Kirtland, Ohio

I loved this little town. We spent a day here touring our church's visitor center and associated sites, the Kirtland Temple, and the Isaac Morley Farm. Sister missionaries took us around the sites owned by the church including the Newel K Whitney store. It was here that the First Presidency of the Church was given the keys of the kingdom, and the School of the Prophets first met in a room above this store. I had to miss that part of the tour as Sophie and Samantha needed a break, but one of the sister missionaries kindly took me up to the room where the school of the prophets was held after everyone else came out. I felt it a privilege to stand in that room, where so much learning, revelations, and visions were had. Another exciting moment in the day was when I saw Sister Victoria Hutchinson coming towards me. She grew up in my home ward and is serving a mission at the Kirtland Historic sites. I was so happy to see her, chat for a little while. and to give her a hug from her mum. After lunch Samantha went back to the hotel with Grandma and Papa Van to swim and we went on a tour of the Kirtland Temple. now owned by the Community of Christ (RLDS). I was so impressed by the beauty of the Kirtland Temple, and loved the 30 minutes or so that we were blessed to walk through it. My brother-in-law Darren asked if we could sing The spirit of God whilst in there, it was the perfect way to end our time in that once House of the Lord. At dinner time a few of us went out to the Isaac Morley Farm where Joseph and Emma Smith lived from March until September 1831. The first high priests were ordained here, Joseph worked on the Joseph Smith Translation at the farm, and a number of revelations were received there. We listened to a couple tell us the history of this man, family, and his farm, then found some logs to sit on where Deldon's parents shared some of the revelations received there. Sadly we ran out of time to go out to the John Johnson Farm (where Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered). But what a great day we had in Kirtland, it's a beautiful place and the Temple couldn't not be in a more perfect setting. How sad it must have been for the Saints to leave it behind. The next day we left our hotel just before 7:30 a.m and rolled in to Nauvoo shortly before 7pm that night. I had been dreading this 600 miles treck for months, but the girls did brilliant, no doubt thanks to the dvd player.