We got up nice and early and had our usual basic breakfast fare that’s included in our accommodation deal, I actually don’t care for these much, but Jodie loves it. I end up usually just having bagels and peanut butter although there is cereal and juice, which the kids seem to like. Because we were up so early this morning we got to Kirtland Historic Visitor’s Centre about half an hour before it opened. This is a lovely collection of buildings down in a little hollow and is beautifully maintained by the church. The majority of people who work here are actually serving missions for the church, including grounds men and maintenance workers as well as the tour guides.
Just to the left of the car park are two very noticeable buildings, one is the red schoolhouse, which is a replica of the schoolhouse that was built on the Isaac Morley Farm and is one of the four areas in Kirtland were God The Father appeared in the early days of the church. We were welcomed into the visitor’s Centre right at 9am, and this is a beautiful collection of rooms. In the second room are beautiful couches where you can sit and view a large painting of the Kirtland Temple. Ordaining the walls in this room are various original photographs circa 1830’s, 40’s and 50’s that show Kirtland and the Temple rising from its foundation. On the left hand wall emblazoned in large letters is that famous revelation given to Joseph Smith, “Go to the Ohio and there you will build a house unto me, yea even a house of prayer, a house of faith, a house of fasting and a house of order.”
We had a lovely missionary couple, the Farr’s, who were to be our guides today. They take you into a theatre and show you a terrific vignette on the Prophet Joseph Smith as seen through the eyes of others, namely his mother, the Whitney’s and Sydney Rigdon and explain how Kirtland grew and blossomed into a lovely city. I was deeply touched, and even though I had studied about Newell K. Whitney before, by his faith, his industry, his compassion and the respected position he had in Kirtland, even before the missionaries came to preach the gospel. Depicted in the movie, is that now famous meeting when the Prophet Joseph Smith walks into Newell K. Whitney’s store and says, “Newell K. Whitney, I am Joseph Smith the prophet. You prayed me here, now what would you have me do?”
At the conclusion of the presentation you are taken up to the Newell K. Whitney store, the first room you enter is the general store itself. The second room is the Barter Room where people would come with little or no money and barter their goods and their stock for food and supplies. This room was also used as the Bishop’s Store House as Newell K. Whitney was the second Bishop ordained in the restored church. What happened next, I would put down as one of the more significant spiritual experiences I have had in my life.
For the next room they take you to is up the stairs to the room in the right front corner of the building that we have come to know as, The School of the Prophet’s room, or as it has been referred to in other circles as the Revelation Room. This is small, non descript room with two or three rows of small wooden benches, it is much smaller than I imagined when I was studying in seminary and institute. There was a group of about 15 and the missionaries were explaining some of the significant events that happened here and the revelations that were received, for example, section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Elder Farr then got Courtney to read a quote from John Murdoch, he was one of the first people baptized when the missionaries arrived in Kirtland. The Prophet Joseph promised him that he would see the face of God and his son Jesus Christ. As Courtney began reading the wonderful experience in which brother Murdoch explains that while sitting listening to the Prophet the eyes of his understanding was opened and as he looked towards the door he saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ, and described in wonderful, simple detail their physical appearance and spiritual magnitude. As Courtney was getting to the end of reading this quotation my eyes filled with tears as it was confirmed to me they way the Lord confirms things spiritually for me that this event did indeed happen. Around the time that I was feeling this sensation of peace and warmth and reassurance, Courtney’s voice quivered and cracked as she struggled to finish reading the quote, I could tell she too could sense the significance and feel the spirit.
Elder Far then bore his testimony of the reality of this event, and as I looked down the bench across my family, I could see even the little ones looking up quietly and reverently at Elder Farr, and I am certain that the spirit was bearing witness to their little spiritually naïve souls that there is a God and his son Jesus Christ. It has been a very long time, through the stresses and strain of modern life and some family struggles, since I have felt the spirit so strongly. It was almost as if that this was the reason why I was supposed to come of this holiday and as I lingered in the room as everybody left I felt the Lord whisper to my mind that he was aware of me and the struggles that I have had lately.
