Kirkland, Ohio July 14, 2016

When we woke up this morning it was overcast and raining. We crossed the border back into the U.S. and shortly after that the sun was shining again. We had a pretty uneventful drive. We got to Kirtland about 4:00 and went to see the temple. We got there just as the last tour of the day was starting.

The temple is currently owned by the Community of Christ church. They charge $5  person to take the tour. We joined the group on the tour. They start by watching a movie and then as the movie ends, the screen raises and the curtain behind he screen opens and the wall of windows reveals a perfect view of the temple. 

The Kirtland Temple

At that point we left the visitor center and walked next door to the temple. We started out on the second floor and then went down to the first floor. They ended the tour by having everyone sing "The Spirit of God". The young man who was giving us our tour was very excited that the group was so large and that the song would be so powerful at the end.   It was good, everyone was singing but the spirit was not the same as we have felt before in other meetings.

The front of the temple

The temple is beautiful and it is the original building that the saints built.  We then went to find the visitor center owned by the church for the Kirtland area.  The GPS took took us to a field.  So we got on the phone and looked on LDS.org and found the address and we were able to type in the address and drove right to it.  A tour was just beginning, we watched a film (much better quality and we felt the spirit more with the film than we did at the temple). and then they divided up the group into smaller groups and took us out to tour the buildings around.  Our group went first to the Sawmill,

The Sawmill

then the Ashery,

The Ashery

then to the Newell K. Whitney Store

The Newell K. Whitney Store

and then the Newell K. Whitney home.

The Ann and Newell K. Whitney Home

We ended the tour in the Johnson Inn replica, which is rebuilt on the original footings for the Inn.  It is now a visitor center with interactive displays.

This painting hangs in the Johnson Inn and depicts Jesus appearing in the Kirtland Temple to Joseph.

We learned many things about the churches time in Kirtland.  It was a learning and growing time for the members of the church.  In the upper rooms of the store, many revelations were received, and the school of the prophets was held.  In the room where the School of the Prophets was held, The Lord appeared to Joseph and others.  There are 4 places in Kirtland where the Lord has appeared to man.  We visited two of them today.  The Temple, and in the Newell K. Whitney store upper room.

The room where the school of the prophets was held.  This is also where the Lord appeared.

 It is sobering to be in the space where the Lord appeared.

We look forward to going to the Morley farm and the John Johnson farms tomorrow.  They are the two other places where the Lord appeared in this area.

Today was our 44th wedding anniversary and we celebrated by going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  It was good.  We had a great day enjoying each other's company.  We are grateful that the Lord has blessed us so much during our life together.  We have been most blessed.  We look forward to many more years together.