Liberty Trip Day 2

At Liberty Jail, we picked up a map with GPS coordinates to other church history related sites. So we scrapped our plans on going to Kansas City, and decided to take the scenic route home.

Our first stop was the grave of Hiram Page. Just a random spot on the side of the road. He was one of the eight witness to the Book of Mormon.

Next Stop, David Whitmer's grave. It took us a while to find it but we did.

While in Richmond, where the Whitmers were buried/lived, we found the location for where David Whitmer's Livery Stable once was. It is now just a trashy shed for some business, not picture worthy. We also found the old pioneer cemetery in Richmond that the church has a monument at.

Each side says different things about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and the 3 witnesses.

A lot of Whitmers are buried here. The markers are now cemented down for preservation. From what I remember, this little park was kinda trashy and unkempt until the church finally took over it's care. Some are sporadically spread out and those are in the originally found spot. There is a section in the middle of head stones that are being preserved but their original location is unknown.

Dexter also enjoyed getting to run around and play with the sticks and leaves.

Next stop, John Whitmer's grave. We almost got stuck going up the muddy road, but Ashton is amazing and we made found another road and made it.

Our next stop was Haun's Mill. We tried to make it out to the actual location, but it is on a dirt road and it rained that night. The map warned to not go there when it is wet. We tried, but saw the road getting worse and decided to turn around before we were stuck. We did find the memorial in a sleepy/rundown/creepy little town.

Our last stop was at Adam-ondi-Ahman. It was pretty now, but it I'd imagine that it would be even prettier come spring/summer once crops and everything are green and growing.

Then we made it home and crashed. It was a fun little get away.

Church History Tour Day1

We had the opportunity to visit the church history sites throughout Missouri. It was a fun, nice break from our everyday routine. First stop, Far West, MO. At Far West, the church has a beautiful park and memorial.

You can also see the cornerstones that were laid for a temple by the early saints.

While there, Dexter enjoyed picking up all the leaves that he could and throwing the hedge apples that had fallen from the tree.


After Far West we went to Liberty Jail. The jail itself was torn down, but thankfully an early church historian had taken detailed measurements and descriptions about it, so that it could be recreated.


There were 6 men kept in the basement of this jail. Only 5 are modeled because Sidney Rigdon, the 6th man imprisoned, was too sick to stay there. He was also freed sooner because he chose to represent himself in court and gave a speech that was so elegant it won the people over. The other 5 men hired lawyers and were not as fortunate as Sidney Rigdon. The 5 men were: Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Alexander McRae, Lyman Wight and Caleb Baldwin. They were there 12/1/1838-4/6/1839, during the coldest recorded winters in that area. It was so cold that the Missouri River froze over and in order for that to happen in needed to be -31* or colder.

This is a basement window. There were only 2 of them.

This is the upper level. This is where the guards stayed. There was only a trap door in the floor down to the basement. There also isn't a door knob on the inside, so the guards were locked in with the prisoners.

The walls were 4 feet thick. They were designed as an alarm system if a prisoner tried to escape. The first foot was a log wall. If a prisoner succeeded getting through that layer, the second was a foot wide layer of small rocks, that would fall out and make a loud noise, alerting the guards they were trying to escape. The third layer was a 2 foot wall of limestone. The ceiling also had rocks on top of it. It was designed so that in case the prisoners tried to escape through the roof, the rocks would fall on them. The inside measured 14x14.5 feet. The basement as only 6ft tall and several of the men were taller than that.

I didn't realize it, but this is where Joseph Smith recieved the revelation for Doctrine and Covenants chapter 121, 122, and 123.
After Liberty Jail, we went to the Independence Visitors' Center. It was like a mini Salt Lake Visitors' Center. It was more about introduction to the church instead of church history.

The Christus statue that you see when you walk in.

In the basement, there was a little cabin and play area for kids. Dexter LOVED the hoops that they had to play with.

Dexter driving a wagon


Right across the street from the Visitors' Center is the Church of Christs' (formerly the RLDS church)Temple. We didn't go on a tour of it but you can if you want.

We also found the temple site, designated by Joseph Smith and the place where one of the marker stones was laid by Joseph Smith. The actual stones are in the Church of Christs' Visitor's Center. We didn't go there eitherThere are 173 acres that the early church owned. It is now owned by 3 different churches. Three acres belong to the Church of Christ Temple Plot, 60 acres by the Church of Christ, and the rest by the LDS church. We learned that when the time comes, there will 24 temples in this area. WOW!


After that, we had dessert at Clinton's Soda Fountain. This is the place where Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the USA, had his first job (back then it was called Clinton's Drugstore). According the a plaque outside, he "obtained his first job at 3 dollars a week. He opened the store every morning at 6:30, mopped the floor, cleaned away the trash, polished the jugs and bottles, worked at the fountain, and clerked".
Then we crashed in our hotel for our free night!