Nauvoo Trip: Wes Makes An Unlikely Discovery About Melissa

I'm a Pyromaniac. 

Do you have a treasured memory from your childhood? 

One of my favorites is from when I was six years old and

we lived in Orem, Utah.  That Fourth of July,

 my dad splurged just a little and bought us a few sidewalk fireworks.

There were spinning flowers and,

what I remember most,

little black smoking snakes that grew and curled and twisted. 

It was the only time in my youth that I had fireworks. 

It was fascinating and thrilling to me.

The acrid smell, the fumes,

the laughter and squeals

as me and my siblings watched my dad light the fire works--

They are all a vivid memory in my mind. 

We never had fireworks again. 

Either we didn't have the money to buy them,

or we lived in Crestline, CA, where fireworks were banned. 

I saw many aerial firework shows as I grew up,

but the magic and astonishment I felt as a six-year-old

watching my dad light sparkling, glowing, smoking

magic seemed a surreal and treasured fable.  

Even as a mother, 

I could not give my own children the experience that I couldn't forget. 

Living in the foothills of dry, flammable mountains

prevents one from some activities. 

What a thrill of hope I had
as we travelled across wet Missouri and gaped at

tent after tent of fireworks stands.  These weren't little tents either;

they seemed to be circus tents that housed multitudes of elephants!

I wondered what types of fireworks could fill such an immense space--

surely something exciting!

I wanted to beg Wes to pull over,

but restrained myself,

knowing that our budget was already bursting with this trip. 

I watched longingly as red and blue ribbons

waved by and disappeared.

After several tents had traipsed past the windows of our car,
Wes must hav noticed my longing stares:
"What would you think about checking out the fireworks?"
My heart leapt at the thought--but caution kept me
from exposing my hopes too openly;
"What for?  It would only get the kids' hopes up."
Secretly, I felt my own longings begin to pine.
I couldn't believe my husbands next words:
 "Maybe we could get a few little ones for the kids."
I was ecstatic:  "REALLY?!!!!!"
I unloaded all the memoir of my childhood--
my father lighting little magics, the smells, the excitement.
Wes just chuckled as he eased onto the next off-ramp
and we pulled up to a tent that could have
stretched over a football field.

The kids were all sleeping, so we abandoned them
to their dreams for a short jaunt inside.
The minute we entered, my eyes were drawn in a thousand directions:
Long and skinny, squared off boxes,
chains of little dynamites--all assulting my imagination.
As Wes began meandering from table to table
and down haphazard rows,
I couldn't keep up.
One worker casually notified us: 
"Hey, everything is half off--we just need to get rid of it."
My excitement soared as Wes just winked at me,
a pleased and knowing wisdom in his eye
told me he knew he had me hook, line, and sinker.
I stopped at random wares that caught my eyes,
"What's this one?  How does this work?  What does this look like?
How loud does this one sound?  Tell me about this one."
I fired off question after question to Wes,
plumbing the depths of his pyro-technic knowledge,
a coveted secret I had only touched the surface of at age 6.
I stood enwrapt at the tales he seemed to tell:
the colors swirled in my imagination
at his descriptions, detailing the intricacies of magical fireworks.
As he wove picutures in my mind,
we just added more and more to our basket,
each time I asked, "Can we try that one?"
I was like a little girl again--and I loved it!

 After a half-an-hour of browsing--and amassing an arsenal
of Fourth-of-July fun,
we checked out giddily and headed for the car.
The kids saw us coming, loaded down
with a full box of fireworks.
This was going to be a Fourth-of-July to remember!

Nauvoo Vacation: Liberty Jail

After the water park we went shopping at a grocery store to get dinner/breakfast and lunch supplies.  We only had a small amount of room in our car, so we had to shop as we went along.  Besides, we bought food for three meals for 37 dollars; that's just about how much it would cost us all to eat out at McDonalds-- Once!  After a snack, we drove out of Independence and headed toward Liberty, Mo.  As you can see from above, the kids were worn out!  They took a quick snooze as we drove.  Elias had the setting sun on his face, so he covered his head with his little blanky. 

Sun and Fun: Yup, she's tired!

I printed directions from Independence to Liberty Jail

off of Map Quest before we left on our trip. 

We had a nice drive and found ourselves in the little Town of Liberty

without too much confusion; only one junction in

the rural roads gave us a little confusion. 

 We were surprised, however, to end our trip

not at the Mormon Visitors Center for Liberty Jail,

 but at the actual modern-day court house and jail in Liberty! 

