Kirtland!

At the beginning of Spring Break we decided we needed to go to Kirtland. This is the last break we have before moving to China. After Spring semester we are going to be moving right away, so this really was our only opportunity to go to Kirtland in the lovely weather. So on Friday we got in the car and drove for about three hours northeast.
First we went to the Visitor's Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We ate lunch on a picnic table in the parking lot, then went on a tour guided by two sister missionaries. One of the sisters was from South Jordan, UT, and the other one was from the Island Mann, UK (a midpoint between Dublin and Northern England). The tour started with a 20-minute movie about the Saint's experience in Kirtland.

Secondly, we went to the Newel K. Whitney Store. It had its original front doors and had been restocked and restored to represent how it had looked back in the day. It was so cool to actually see what I had read so much about. The entire experience was a reality check. These people really lived. They sacrificed in a way so real! Seeing the store made me realize that when they left for Nauvoo they were leaving everything they had ever worked for. Then we looked at the stock and trade room in the back. Upstairs in the store we visited the room that served as the School of the Prophets. We talked about some of the sacred things that happened there and how preciously the men of the church treated that tiny little room. There was also a dining room that served as the office for Joseph Smith during his first four years in Kirtland. In the back there was a stock room and a cot for the hired man. At one point that was Sidney Rigdon. The Smiths also had a bedroom set up in the back room where they lived until they got their own home in Kirtland. The entire upstairs area of the Whitney store had been a storage place for all the store stock before the Whitneys had been converted. Once the Saints were called to gather in Kirtland, the Whitneys opened the upstairs area to accommodate the Prophet and other leaders of the Church. That really taught me a lesson in generosity and consecration.
Next we went to the Johnson Inn where we changed the kids and relaxed a little. The original inn had burnt down, but the Church had found pictures of what it had looked like on the outside. They built a replica on the original foundation, but the inside serves as a Visitor's Center for investigators (since there is no original blueprints for the inside).

 Then we went up the hill to the Kirtland Temple visitor's center to catch the last tour of the day. Since the Kirtland Temple is owned by the RLDS (Community of Christ) Church it was kind of a strange experience. I have never been in close contact with any of the "LDS tradition churches" before and was thrown for a loop looking at some of their literature in the store. There were copies of the Book of Mormon, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, books on early Mormon history, and portraits of Joseph Smith. Those are all things that I associate with MY religion, so it felt weird sharing them with another religion. I suddenly understood why other Christian religions think it is weird that we believe in the Bible AND the Book of Mormon...it is strange to think that a church other than your own accepts parts of your doctrine but not all of it. The people there were extremely kind, however, and I was pleased to note that the Church has such a wonderful relationship with its neighbors. We watched a 20-minute video on a brief history of the church (according to the RLDS) and then we went next door to the gorgeous Kirtland Temple.
I have to admit the experience was very different from what I was expecting. Any other LDS temple I have ever been defined what I thought this temple would be. The Kirtland Temple is more like a tabernacle/conference center/meeting house/chapel/seminary/school...place. There is no doubt that spectacular things happened there. You can instantly feel the amazing spirit of its history and those who were involved in its construction, dedication, and function. More than anyother place I have visited it truly reflects how the Church was a living, growing, changing organization. I like to think that the Church has always been the same, fundamentally, from its very beginning. But now I realize that Heavenly Father guided the Prophet and his apostles through many different steps and stages to form the foundation of the Church. All of the organization and structure didn't fall out of Heaven in its entirety and conveniently land on the Prophet's lap. They had to work out how to build buildings, organize presidencies, layout the city, provide funding for projects, etc. Granted, they were given visions and answers to prayers that strongly guided them, but it wasn't a cake walk. At the end of the tour we sang "The Spirit of God" in the ground floor "House of Worship."

After going to the Kirtland Temple we went back down the hill to finish our tour at the LDS visitor's center. We visited the fine home of the Whitneys, located next door to the store, then went back to the Johnson Inn. At the Johnson Inn there was a kiosk that allowed you to look up your ancestors to see if they lived in Kirtland. We found that Paul's great grandfather, Anson Call, and my great grandfather, Hosea Stout, both lived in Kirtland. I wonder if they knew eachother...whoa...and if they had any inkling that their great grandchildren would meet in a ballroom class at BYU and get married...probably not :)

Then we went and visited the Sawmill and Ashery (replicas built on their original foundations). Those were sooooo cool. Check out all the wonderful photos on our Flickr stream.
Maybe we will make another trip sometime and visit the Johnson Farm and Morely Farm (and some Amish country while we are at it!). The kids were troopers and we absolutely loved the whole trip. What a blessing to live so, relatively, close to a Church history treasure.