First stop on day 7 was Kirtland, Ohio to see the very first temple the early Saints built. This is my second time in my life being on the grounds of the Kirtland Temple (owned and operated by the Community of Christ Church). Okay, now it is story time. When I was 12 years old my family stopped in Kirtland on our cross country drive moving from Virginia to California. By the time we pulled into the parking I was mad about something and refused to get out of the car and go in. And my parents, being the awesome parents that they were, let me lose out. I stayed in the car and didn't go in. And go figure that the second time in my life that I made it to Kirtland at the age of 44, it was closed due to COVID and I still didn't get to go in. Let this be a lesson to you all-- DON'T BE A STINKER! You may never get the opportunity again.
Let me tell you a little about the division of labor on this trip for Abe and I.
I'm in charge of meals/food/snacks, tracking and packing clothing, laundry, conflict resolution, and the general peace and well-being of the children.
Abe is the master trip planner-- driving routes, hotel reservations, tour reservations, car packing, picture taking, and about a million other details that make this whole adventure not only possible, but very pleasant. Honestly, it's not a very even division of labor-- Abe definitely shoulders the lion's share.
Family selfie at Kirtland. We were all very impressed with how beautiful this area was-- so lush and green and just gorgeous.
We got a kick out of the replica one-room school house that is part of the church's historic tours in Kirtland.
The very room in the original structure where Elsa Johnson's arm was healed in the Whitney's home.
Note Greta's pose-- it carried over from Nauvoo:)
The bottom floor of the Newel K. Whitney store. I LOVE the smell of the these old buildings.
In the upstairs room where the "School of the Prophets" met for about 3 months. This is the room that prompted the questions that led to the revelation on the Word of Wisdom.
Everyone was happy to stop at Chick-Fil-A for lunch.
After lunch we drove a little ways out to the John and Elsa Johnson Farm. I'd never visited this site before and I'm SO GLAD we went. This was the site where Joseph Smith received more revelations than any other site. This is the home Joseph and Emma were living when Joseph was dragged out of the house and beaten and tarred and feathered. This was a beautiful, large home. Something we were continually struck with was how much so many of the Saints gave up to do what they believed God wanted them to do. Sacrifice brings forth blessings, but that doesn't mean it's not hard. I was inspired by their example.
Here is the front porch where Joseph preached a sermon the morning following the tar and feathering.
NIAGARA FALLS! The surrounding town/area seemed pretty run-down-- like it was well past its prime- but Niagara Falls is pretty darn impressive.
That evening we drove to Newark, NY-- just outside Palmyra.
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