This is the marker for the original Temple Site in Independence, marked by Joseph Smith. It is currently owned by another church, the Church of Christ, which has a little building on the corner of the lot. As you can see from the sign they erected, they also claim Joseph to be the founder of their church.
The temple of the Community of Christ Church, which used to be called The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When they couldn't afford to finish it, our Church stepped in and helped them to pay for it. Inside there is a small museum which contains some of the things that belonged to Emma Smith, like her wedding ring.
Inside the Liberty Jail, where there is a really well done reenactment of the experiences of Joseph Smith and his companions.
Looking out over Adam-ondi-Aman. It's really just acres of fields. It's beautiful, and the kids found just enough snow on the ground to make snowballs.
This is the monument the Church has erected on the temple site at Far West. While it was a settlement in the early 1830s, there is nothing there now except this fenced temple site and a Community of Christ church building across the street. Down the road, an enterprising member has built a Church Bookstore, which we greatly enjoyed. There is no town there, just some farms. It amazes me that the Saints were so persecuted when they settled 70-100 miles from Independence, and even today there is nothing out there. But back then, it would have taken people all day to ride out there to bother them. Even today no one wants to live out there, and it is mostly farmland.
We really enjoyed visiting some of the places that Joseph Smith had actually been to, and places where he received revelation regarding the Church. Missouri is very interesting, and the Church does a good job of preserving the history for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment