We drove to Missouri. There is a spot in Independence that the saints owned back in 1831-1833. This is now owned by 3 different churches. We toured all 3.
First we went to the LDS visitor's center. It was another generic visitors center with a little bit about the saints in Missouri. It was a great center- but we had already seen the displays many times.
Then we walked across the street to see the Temple Site. Joseph Smith dedicated this spot for the building of a temple. The corner stones were laid- but that is all before the saints were forced out of Independence.
The white house and the Temple Site are owned by the Church of Christ. They see themselves as the church that Joseph Started and the other "latter day tradition churches" as the split offs.
The grassy field is the Temple site. The big building is the assembly hall for the Community of Christ.
We walked around and found all four cornerstones.
Chase is standing by one in the distance of the picture below.
On the other corner is the Community of Christ's temple.
We got to tour that AND they let us take pictures!
This was the main worship room. There was someone playing the organ there during our tour.
You look up and see this!
That was a cool tour and the tour guide was really interesting. Nice- but repeated the same thing over and over and over.
Then we drove to Liberty Jail. It is only 1/2 hour away or so. We had a great missionary who talked to us for 20 minuets about the history of the church in Missouri leading up to the Liberty jail and it was so awesome!
This is a picture of Emma who had to cross the Mississippi river on foot with her children clinging to her because the saints were kicked out of Missouri in winter.
Then we went in to see the jail. The church had pictures form about 1905 that showed the jail. So when they bought the property and the stones ahd all fallen, they were able to build it pretty much the way it had been.
We learned so much here. It was great.
That night we had a camp spot in Liberty. It was alright. It had a pool. It was really, really hot again. Nauvoo had been nice. The pool had tons of beetles in it and there was a hornet nest nearby. But the pool cooled us down.
The next day we drove to Far West Missouri. They had this fenced in area. It is the site that Joseph Smith dedicated for a temple.
There was this monument about the things that happened in Far West.
We walked around and saw the cornerstones.
Then I told some stories of what happened here in Far West.
I thought there would be more here. But that was it. And that was fine. But I was surprised. There were missionaries but they took care of the grounds- not tour guides. They told us what to look for in Adam ondi Ahman so that was cool.
Then we drove to Adam ondi Ahman. We found this lookout and read a little bit about Adam ondi Ahman. He learned about the distant history and the history of when the saints lived here.
This was the spot that the saints found an Alter. It is no longer there.
This is preacher rock.
The boys played in the trees for a while.
Then we started driving to Winetr Quarters. We drove into Kansas for a minute to let Alex count another state we were in. Then we drove up to Omaha.
The visitor center there was really cool.
It had displays and maps...
This is what winter quarters looked like when the saints were there and it was just a temporary settlement. That was all GONE a few years later. It then became Florence Nebraska and was a place the saints would gather to get wagons for the trip.
It had a handcart for the boys to try. Jaxon and Tanner already had a trek this year, so the little boys tried. They could not get it over the rocks.
Family picture!
We had some tippets relatives in the cemetery there. There were no headstones left, but there were records kept of where people were buried. So we used the ruler to find where they were buried.
Statue honoring those who lost children and loved ones on the plains.
There is a Temple there in Winter quarters so we took some pictures.
Then we went to dinner and Jaxon got to pick the restaurant. He picked barbeque. The food was BIG.
Then we went to a KOA that was nearby. Mini golf! but the course was under construction which made it even more fun.
Then they went swimming. Then bed time.
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