Church History Tour

 This summer Brendon and I got to go on the Midwest Church History Tour for Seminary and Institute Teachers. I kind of wish I had written something on this blog nightly because now I feel like it was too much to recap.

We were on a bus with 54 seminary and institute teachers from all over the US. Each day we were on the bus from about 7:30 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m., making very quick visits to all the church history sites from Missouri to Iowa. In between each stop, we were being taught or getting to know one another. 

Our first day we visited Independence, Missouri. We visited the temple site, where there is no LDS temple but there is a Community of Christ temple and their church headquarters. The Community of Christ is an off-shoot of the LDS church and as the years have gone by they've abandoned most LDS teachings, including the Book of Mormon. But they returned to Missouri long before the LDS church did and reclaimed many of the early church history sites. Their temple is large, shiny and spiraling. We didn't get the chance to go inside, because we got there too late in the day. 

Downtown Independence is where Edward Partridge, the church's first Bishop, was pulled from his home and tarred and feathered in the summer of 1832. Now as we read D&C and I see all the revalations going on at that same time, it's a bit confusing. Joseph Smith was in Ohio, receiving all these revalations about Zion being in Missouri--and all the while the Saints in Missouri were facing terrible persecution. 

There were so many reasons for the persecution. The Saints simply clashed with the people of Missouri. They didn't support slavery, they were industrious and quickly building homes and stores (and not necessarily contributing to the economy outside of church members) and they may have presented themselves as "better than" the current residents. So they were forced out of Independence by the end of the year, leaving behind their dedicated temple site with no temple built on it.

Next we went to Liberty Jail. What is frustrating for me, while reading D&C and while on this tour, is that it never goes in chronological order. Liberty jail is where Joseph Smith was held captive for four months--but that didn't happen until years later when Joseph eventually left Ohio and came to Missouri. 

It was interesting to see the way the church has preserved the jail. The foundation of the jail is the same but the actual structure of the jail has been rebuilt--in as exact measurements as possible to the original building, including the 4-ft thick walls. Then an auditorium was built around the entire jail, with a visitors center. 

Liberty jail is considered a temple site. Yes, it was a site of terrible torture for the Prophet and his friends, but it also was a place of great revelation and a time of strengthening for the saints. 

My mind is fussy on all the sites we visited in Missouri. I should go grab my tour guidebook and check but I'll give the highlights. 

When the Saints were forced from Independence they moved farther, to the very edges of civiliation and created a town called Far West. There they dedicated another temple site and built a great city. Today when you visit it feels like it is truly in the middle of nowhere. There was never a temple built, but the cornerstones are still preserved. 

It is at Far West that Joseph was arrested and taken, first to a jail in Independence, then Richmond, then Liberty. When Joseph was arrested, Alexander Doniphan was ordered to shoot him at dawn, but Alexander refused. He told the leader of the army that if Joseph were killed without a trial, it would be cold blooded murder and he would hold them responsible. Alexander never joined the church but he became a great friend to the Prophet. So much so that Joseph named a son after him. We got to see a statue of Alexander in Richmond.

After Richmond we visited Hans Mill, where the Saints were attacked and killed by a mob. We also visited Adam-Ondi-Ahman, where we believe Adam once gathered his children and taught them. There is a rock there called Preacher's rock. If you stand on that rock and speak, you can be heard from WAY down in the meadow below. Even at a normal volume, people could hear you. It was awesome and the place was beautiful. The church owns hundreds of acres there. They rent out a lot of the land to farmers, but they also have missionaries stationed there to care for the grounds.

After the Prophet's arrest the Saints continued to be harrassed. They knew they needed to leave Missouri but it was the dead of winter and they were not prepared. They made it to the banks of the Mississippi River and built camps. 

From across the river, the people of Quincy, Illinois could see the Saints and had heard of their trouble. At the time there were about 6,000 Saints in need of help and 1,600 residents in Quincy. They had a very young mayor at the time, who called a town meeting. The announcement for the meeting said these "strangers" were entitled to their help. He called on all of the town to open up their homes and any shelter they could offer to the Saints. They brought them in, clothed them, gave them shelter and helped them. They saved them.

I had never heard of Quincy, Illinois before but in the five minutes we got to spend there, I fell in love. We visited a museum there, next to Washington Park where a camp was set up for the Saints. The museum had a room dedicated to sharing the story of this time. The Saints were cared for and helped. Not only did they help at that time, but eight-ish years later, when the Saints were being forced out of Nauvoo, the residents of Quincy came together again to provide the Saints with any provisions they could offer, to help them on their journey west. The original keys to the Nauvoo temple are in the museum today.

Quincy was also an important stop on the Underground Railroad and it was the site of the first ever presidential debate where one candidate (Abraham Lincoln) openly argued to abolish slavery. The town has such a rich history of doing the right thing. I love it.

From there, we visited Carthage jail, where Joseph Smith was eventually murdered. The building is still mostly original. One of Brendon's former students was serving as a missionary there and led us through the tour. That was really cool to see. 

At Carthage we happened to run into the Sears Family. I served with Emily Sears in the Relief Society Presidency in Santa Rita Ward and I love her. At a very difficult time in our marriage, Emily was the one who reminded me of the power of temple covenants. She told me if I was keeping my temple convenants I had a right to call down angels to help me. I've remembered that every time I've had a rough time since and I will always love her for reminding me of that.

We spent the next two days in Nauvoo. The Saints built an amazing city in Nauvoo. They finally built their temple and they gathered thousands of Saints there. Nauvoo is where Joseph Smith reached the peak of his popularity. He was the town's mayor and leader of its army. He was also the prophet. You can see why this might have been a bit of a conflict of interest, that scared people. The biggest critics of the church were former members of the church, who for one reason or another did not get along with Joseph. Joseph was arrested a second time in Nauvoo, and taken to Carthage. 

We did not get enough time in Nauvoo. We did a temple session, where I got to take my great-grandma's name through an endowment, and we saw many beautiful performances, but we needed at least another day! If we were to go back with our kids, I would spend more time in Nauvoo. It was a really pretty place. Brendon and I both discovered we had relatives who lived in Nauvoo back in Joseph's day. I'd love to learn more about them.

After Nauvoo we followed the Saint's trail as they made their way West. There were several camps they formed along the way, where they stopped to regroup. As groups came through these camps, they built buildings and planted crops. They knew they would not stay long enough to benefit from these things, but they wanted those coming behind them to have a bit of comfort along the way. 

We ended our tour at Winter Quarters. This was another one of those camps. Many Saints died there, from rampant disease. There was a small cemetery there and the visitor's center was very interactive, with multiple ways to see if you had any relatives in the cemetery. 

I left the tour with a new appreciation of church history and of family history. I wish I had done more family history to prepare for the trip. Being there gave me a chance to understand church history in a new way. All the dates and events have always confused me, so it was nice to have clarity. 

A theme we heard a lot through the tour was the Lord telling the Saints "I love you. But you can't stay here." Each time they built a town it seemed like they were just searching for safety and stability and eahc time the Lord kept saying "You need to keep moving." I feel the Lord telling us the same thing too. Each time we feel like life has calmed down we hear the whisper of "Keep going."

Each trial the Saints faced was horrible, but each trial strengthened them and helped them move forward with faith.