 I guess when you do a Map Quest for Liberty Jail,

you get sent to the real deal. 

Wes wanted to know who I was sending to jail! 

We found our way, thanks to city signs,

and went into one of Wes' favorite parts of our trip: 

The "Prison Temple." 

 Reconstruction of the original Liberty Jail.  The main door locked from the outside--once the guards were in there, they were locked in until another guard came to relieve them.  The prison attic and walls had loose rocks in them.  Large rocks.  If prisoners or guards tried to get out, the rocks would tumble down and crush them. 
 

The kids each had their own disposable cameras.  Some of them took pictures of the funniest things! At Liberty Jail, Elias and Leah took pictures of the pictures!  They were each touched by the artwork they saw and wanted to be able to remember the pictures and their feelings.  The photos aren't that great, but that's okay, you can buy the artwork and enjoy it!
This is the one that Elais liked.  It is a picture of Emma fleeing with her children across the mississippi river.  She has the manuscript in a pocket under her skirts. 

The one that Leah was moved by is the painting of Joseph Smith praying in Liberty Jail:

 Waiting for the presentation to start.  Wes is really super-excited to be here. 

He loves the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants

that were revealed to the Prophet while he was entombed in Liberty Jail. 

 Mannequin of Joseph Smith writing revelations in the dungeon.
Mckay said, "We learned that one of the men
who stayed withJoseph Smith, one of the prisoners,
had a hunchback forever after he was in Liberty Jail.
He was tall and couldn't stand up all the way in there.
He was always hunched over. But he stayed with Joseph."

 Here is Wes in front of the jail.  Behind him is the lower "dungeon" level

and the mannequins representing the men who stayed

with Joseph Smith during his incarceration. 

After the tour, Leah said, "The dark and the gun shots scared me.  I think the church should make a playroom in this building like they had in Independence!"

Elias said, " I liked using my own little camera to take pictures of things that were special.  I felt sad about the Joseph being in jail of course, and he was a prophet, of course!"

Ryanne said, "I just don't understand how people like Lyman Wight could desert the church after Joseph died and Brigham Young was sustained.  It's amazing that people could be that close and then leave."  Ryanne really liked the key they had that went to the door of liberty jail.  She took a picture of it. 

Wes's thoughts:  "This was one of the most defining moments of the Prophet's life--and growth.  It was here he may have been most justified in his feelings of frustration and exasperation at the unfair treatment of not only himself and closest friends, but of the Saints collectively.  This was the culmination of 7 1/2 years of pesecution and brutality.  It was here he began to call upon God for justice--for deliverance, for retribution upon the enemies of righteousness.  And in the midst of asking for what he was so convinced was 'right', the Lord taught him the greatest lessons on the Priesthood--long suffering, patience, and love:  the things he felt least inclined to give.  I think life is like that on occasion.  We feel as if we are wronged--and we may have been--we are frustrated, hurt, and possibly even hoping a bit for 'justice' toward those who have hurt us.  And it is within those sacred moments we are offered the opportunity to face and defeat the natural man, and give place for the Saint to surface."

 The sister missionary, "Sister F.", who gave us our tour was from Australia. 

Her accent was fun.  More importantly, she brought the spirit with her. 

Leah fell in love with her and asked her a lot of questions. 

I felt impressed to ask Sister F why she came on a mission

and she shared her feelings and a beautiful testimony of the gospel. 

The children were touched by this and by her

encouragements to be friends as a family--to

strengthen each other. 

Thank you to all those missionaries who serve us and

 strengthen our tetimonies.  We love you all!

Jurney to Nauvoo: The Water Park; Day Three

We had a picnic lunch on the grass outside the LDS Visitors Center after touring the sites in Independence.  Nearby, another family with four beautiful little girls was also eating lunch.  Elias left our picnic with his sandwich and hid behind a tree near the other family so he could spy on the little girls.  One seemed to be near his age.  Little did he know he would meet her again later. 

After lunch, we were ready for some activity and fun, so we went to the Independence City Parks and Rec: Oasis Adventure Water Park  It was cheap: only about six bucks each.  There was a more fantastical water park called Oceans of Fun in nearby Kansas City, but it cost forty dollars per person.  Our budget cried for the former: it ended being the perfect afternoon release of energy.

I opted not to take my camera--I just wanted to have fun and play with the kids, not be a photographer! So I don't have any cute pictures. 

