Missouri Church sites July 19, 2016

We ended today on a high note.  It was a really awesome way to cap the day off.  But first, let us tell you about the rest of the day. We started off early and crossed from Iowa to Missouri about 8:30 this morning.

Our camera is still on Eastern time.  Guess we better fix that.

Our first stop was at Adam Ondi-Ahman.  We had to travel down a dirt road for a few miles to get there.  There was a trail we walked down which overlooked the valley known as Adam Ondi-Ahman.  It was peaceful and beautiful there.  We got to the parking lot at the same time as another couple who were traveling via motorcycle.  They were from Brigham City, Utah and were spending a couple of weeks on vacation seeing the church sites.  We chatted with them as we walked down the trail.  We were the only vehicles there, and so were not surprised to be the only ones at the lookout.  He offered to take a picture of the two of us, and so we agreed and then Michael returned the favor by taking a picture for them.

Proof we were there at Adam Ondi-Ahman.  We met a couple as we arrived that volunteered to take a picture of the two of us.

The Valley of Adam Ondi-Ahman

The next stop was at Hamilton, Missouri.  The gps had us traveling down dirt roads to get there.

This one was really for me because Michael wasn't super interested in the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  I have enjoyed the owners videos and purchased products from them in the past.  They have something like 6 different quilt stores in this little town and have revitalized a dying town through this business.  I had fun checking them out.  Thank you sweetie for being patient with me as I drooled over the fun tools and beautiful fabrics.

On of the Missouri Star Quilt company stores in Hamilton, Missouri.

We then went on another adventure down more dirt roads that were really more lanes.  When a car came the other direction, we both had to pull halfway off the side of the road to pass.  Our car is pretty filthy now, but eventually we made it to our destination of Far West, Missouri.  This had been another gathering place for the saints after Kirtland and before Nauvoo.  There isn't anything of the community left since it was made up of log cabins when the saints lived here.  They did lay 4 cornerstones for a future temple when they were here, and they have been preserved by the church.

On of four cornerstones laid for the temple at Far West.

The description by the cornerstone

We headed to Liberty next.  The church has a visitor center that has been built over the Liberty Jail site.  The dungeon of the jail where the Prophet Joseph and 5 others were held on false charges of treason was still in tact and the church replicated a cutaway of the jail above it for the visitors center.  We love how the church preserves what they can and restores what they need to in order to tell the story of what happened in our significant places throughout the country.

The Dungeon of the Liberty Jail.

You can see how the jail was constructed.  They didn't want the prisoners to escape.

After leaving Liberty, our last stop of the day was the visitor center in Independence.  When we entered, we were immediately greeted by a darling sweet sister missionary from Cedar City, Utah.  She had been on her mission for a month.  She invited us to go with her and let her tell us about the center.  She first took us to the presentation they have there on families.  You move from one display to the next and a video presentation is shown about a family and the way the gospel makes a difference

in their lives.  The sister then discussed with us her testimony about the eternal nature of families and Michael shared his testimony with her and I.  We were the only two on this tour.  She had warned us that this presentation often brought tears and it did.  We are so grateful that families are eternal and that we have been blessed with temples for those sealing ordinances that allow us to enjoy those blessings.

She then took us downstairs and took us through the presentations there about the church history in Independence.  At the end of each presentation she would share part of her testimony.  After we had seen all the exhibits, she took us back upstairs and to the Christus statue.  

She played the sound track of Christ's words to us from scriptures, then she and a sister who had been sitting in the lobby (She was not one of the missionaries.  We found out later, she lives nearby.) sang a hymn for us.  It was beautiful.  As we left, we thanked the sister missionary and she gave me a hug, and shook Michael's hand.

As we headed for the door, there was an elder (part of a missionary couple, not a young elder) who was standing there who's name was Elder Toronto.  He spoke to us, and we couldn't help asking if he was related to Joseph Toronto.  He asked us where he was from, and we said Spanish Fork.  He said "He is my dad."

We said: "He married us forty-four years ago."  We told him that he had been our stake president before he was called to the Provo temple presidency when it opened, and that we had requested that he be able to seal us, and he did.

We had a nice chat with him and he introduced us to his wife who was from Brigham city.  He said he found his peach in Brigham city and she just smiled.  It was such a pleasure to meet President Toronto's son.  It was the icing on the cake of a very special visit to the visitor's center.  We were so touched by the spirit, and felt joyful as we left.

We had seen the sights and headed across one more state line to get to out hotel for the evening.  We are in Kansas tonight in a suburb of Kansas city, and will head north to Council Bluffs, Iowa tomorrow to see the Winter Quarters site.

We have four nights left on this adventure before we make it home.  It has been an incredible journey.  We can't wait to see the family and be at home again.  We have, however loved the experiences we have been able to enjoy and feel extremely blessed to have been able to enjoy this trip.