I found myself not wanting to leave, but knew it was inevitable as the tour group was waiting in an adjoining room. I tried to pretend that the reason why I was late was because I was taking photos, but that was not the real reason at all.
The rest of the morning was spent touring the Whitney’s home, The Johnson Inn, which has been converted internally into a Welcome Center and the fully functioning Saw Mill that was dedicated by President Hinckley in 2006. We then left this part of Kirtland to drive up to the Kirtland Temple. When you are standing between the Newell K. Whitney store and their home, you are actually standing on the old main street of Kirtland, which runs up the hill and joins with the modern highway, which has now been fenced off and the church bought the adjoining land to divert the modern day traffic around historic Kirtland village and up past the Temple.
We drove up to the Kirtland Temple, which sits atop of a large hill. The Community of Christ now owns this building and have done a lovely job preserving a very important part of church history. The people there are lovely and accommodating and obviously have the same pride in this historic building as we do. They charge a nominal fee for you to take a tour, of course Genna and Tamzyn were excited because this is a Temple that they could actually go inside. They have a nice Visitor’s Center and a little museum that maps the history of the construction of the Temple and the history of their church since it split from the Restored Church of Latter-Day Saints back in the mid 1800’s. They begin by showing a different type of video about the church and its association with the Kirtland Temple.
It seemed a little unusual hearing another church talk about our early Prophets and leaders, almost as if something was missing, I realized latter and I don’t want to sound judgmental, but the obvious thing that was missing was the spirit that comes with dedicated church buildings.
After watching the video they have incorporated a lovely visual effect. The screen rolls up and then curtains are opened, almost like a stage curtain, revealing through large panoramic windows, the Kirtland Temple. They then take you outside and you follow a path through the garden to the front of the Temple. You then walk through the front door and up 33 stairs to the top floor of the Temple, still very much as it was when the Saints first built it. You walk through the corridors of the upstairs meeting room and then down the stairs on the left hand side of the building to sit in the first floor chapel/meeting area where more information is given on the history and events that took place.
They mentioned some of the wonderful events that we have recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants such as Moses, Elijah and Elias appearing and restoring important keys, but they don’t go into detail about what those keys are and where are they now in their church. It was a lovely visit and you come away with a wonderful appreciation for the sacrifice and workmanship of the early Saints and appreciation for the Community of Christ for maintaining this wonderful legacy.
We left Kirtland and drove to the Isaac Morley Farm. There we were met by a lovely missionary couple from Great Britain who explained to us the wonderful contribution and faithfulness of Isaac Morley and why the church felt the important need to purchase a section of the original farm to keep for our posterity. Isaac Morley has become one of my new heroes of the restoration and was one of the first settlers in the Kirtland area. His own personal values lead him to establish a community where everybody was treated equally and had the same, in other words, he was living the law of consecration years before it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph.
This man would eventually give up five of his homes for the sake of the Gospel as he travelled west with the Saints. In fact when he got to Salt Lake and established a lovely and affluent home the Prophet Brigham Young asked him to give it up and go with a group of Saints to settle San Pete County, which is of course where the Manti Temple is built, Which is one of, if not Jodie’s favorite Temples. So it sort of felt like we had made a connection, Jodie and I, because of this to Isaac Morley, I know that sounds a little strange.
We then left Kirtland at 2-3pm for the 9hr drive to Nauvoo, or to the town of Keokuk, which is approximately 20mins South of Nauvoo. The drive was long but had for the most part, lovely large expressways or toll ways. It cost me approx. $26 in tolls to use these roads. Stationed every 30miles or so are these large travel centers that enable you to stop, get fuel and something to eat. They’re pretty impressive structures and are lovely and clean, which makes the trip pleasant. We arrived at Keokuk at 11pm, staying in the lovely Fairfield Sweets Marriott, we would be here for two nights, there was plenty of room to set up the blow up mattress and everybody could spread out and relax. The great thing about the car we are hiring is that it had a built in DVD player which enabled us to play movies, to keep the kids occupied and make the trip go a little bit quicker for them. But I must say they have been excellent travel companions.
