Traveling To Vermont

Leaving the cabin proved to be about as difficult as it was to leave our home in St. George.  There was more to do than we had time to complete and packing the car was a difficult situation. 

 

Once down the road, we had to keep the pedal to the metal, went through a lot of rain and windy mountain roads but luckily enough we made it to the Denver Temple in time for the last session.   
This was our first time to see the new film.

Elder Ogden at Denver Temple

Sister Ogden at Denver Temple

           
 Friday was a long travel day--from Denver to Liberty, MO; 650-675 miles.  Mac Niel drove all the way across the country, except for an hour-and-a-half during this stretch.  A construction slow-down just outside Kansas City caused a 45-minute "crawl" which made it even later for us to get to our motel.

             First thing on Saturday, we went to the Kansas City MO Temple.  It was very nice (also new) and enjoyable.

Kansas City Temple

 From there we went to the Visitor Center at Independence MO.  Quite large and very well equipped.  After the visitor center, we drove around Independence and Liberty for a little bit, much had changed but there were still many things that seemed familiar.  My old apartment house in Liberty was still standing (I thought it was old 50 years ago).   Went to the Liberty Jail and saw their presentation and headed north thru Missouri, arriving in Keokuk, IA where we spent the night. 

..... while serving here 50 years ago.

  

This is the house where Mac Niel lived .....

Re-constructed during Mac Niel's mission in 1963

Liberty Jail

Sunday morning we got up early and drove to Nauvoo to go to Church with all the missionaries at 8:00am.  There were  hundreds of missionaries there.  Nauvoo didn’t start their hosting of tours , etc until after noon so we decided to just drive around a little and see things from the roads (since we had been there twice in recent years). 

 I feel so happy that this Temple has been built again.

 From Nauvoo we journeyed on to Carthage, IL.  They opened about a half hour after our arrival so we waited since we both wanted to go thru the Jail again.  

Carthage Jail

At the Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844, a mob murdered the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, who thus sealed their testimonies of Jesus Christ with their blood.

From Carthage we spent the rest of the day driving to Indianapolis.  We spent the night there and the next morning made a leisurely drive to Cincinnati, OH.  Parked our loaded car in a Comfort Inn and Suites parking lot, took their shuttle to the airport (I made my first contact with the shuttle driver and he agreed to see the missionaries) and waited for a flight to Orlando.  Rochele and boys picked us up at the airport.  It sure was great to see them again, don’t know who seemed the most eager, us or the boys.  We met Ryan at an Outback Steak house to celebrate some birthdays (Zac, Cael, Rochele and mine).  Martha also met us there and she brought a birthday cake as well.  

After dinner, we said good-bye to Martha and went to Ryan’s home and had an enjoyable time just visiting and playing with the kids.  They are so cute and special.  Earlier, Rochele had made peanut-butter fingers and they really topped off the night but we eventually had to go to bed.

Ty has changed the most--not a a toddler any more

            Up at 6:00am and off to the airport (we always hate to get Ryan up so early but he never complains).  Back to Cincinnati, met the same shuttle driver again and were soon on the road to Kirtland, OH. 

We arrived in good time and after assessing the situation and timing, we decided to tour the John Johnson farm which was 25-30 miles to the west.  We were the only ones there so we got a little “special” treatment on the tour which was very informative and interesting.  Pres. Boyd Packer’s nephew was our tour guide. 

Sidney Rigdon resumed translation of the Bible.

The up-stairs room where Joseph Smith and

Several important events in Church History happened at the Johnson farm and surrounding area in the year the Prophet Joseph stayed there.  

 (Four appearances of the Savior, Important sections of the D & C (eg. 76 and 88), tar and feathering, twins born and died).   

The next morning we had the usual continental breakfast (small Danish roll, an apple and maybe a waffle, sometimes yogurt) and headed for more historic spots.  Our first stop was to the Kirtland Temple.  This is owned and operated by the Community of Christ Church (formerly Reorganized LDS).  Un-like our Church’s invitation to come and enjoy, you paid a $3.00/person “maintenance” fee and were not allowed to take pictures, etc.  Just a completely different feeling.

 

  

  
It is still a beautiful place with the Priesthood alters on both ends and on two levels but the feeling just wasn’t there.  

Next we went to the Morley farm and the atmosphere completely changed.  We took a hike up into the trees and learned more about Church history and of another visit of the Savior.  Then we went to the Whitney store and surrounding area.  Saw where the School of the Prophets was held etc.  and also inspected the saw mill and ashery.  This was really a nice place to visit since so much Church history happened in this area.

Newel Whitney generously provided rooms in the store for Church meetings and a home for the Joseph Smith family.

From Kirtland we got back on the road and headed to Palmyra, NY.  Typically, we got there just in time for the last session.  It was nice but a little different from any other Temple we had been too.  

             












Morning brought intermittent rain showers.  How appropriate since this is the day we were outside quite a bit.  Our first stop was to to the Joseph Smith Farm.  

Here was a replica of the cabin where Joseph Smith was visited by the Angel Moroni three times in one night.  



 We also walked around a while in the Sacred Grove.  There was still a special feeling in that area in spite of the rain.   




From there we paid a short visit to the visitor center at Hill Cumorah and then proceeded to hike around the hill, again in the rain, and up to the statue of Angel Moroni.  It was really an impressive sight. 

Chapel/Visitors Center at Peter Whitmore Farm

The next stop was to the E. B. Grandin building where the first 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon were published.    It was quite an undertaking for the times.  Our last stop in the Palmyra area was to the Peter Whitmer Farm.   This is where the Church was officially organized on April 6, 1830 with six official members.  Quite a bit of growth has happened since that date.  (Today there are approximately 14 million members of the Church.)  It was at the Whitmer Farm where we met one of the couples from our MTC group (they were assigned to Palmyra) just out touring the places like we were.

On April 6, 1830 In Peter Whitmer's small log home in Fayette, New York The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized.

Although it was getting late, we decided to head up the road a few miles so that the drive to Vermont tomorrow wouldn't be quite so long.  So we drove to Syracuse and spent the night there.