Things Never Go as Planned...

So our trip was cut a little short...by 5 days. We left Friday morning, and made it back home by Sunday night. Why did we come home after only 2-3 days? Well, we made it all the way out to Kirtland, OH to see the Church history sites and the Kirtland Temple, but the kids were having a really difficult time behaving. Every time we were on a tour, Ben decided it was time to be very disruptive and disobedient. We had to leave just about every tour mid-way so we could discipline, or just let the other enjoy what the tour guide was saying. Then every night when we made it back to our camp spot, it was nearly impossible to get the kids to settle down to sleep. To make a long story short, we realized only after day one of our trip that the kids were still too young to appreciate camping and especially church history tours. We thought about cutting out our 3rd leg of the trip to Missouri, and then by day two, realized that driving even 10 more hours to Nauvoo and then 16 hours back to Maryland would have been torture for everyone. So, after seeing what we could in Kirtland, we turned around and came back home to enjoy a week of vacation around the D.C. area. I think if John and I want to make it out to Nauvoo anytime soon, we will have to go by ourselves, or wait until the kids are older. But for now, here are some highlights of our "short" trip to Kirtland:

Here is John setting up our Pop-up camper rental. Pretty cool.



Ben just loved our camper. He thought it was like a little house, and just pretended it was his.


Bella eating some breakfast after a long night. Since the kids were having a hard time sleeping in a new place, John and I had to separate the kids and each sleep with one to keep them happy.


This is the Kirtland Temple that the early Saints built themselves and financed with great sacrifice. This temple is amazing and so beauitful inside.


About 2 miles away from the temple site is where the sandstone quarry is where they harvested the sandstone to build the temple.

You can still see the chizzle marks they made to cut out the stone by hand.


Then just across the street from the temple is an old grave yard where many of the early saints who died are burried...some in unmarked graves. We found this headstone, errected by the family that states all the Smith family members who were burried somewhere in this grave yard, including Joseph Smith (the Prophet) first born Twins who died. Also, Joseph's Grandmother, Hyrum Smith's wife (Joseph's Brother), and Joseph's little sister are all buried here.


Then we came across John Johnson's gravestone. Joseph and his wife Emma lived with the Johnson family for a while.


The Johnson Farm is still standing and so we took a tour of where the Prophet lived at one time. It was here that the Prophet was kidnapped in the middle of the night, while nursing their sick adopted twins, and was pulled outside and then tarred and feathered and beaten. The mobs who did this thought they had killed him when he passed out and told him he woul dnever preach again. When Joseph came to, he crawled back to the house where his family and friends were waiting and they spent the whole night by the kitchen fireplace, (next picture) and plucked and scraped the tar from his bare skin. Then as the sun rose, he put on his nice clothes and meet the saints for Sunday worship in his condition and continued to teach and preach to the people. Some of the mobsters who heard he was still alive, came to see if he would preach and were stunned, but listened to what he had to say. Three of those men who tarred Jospeh the night before were baptised that day. That is my favorite story.



The kitchen fireplace in the Johnson home:



This is a room in the Johnson home where many important revelations and visions came to Joseph Smith and SIdney Rigdon and in the presence of many others. Isn't it amazing that these things are happening in our day, and yet so many people are oblivious to the wonderful things that are taking place today.


We also visited the Newel K. Whitney Store (also, one of the original standing buildings) where the Prophet and his family lived for a while.

This is inside the store, and it has been restored to what it might have looked like almost 150 years ago.


This is the upper room above the store where they lived. Most often times, other people who came to hear and see the prophet for themselves, were offered a place to stay for weeks at a time, and the prophet and his wife always gave up their beds and slept on the cold floor. How amazing is that.


This room above the store is where the School of the Prophets was held. In this room, the prophet instructed and taught members and Disciples of the church on church Doctrine. Many Revelations and visions came to them in this room.


Also, good friend of mine, whom I haven't seen in 2 years lives only 30 minutes from here, so we made a scheduled stop to her home to say hello and catch up. Great to see you Kendra!


Overall, there were many things that John and I learned on our short trip, and it has deepened my respect for the early Saints who gave up so much for what they believed in. These people were truley remarkable and faithful people who understood better than we do, the miraculous things that had taken place. God and His Son had revealed themselves to Joseph at the age of only 14 (such a humble age) and then taught and instructed him on the great work that they had in store for him to do.

I am so grateful to have the knowledge and the truth of God's love and desires for us to return to Him. And in knowing all these precious jewels of truth, I know it is so important to share it with others as much as we can. For anyone who wants to learn more, or has questions, there are so many great websites to learn about all the things I am talking about. Check it out. www.mormon.org or www.lds.org