Just to the left of the car park are two very noticeable buildings, one is the red schoolhouse, which is a replica of the schoolhouse that was built on the Isaac Morley Farm and is one of the four areas in Kirtland were God The Father appeared in the early days of the church. We were welcomed into the visitor’s Centre right at 9am, and this is a beautiful collection of rooms. In the second room are beautiful couches where you can sit and view a large painting of the Kirtland Temple. Ordaining the walls in this room are various original photographs circa 1830’s, 40’s and 50’s that show Kirtland and the Temple rising from its foundation. On the left hand wall emblazoned in large letters is that famous revelation given to Joseph Smith, “Go to the Ohio and there you will build a house unto me, yea even a house of prayer, a house of faith, a house of fasting and a house of order.”
We had a lovely missionary couple, the Farr’s, who were to be our guides today. They take you into a theatre and show you a terrific vignette on the Prophet Joseph Smith as seen through the eyes of others, namely his mother, the Whitney’s and Sydney Rigdon and explain how Kirtland grew and blossomed into a lovely city. I was deeply touched, and even though I had studied about Newell K. Whitney before, by his faith, his industry, his compassion and the respected position he had in Kirtland, even before the missionaries came to preach the gospel. Depicted in the movie, is that now famous meeting when the Prophet Joseph Smith walks into Newell K. Whitney’s store and says, “Newell K. Whitney, I am Joseph Smith the prophet. You prayed me here, now what would you have me do?”
At the conclusion of the presentation you are taken up to the Newell K. Whitney store, the first room you enter is the general store itself. The second room is the Barter Room where people would come with little or no money and barter their goods and their stock for food and supplies. This room was also used as the Bishop’s Store House as Newell K. Whitney was the second Bishop ordained in the restored church. What happened next, I would put down as one of the more significant spiritual experiences I have had in my life.
For the next room they take you to is up the stairs to the room in the right front corner of the building that we have come to know as, The School of the Prophet’s room, or as it has been referred to in other circles as the Revelation Room. This is small, non descript room with two or three rows of small wooden benches, it is much smaller than I imagined when I was studying in seminary and institute. There was a group of about 15 and the missionaries were explaining some of the significant events that happened here and the revelations that were received, for example, section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Elder Farr then got Courtney to read a quote from John Murdoch, he was one of the first people baptized when the missionaries arrived in Kirtland. The Prophet Joseph promised him that he would see the face of God and his son Jesus Christ. As Courtney began reading the wonderful experience in which brother Murdoch explains that while sitting listening to the Prophet the eyes of his understanding was opened and as he looked towards the door he saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ, and described in wonderful, simple detail their physical appearance and spiritual magnitude. As Courtney was getting to the end of reading this quotation my eyes filled with tears as it was confirmed to me they way the Lord confirms things spiritually for me that this event did indeed happen. Around the time that I was feeling this sensation of peace and warmth and reassurance, Courtney’s voice quivered and cracked as she struggled to finish reading the quote, I could tell she too could sense the significance and feel the spirit.
Elder Far then bore his testimony of the reality of this event, and as I looked down the bench across my family, I could see even the little ones looking up quietly and reverently at Elder Farr, and I am certain that the spirit was bearing witness to their little spiritually naïve souls that there is a God and his son Jesus Christ. It has been a very long time, through the stresses and strain of modern life and some family struggles, since I have felt the spirit so strongly. It was almost as if that this was the reason why I was supposed to come of this holiday and as I lingered in the room as everybody left I felt the Lord whisper to my mind that he was aware of me and the struggles that I have had lately.
I found myself not wanting to leave, but knew it was inevitable as the tour group was waiting in an adjoining room. I tried to pretend that the reason why I was late was because I was taking photos, but that was not the real reason at all.
The rest of the morning was spent touring the Whitney’s home, The Johnson Inn, which has been converted internally into a Welcome Center and the fully functioning Saw Mill that was dedicated by President Hinckley in 2006. We then left this part of Kirtland to drive up to the Kirtland Temple. When you are standing between the Newell K. Whitney store and their home, you are actually standing on the old main street of Kirtland, which runs up the hill and joins with the modern highway, which has now been fenced off and the church bought the adjoining land to divert the modern day traffic around historic Kirtland village and up past the Temple.
