in heaven.
We then wondered about how to spend the rest of our day. The kids and Mark were really interested in going to the Community of Christ Temple. So that is what we did next.
Community of Christ Temple
Across from the Independence Visitor’s Center and the Temple Lot is the Community of Christ Temple. I remember seeing this as a young teenager when my family went on a trip to Independence and thinking it was the strangest building I had ever seen. But it ended up being a really beautiful experience and one that I am glad Mark pushed us to do.
Their temple is open to the public and is also the location for their church headquarters. When we came into the building, everyone was very welcoming and kind. They took us on a tour of the temple and it was interesting to learn their history. They knew our background and would draw our attention to things that they thought we might find particularly interesting. It was fascinating to learn more about their beliefs and practices. I loved their focus on peace.
I also appreciated learning more about the design of the building and the organic and unique shape they were trying to achieve. The spiral design is to draw your mind and heart towards God. They had some beautiful stained glass windows and artwork. My favorite part was probably their museum (we were able and encouraged to take pictures everywhere except the museum). They had a lot of really neat artifacts from Joseph and Emma and other early Saints.
I am grateful that we were able to give our kids this experience. I was so proud of how respectful they were. Ben had a lot of questions that he asked the man giving our tour and it was neat to see that interaction.
Kansas City Temple
With all of that being said, I was really grateful that we could end the day at the Kansas City Missouri Temple. Again, if we had planned this trip from the start, I would have done it different, but this ended up being their first day of their two week closure for cleaning and maintenance, so we were unable to go in (Jacob had really been looking forward to going into the Albuquerque Temple). But the grounds were open and they were planting all of their bulbs and doing some maintenance on the fountains.
Everyone was kind as we walked around and experienced the peaceful grounds. The Spirit was there and I am glad we were able to feel it extra on that day, in that dedicated place. We all loved the beautiful olive branch design on the temple, again drawing our mind to peace in a place that had known so much pain in the past.
As we were there, another tour group came to the temple grounds. Just like before, they were so kind and drew us into their group. And just like before, Lydie had a group surrounding her. It was amazing. It was a group filled with grandpas and grandmas and they were loving on our kids. We had some long conversastions with various members of that group, saw some “wildlife” for Ben, and just enjoyed our time there and left feeling very blessed.
Luigi’s Italian Restaurant
We were staying in Liberty and it was the perfect midway point for our Church history time in Missouri. We ate dinner at Luigi’s Italian Restaurant and it was really yummy. It was right across the street from the courthouse in Liberty. Mark is a direct descendent from a Clay County judge of that time (more on that another day) and so Ben wanted to take a picture under a tree in front of the courthouse that his great grandpa might have sat under. It turns out this courthouse was not built until after the time of the Saints, but it was still sweet nonetheless.
Mark was not feeling very well that night, so we made our way back to the hotel and had an early night.