The kids loved it.  There were three water slides.  Elias was too short by a quarter of an inch to slide down, but at first there was a boy lifeguard and he let Elias go down.  Later, a girl lifeguard refused him admittance. He was happy to have his first three turns down and didn't complain.  Leah who was very nervous at first, went down and then said, "I want to go down a faster water slide!" 

There was a kid play-park in the water that had fountains and little slides.  All the kids wanted to play on it.  There was a huge water bucket about 15 feet up that filled up with water and dumped out about every five minutes.  All the kids at the park would sit or stand at the "deluge spot"--they figured out exactly where to sit to get the full force of the water as it careened down.  The force was so great that it would knock them right over--whether sitting or standing.  Elias would jump up afterward and do his little shake and yell, "It's beatin' me up! It's beatin' me up!"  All the parents were chuckling at him.  Later he befriended three cute teenage girls.  He just walked up and introduced himself and they were smitten.  They played with him in the kiddie park for a half hour.  He told them all about his brothers and sisters and even pointed out his mom who was watching.  He made them laugh and giggle.  What are we going to do when he's a teen?!

There was also a rock climbing wall in one pool.  We all tried it out, without much success.  Mckay was a conqueror, though, and made it to the top several times.  The rest of us just fell off and splashed into the pool. 

Our family favorite was the park's "Lazy River". We floated around on inner-tubes many times.  In the lazy river we played tag, chased each other, and made a six-person tube train and "choo-chooed" all the way around. We also had fun trying to shove each-other under the water fall. Ryanne got me good every time we went around!  The funniest thing that happened all day was that one of the kids (name withheld) was trying to jump onto their tube backwards and slipped off.  Somehow, as this person slid off, their shorts went down about five inches.  Everyone near had a nice view of "the Crack and Cheek."  There were some cute teenage boys near too--Ahhh!  I must say it was embarrassing at first, but the  child and I laughed our heads off about it later. 

Although I insisted on sunblock for everyone, Wes fried his legs.  He doesn't like sunblock.  At least he let me put it on his face and neck!   We stayed at the park about four hours until we were all hungry for dinner.  All-in-all, a great way to shake off two days of travelling and one morning of quiet tours.

Summer Vacation: Still Day Three-- Independence, Missouri

Pretty sad that it is now October and I am only writing about the third day of our vacation in July! Such is the life of a busy mother.  Moments for pleasurable journal writing are rare! 

Sorry if this is too long-winded for some of you.  You don't have to read it all.  I am adding all the details I can because I am going to turn this into a book for my children for a Christmas present. 

We visited the temple of the Community of Christ church.  The temple is open to the public for guided tours.  The boys thought the outside looked like a space ship.  Their view changed when we went in.  They were all impressed with some of the beautiful artwork that is inside. 

 

Before entering we paused to let the kids examine
some statues in the courtyard. 
Here a young man and boy are
 beating their swords into plow shares .
  The Community of Christ focuses its
worship on "proclaiming Jesus Christ
 and promoting communities of joy, hope, love, and peace."
They promote international peace.

The kids wanted to pose with the statues. 

They were confused about the young statue-boy having long hair

and insisted he must be a girl!

We tried in vain to explain

 the concept of men having longer hair in the 1800's!

  

Does he look like a blacksmith?

This is the beautiful 5,684-pipe

organ that is in the Temple Sanctuary.

The Community of Christ holds a

Daily Prayer for Peace

in the sanctuary--365 days a year.

These services are led by religious leaders

from different denominations.

Mckay was dying to go up

on the balcony and see the organ.

Our very kind tour guide gave him permission.

 Mckay was very polite and reverent. 

I could see his fingers itching to play the instrument!

He told me later that

he really wanted to play some hymns on the piano.

I don't know if it was the beautiful room, the grand piano,

the thrill of sitting up on a stage in front of us all . . . .

or maybe all of the above. 

He withheld himself from the temptation

and posed instead for a picture.

Symbols of world-wide peace and unity in the Sanctuary.

The girls are under the spiral--looking up into the "conch shell".

It was a unique and beautiful sight. 

Our tour guide told the children

that if they stood directly under the center

of the spiral and looked up at it,

it would be impossible for them to hold still. 

They all tried it,

and all of them stood there wobbling around!

We all had a good laugh and enjoyed the sight. 

Looking up into the

Temple Sanctuary Spiral.

"The design was based on the nautilus seashell,

the ceiling rises 195 feet.

The spiral represents the inward and outward journey of discipleship.

 It is symbolic of the importance of our personal relationship with God

 and our efforts to share the peace of Jesus Christ

 in communities throughout the world."