We drove up to the Kirtland Temple, which sits atop of a large hill. The Community of Christ now owns this building and have done a lovely job preserving a very important part of church history. The people there are lovely and accommodating and obviously have the same pride in this historic building as we do. They charge a nominal fee for you to take a tour, of course Genna and Tamzyn were excited because this is a Temple that they could actually go inside. They have a nice Visitor’s Center and a little museum that maps the history of the construction of the Temple and the history of their church since it split from the Restored Church of Latter-Day Saints back in the mid 1800’s. They begin by showing a different type of video about the church and its association with the Kirtland Temple.
It seemed a little unusual hearing another church talk about our early Prophets and leaders, almost as if something was missing, I realized latter and I don’t want to sound judgmental, but the obvious thing that was missing was the spirit that comes with dedicated church buildings.
After watching the video they have incorporated a lovely visual effect. The screen rolls up and then curtains are opened, almost like a stage curtain, revealing through large panoramic windows, the Kirtland Temple. They then take you outside and you follow a path through the garden to the front of the Temple. You then walk through the front door and up 33 stairs to the top floor of the Temple, still very much as it was when the Saints first built it. You walk through the corridors of the upstairs meeting room and then down the stairs on the left hand side of the building to sit in the first floor chapel/meeting area where more information is given on the history and events that took place.
They mentioned some of the wonderful events that we have recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants such as Moses, Elijah and Elias appearing and restoring important keys, but they don’t go into detail about what those keys are and where are they now in their church. It was a lovely visit and you come away with a wonderful appreciation for the sacrifice and workmanship of the early Saints and appreciation for the Community of Christ for maintaining this wonderful legacy.
We left Kirtland and drove to the Isaac Morley Farm. There we were met by a lovely missionary couple from Great Britain who explained to us the wonderful contribution and faithfulness of Isaac Morley and why the church felt the important need to purchase a section of the original farm to keep for our posterity. Isaac Morley has become one of my new heroes of the restoration and was one of the first settlers in the Kirtland area. His own personal values lead him to establish a community where everybody was treated equally and had the same, in other words, he was living the law of consecration years before it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph.
This man would eventually give up five of his homes for the sake of the Gospel as he travelled west with the Saints. In fact when he got to Salt Lake and established a lovely and affluent home the Prophet Brigham Young asked him to give it up and go with a group of Saints to settle San Pete County, which is of course where the Manti Temple is built, Which is one of, if not Jodie’s favorite Temples. So it sort of felt like we had made a connection, Jodie and I, because of this to Isaac Morley, I know that sounds a little strange.
We then left Kirtland at 2-3pm for the 9hr drive to Nauvoo, or to the town of Keokuk, which is approximately 20mins South of Nauvoo. The drive was long but had for the most part, lovely large expressways or toll ways. It cost me approx. $26 in tolls to use these roads. Stationed every 30miles or so are these large travel centers that enable you to stop, get fuel and something to eat. They’re pretty impressive structures and are lovely and clean, which makes the trip pleasant. We arrived at Keokuk at 11pm, staying in the lovely Fairfield Sweets Marriott, we would be here for two nights, there was plenty of room to set up the blow up mattress and everybody could spread out and relax. The great thing about the car we are hiring is that it had a built in DVD player which enabled us to play movies, to keep the kids occupied and make the trip go a little bit quicker for them. But I must say they have been excellent travel companions.
 Stream by the Whitney store where many early saints were baptised   Outside the Visitors Centre    Upstairs palour were many of the 1st Presidency meetings were held |   Replica of Morley School House    The Barter Room  |
Door leading to the "School of the Prophets room"
School of the Prophets room
  Authentic original chair that the prophet & emma used  Johnson Inn  |  Jospeh & Emma's room in the Whitney home  Stone steps leading to Whitney home made from same stone as temple  Whitney home  The mill and ashery  Family @ the Isaac Morley Farm |
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