Independence and Liberty

We said goodbye to St. Louis and headed west to Independence.  It was a nice drive on a 4 lane highway.  We saw quite a bit of evidence of drought on this leg of the trip.  Things are really dry in Missouri. 

We arrived in Independence and went to the Visitor's Center to start our time here.  In 1831, members of the church purchased 63 acres in Independence, including the Temple Lot.

There are a few groups that splintered off the original church upon the death of Joseph Smith.  The 3 acre temple lot is now owned by one of those groups--Church of Christ.  The Community of Christ owns the bulk of the land and they have their temple built there.  They have a beautiful sanctuary inside and they hold meetings and conferences there.  They also have an auditorium across the street.

The church owns about 20 acres of the land and there is a stake center and a visitor's center along with a large grassy area on the site.  The visitor's center was excellent.  They have a Christus statue and the background is painted to show Christ upon His Second Coming. 

In Independence, about 65 of the Saints were sent from Kirtland to settle the area.  They were specifically called to live the Law of Consecration.  They did a great job with that for awhile but then other Saints decided on their own to come to Indendence.  Within a year, there were 1200 Mormons here and the local population was overwhelmed.  There also began to be some trouble among the Saints.  It caused a lot of unrest.  The political leaders of the area began to protest and the local militias began to throw their weight around with the Mormons.  It was a troubling time and the Saints eventually were given the opportunity to move to Far West, MO where a new county was created to house the growing Mormon population.  We are going to visit there tomorrow.



Part of the disply in the visitor's center depicting families working together under the Law of Consecration







We took a walking tour of Independence but it was really hot and humid today.  Most of the things on the tour were just sites or lots with no buildings still on them.  Luckily, it isn't a big town!  This is the old courthouse.  It is a very fine looking building.

Independence has two mainstream claims to fame.  The Oregon Trail began in Independence.  Unfortunately, we did not make it to the Pioneer Trail Museum in time for a tour. 

The other claim to fame is that Harry S. Truman lived here.  His wife, Bess, was raised in Independence and lived here in the same house her whole life.  After they were married, she moved into the family home where she was raised and they raised their daughter there.  This is a picture of the Truman Visitor's Center.  Tickets to see the home were sold out for today.  We may be able to come back on Wednesday morning.

It was quite hot and we saw this sign in an ice cream shop window.  It is Eileen's new motto.  And yes, we stopped for ice cream.

After Independence, we drove the short distance to Liberty, MO.  Joseph Smith and 5 of his friends, including his brother Hyrum, were imprisoned in Liberty Jail from December 1838 to April 1839.  By this time, Governor Lilburn Boggs had issued an Extermination Order declaring that the Mormons were to be driven from Missouri or exterminated.  The conditions in the jail were terrible.  This is a recreation of the jail, as the original has been long torn down.  The prisoners were held in the basement which wasn't tall enough for Joseph to stand upright.  It was very cold and the floor was made of stone.  They recorded in their journals that the food was not fit to eat.  On rare occasions, friends could bring them small bits of food through the windows.  It was in these difficult circumstances that Joseph Smith prayed for the Saints who were being driven from Missouri in the harsh winter conditions--D&C 121.  He received a great comforting revelation in D&C 122 and 123.

He was also assured that he would live to finish his work on the earth.

This is the original key to the Liberty Jail.  It was donated to the church by the family that owned it specifically to be displayed in the Liberty Jail Visitor's Center.

We are going to the Kansas City Temple in the morning, but decided to drive there this evening to make sure we could find the way.  This temple is brand new.  It was dedicated in May and our GPS couldn't find it.  Here is a sneak preview.