Church History Tour with Friends

Most of the second part of September we were on a Church History Tour with many of our same friends/returned missionaries with whom we've traveled to various Latin American sites over several years.  We started in Sharon, Vermont and ended in Independence, Missouri.  Here are some shots.
 
 Louis Thacker, a retired Eastern pilot and attorney, who befriended us en route to Atlanta.  His wife is a member but he was traveling solo on this day.  He kept us enthralled with personal stories and the time flew by between SLC and Georgia.  His accounts of his old homestead in rural Louisiana and trying to keep it up in his spare time were particularly entertaining.

 Visitors' Center at the site of Joseph Smith's birthplace.

 Rich May, me, and Kenny Wilkinson - 3 buds reunited again for the trip, and standing on the hearthstone from the Smith's original house.

 Gayle on the same hearthstone on which Joseph and his family had probably stood or stepped on many times.

 In front of the site's monument.

 Onward to Fayette, NY to the Whitmer Farm.

 The site (although not original construction) of the organization of the Church in 1830.

With my former companion, Brent Woolstenhulme, and his current companion, Cheri.

 A mostly re-constructed upstairs bedroom where Moroni appeared in Palmyra, NY.

 I'll spare you all the "period" shots we took.  But this gives an idea of how things have been restored and set to appear with items from or similar to those of the era.

 Gayle with Terry Wilkinson and her sister, Pam May, near the Visitors' Center in Palymra.

 Next to the Smith's original home near the Sacred Grove.  Their second home is just up the road a bit.

 From the Smith home, and showing a period painted rug on the floor.

 This is called Alvin's Tree.  It was planted shortly after he (Alvin, Joseph's oldest brother) died before the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and is thus nearly 200 years old.  As an aside, only about 6 trees in the Sacred Grove remain from that time period.  Most are much smaller and younger.

 Looking out the Smith's second home's back door toward the Sacred Grove.


A depiction of the first vision in the Smith home near the sacred grove.

 Gayle.

 On the path into the grove.

 A few of the trees (not pictured) were quite large in diameter and date back to the time of Joseph.  These are pretty but are very young in comparison.

Many of the returned missionaries and spouses on the trip, after a devotional at the amphitheater at the edge of the grove.

 Looking up toward the Palmyra temple.

 In the Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center with Sharlene Wells Hawkes's daughter, currently serving a mission there.

 Gayle at the foot of Hill Cumorah.

 Us at the Cumorah monument.

 Representation of Moroni and Joseph.

 A local amphibian on the handrail.

 Grandin Press in Palmyra.

 A first edition of the Book of Mormon.

We took a side excursion between Palmyra and Kirtland, Ohio and went up to Niagara Falls.  We're dressed in our Maid of the Mist rain coats.  Good thing, because it was raining in addition to the water from the falls.

With our good friends again.

Gayle near the American Falls.

The two of us.

American Falls to the left with the Horseshoe Falls further up and Canada on the right.  Note the huge amount of spray coming from the Horseshoe Falls.  This explains why I wasn't able to get any photos up next to it in the boat.  Besides the rain, the wind was very strong and the spray made it impossible to photograph anything from my iPhone.

 

 From up on the platform above the river.

 

Whitney store in Kirtland, OH.  School of the Prophets was on the second floor.

 Gayle and some flowers in Kirtland.

 
 We've been studying words from Lorenzo Snow in Priesthood and Relief Society this year.  He was baptized in the river near the Visitors' Center.

 Sister Bailey Harrison, a missionary from Hyde Park we met in Kirtland.

 The Kirtland Temple, owned by the Community of Christ (prior to 2001 known as RLDS).

 Next we went in our two buses down to Carthage, IL.  The second floor window is the one (or a reconstruction of the one) that Joseph fell out of when shot and killed while in jail.

 Next to a statue of Joseph and Hyrum.

 Community of Christ welcome sign for Nauvoo.  We went to some of their tours and centers in Kirtland and Nauvoo and they were good as well.  Interesting to read a bit about the many offshoots over the years that sprang from the original church and who also call the Book of Mormon scripture and Joseph their first prophet.

 Final resting place for these amazing people.

 From the other side of the headstone.  Joseph's and Hyrum's bodies were in at least two locations prior to this (initially to keep them protected).

 The sisters in the room (or a facsimile thereof) where the Relief Society was first organized.

 Outside the location of the first Relief Society.

 Looking back toward Nauvoo from the Trail of Hope (first called the Trail of Tears, but changed to be more positive).  Note the temple on the bluff.

 Gayle next to the Mississippi. Note what the saints crossed (some on ice) in order to leave Nauvoo and head west.

 We were able to visit our friends from the Logan 8th ward, Curtis and Marilyn Broadbent, on a mission to Nauvoo.  Here's Curtis doing the Tinsmith rotation duty on the day we visited.

 Explaining the life of saints during the Nauvoo era.

 Marilyn had the Brigham Young home duty that day.

 What we like to call an elephant ear plant - in Nauvoo.

 Gayle at the same plant.

 We think this is the most beautiful temple, inside and outside.  One of our group was the Superintendent on the building project and shared many insights and stories about the construction of this temple.

A flower among the blossoms next to the temple.

 
 From the front.
 
 And side.

 we enjoyed a meal with the Broadbents at the Nauvoo Inn.

 After dinner pose before heading off to see their missionary apartment!

 Gayle, standing in the midst of the original Nauvoo cemetery where many early saints were buried.

 In Missouri we stopped at an Amish store for some treats. We ended up getting a bag of dried okra and it was pretty tasty (of course we bought other treats as well).

 Yes, they do actually dress like this.

 In front of the store.

 Looking toward the valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman.

 View a bit more toward the Spring Hill direction I believe (to the right).

 Some of those on our trip.

 Gayle always loves to check out the flowers.

 We were where it says "You are Here."

 The oxymoronic name of Liberty Jail in Independence, MO.

 Another splinter group currently owns the temple site Joseph designated in Independence, MO.  Across the street is the Community of Christ (RLDS) temple (see below) and across the other direction is our (LDS) Visitors' Center.

 The Community of Christ temple - although it does not serve the same roles and functions as what we call temples. It was not open at the time of our visit.