Continuing on with my account of our family's Church History trip in April 2017 ......
Day 2! After a wonderful day in Palmyra, New York (and 2 nights in Rochester) we packed up our bags began our trek west to Ohio. From Rochester it is a 235 mile drive to Kirtland, Ohio. Our time in the car was the perfect opportunity to listen to & discuss the scriptures, songs, and talk I had pre-selected for our daily "car devotional". I put all of these audio references into an iTunes playlist in advance so it was as easy as pushing play.
Day 2 // Ohio Car Devotional
Scripture: Doctrine & Covenants 95, 137, 109, 110
Song: The Spirit of God, Hymn no. 26
Talk: Foundations of Faith, Quentin L. Cook (April 2017 General Conference)
Ohio Itinerary: Download Day 2 Kirtland Itinerary
Guide to Church Historic Sites: Ohio
We were pretty excited when we made it to "The Ohio"
I was also determined to take advantage of our location and take a quick side-trip to see one of the great lakes. Lake Erie! We pulled into Headlands State Park in Mentor, Ohio and took a walk to the water.
Loved the beautiful grey tones from the sand to the water to the sky. There was a lighthouse at the far end of the "beach" here but we didn't walk down to it. Too cold! But we checked this off our bucket list. For this west coast girl, it's really interesting to think that for people in Ohio, this is their beach. This is where they go in the summer for sunbathing and swimming. A very different beach than the kind I'm used to! But the sheer enormity of the Great Lakes is so fascinating to me.
After grabbing lunch at Steak n' Shake we were ready to begin our tour of Kirtland. First stop, the Kirtland Temple
Around 1838 the Saints had to flee Kirtland for Missouri, then Nauvoo, IL and later trekked west to Salt Lake City. The temple had to be left behind and it is now owned and operated by The Community of Christ Church.
The Kirtland Temple was the first temple built and dedicated by the early Saints in 1836. Many wonderful things occurred here so it is incredibly important to our church history. But this temple was not used in exactly the same ways that we use our temples today. You can read HERE about the purposes of the Kirtland Temple. Today, the Kirtland temple stands solely as a historical building.
Scott and I actually visited the Kirtland Temple was back in 2001. Since then, the Community of Christ had made some improvements to the visitors center including an introductory film. Upon the conclusion of the film the screen retracts and then long curtains began retracting to either side, revealing wall to wall windows with a view of the Kirtland Temple just outside.
This tour was also different in that we got to see parts of the Kirtland Temple that weren't available to us before, including the 2nd and 3rd floor rooms. (But no pictures are allowed inside the building)
Then we ventured over to the Historic Kirtland Visitors' Center and buildings that are run by our church. The most noteworthy building there is the Newell K. Whitney Store
A few things that happened here:
- Joseph and Emma lived here for a time and Emma gave birth to a son, Joseph III
- Revelation on the Word of Wisdom was received (Doctrine & Covenants 89) as well as other revelations that make up 16 sections of the Doctrine & Covenants
- School of the Prophets was organized and they met in an upstairs room
- Joseph finished his inspired revisions of the Bible
This manuscript of the "The Word of Wisdom" was copied by A. Sidney Gilbert, a business partner of Newel K. Whitney. The revelation was received in the store on February 27, 1833. Many Latter-day Saints made their own copies of many of the revelations for personal study and enrichment
I love the work of restoration of these historic buildings and even recreating from scratch what has been lost. It helps so much to get an understanding and feel for what life looked & felt like. But anytime we came across a detail that was original to the time of the early Saints it just gave an extra thrill.
Like these manuscripts .... they also had the original key to the store .... these floorboards in an upstairs room
I can't help but imagine Joseph pacing these floors up and down, trying to seek for answers and revelation about how to lead the church in these days. There were countless obstacles to overcome. Picturing his life, his desires, his work ... it all felt so real!
And then this ... the exact table where the prophet sat with other leaders and received a vision of the Kirtland Temple. They saw it so clearly they were able to write down details and elevations and plans. This place felt really special.
Finally, to the upstairs room where the School of the Prophets was held. The course of study Included both religious and secular topics -- doctrine & the law of the gospel, history & current events, foreign countries, English & grammar, lectures on theology, etc.. There was an appointed teacher and the participants also learned from each other, each having a turn to speak.
Home of Newell K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney
Here at the junction of the Stoney Creek and Chagrin River many, many Saints were baptized in Kirtland. It was so neat to learn about the history there -- and just crazy to think that the saints were in Kirtland for 7 years. During a time when they were being shuffled from place to place, 7 years seems like an eternity!
Next, to the sawmill and ashery ....These buildings have been reproduced in their original locations. Through a multi-step process the ashery produced dark ash which is used for soap, medicines. Newell K. Whitney consecrated all proceeds from the ashery to the construction of the Kirtland Temple.
We had a fabulous pair of sister missionaries take us through the whole complex (sawmill, ashery, store, Whitney home, and Johnson inn)
We finished up in Kirtland around 4pm. There was one additional Ohio site we put on our itinerary, but it was going to be a game time decision depending on how much time we had. The John Johnson Farm is in Hiram, Ohio which is 45 minutes away. The people at the Kirtland Visitor's Center encouraged us to call the volunteer missionaries at the Johnson Farm and see if it would work out. We did and the sweet older gentleman had a fun sense of humor and promised to keep it open for us!
These Johnsons were definitely blessed - their home is unlike anything else we have seen from the era. But they also gave freely - taking in Joseph & Emma and their twins for a year while they already had a houseful of 8 kids of their own. They also hosted a revolving door of guests as well as church conferences. Their home became a church headquarters of sorts for a period of time.
After the Johnson's left this home it was purchased by another family and it stayed in that family for 4 generations until the church purchased it in the 1950's. 85% of the house is original! ... floors, doors, pantry, hardware, fireplaces, etc.
In this room Joseph received 16 revelations including The Vision recorded in Doctrine & Covenants 76. He and Sidney Rigdon saw the Savior and learned about the different kingdoms of glory that people will inherit after they are resurrected.
And it was also here that a mob broke into the home and drug a sleeping Joseph from his bed and carried him to a meadow where they tarred and feathered him. The next day, after Emma nursed his wounds and cleaned the tar and feathers from his skin, he delivered a sermon. Some of the men from the mob the night before were in attendance. Sadly, one of their infant twins was exposed to the cold and died a few days later. (This door was the access point that the mob used to break into the hosue)
We almost didn't make it to the John Johnson Farm but I am so glad we did! We learned so much and the senior missionary couple that attended to us were just delightful. They even managed to get our kids involved and engaged which is no small feat. :)
Here is a little video of our day in Ohio.