The cross on the exterior wall of the Chapel

is made from pieces of wood

donated by Community of Christ members

 from areas all over the world.

There are 100 different kinds of wood in this cross.

It represents more than 50 countries

in which their church is officially established.

"The three olive branches at the center of the cross

are shaped like a descending dove.

Both are symbols of peace."

This is the entryway to the "Worshipers Path."

This is a spiraling hallway that lends itself to

peace, worship and reverence.

It has beautiful art work--

symbols of direction on our path to Jesus Christ. 

I didn't take pictures through the path, but did take,

upon request of Ryanne and Leah,

pictures of the entryway art. 

This is the Sacred Grove.

"Layers of carved glass represent the wooded grove

 in New York where Joseph Smith Jr.

had a prayerful experience

 that led him to found this church.

It beckons worshipers toward the sanctuary

as they seek their own encounter with the Divine."

Artist: Kathy Barnard

 It is a beautiful and inspiring piece of work. 

Next is the burning bush.

Leah especially liked this one. 

"The multidimensional textile reminds us

of God's call to Moses found in the Old Testament.

 God called to him out of a bush.

"'Moses! Moses!' He looked and the bush was blazing,

yet it was not consumed... 'Take off your sandals,

for the place where you are standing is holy ground.'"

—Exodus 3:2-5

Artist: Linda Henke

 The next few pictures are not my own,

the hallway was much too dark

for my little camera to take pictures.

 These come from the Community of Christ web-site. 

Prodigal Son

A black granite carving represents the story Jesus shared about a young man who made some poor life choices but was welcomed home by his forgiving father. The parable of the prodigal son assures us God will always accept us with open arms.
"For this son of mine was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and now is found!"—Luke 15:24

Artist: Kathy Barnard

The Cross
For Christians, God's love and grace are embodied in the sacrificial life and death of Jesus. Worshipers walk through the shadow of the rough-hewn cross, which is empty, proclaiming the risen Christ. Jesus said,
"Take up your cross, and follow me."
—Mark 8:34

Artists: John Weller and Lee Sampson

Tree of Life
 This brass, copper, and steel sculpture inspires images about new life, bringing forth good fruit, and spiritual growth. The movement of the leaves inspires the worshiper to continue to journey toward spiritual encounter with the Divine. "The leaves of the tree are for the healing
of the nations."—Revelation 22:2

Artist: Suat Gurtan

 

Fountain of Living Water
At the top of the Worshipers Path is a fountain of water.
Water flows over the shelf of the granite pool,
symbolizing the abundant life God has given us.
The symbolic living water quenches our spiritual thirst,
 cleansing and soothing our soul.
"The water that I will give will become in them
a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."
—John 4:14

Try keeping your kids hands out of this water after a 45 minute tour . . . . yikes! I think by the end of this tour I was so ready to get out!  Not because of the tour.  i would have liked to stay longer.  But the kids were dying--they could barely restrain themselves.  Whew--it was a relief to get them outside and let them run.  If youtake small children on this tour, ask for a short tour and a young tour-guide (they don't talk as much)!

Many of the elements of the Community of Christ, or Re-organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day -Saints are beautiful and commendable.  They do have a sanctuary of peace.  They have much truth to offer.  However, they do not have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ; there are no temple sealings, many of the doctrines of Christ taught in the temple ordinances are not to be found in this community.  Joseph Smith is not proclaimed as a prophet who saw God, just a man  who had a "spiritual encounter" with the divine.  I appreciate their efforts to send a message of the Love of Jesus Christ across the world and further rejoice at the peace they extend to all sects, religions and nations.  I also share my own divine witness that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth today--the fullness of the priesthood and its authority-- the blessing of eternal covenants with the Lord are found only in this organization.  I commend the great good that other religious sects carry out on the earth but also extend a testimony and an invitation for all to seek the Lord's full blessings and promises that have been revealed to a latter-day prophets of God in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

Back outside-- we cross the street and look back. 

Here we can see the little white visitors center

that belongs to the sect called Hedrickites--

a small off-shoot of the Mormon church. 

Behind their building we see

the Community of Christ temple spiral rising. 

To the right is the grassy field

that Joseph Smith dedicated for

the building of the true temple that will yet be

raised to God in the New Jerusalem

by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

We all had to pose at the Temple Site sign. 

We do believe that the Lord will come to

His people here in the last days

and that the city of Zion will be built--temple included!

It is an exciting thing to think about. 

He's just handsome!

~I love this kid~

Behind Wes and Mckay you can see the grand Auditorium

for the Community of Christ. 

This is their World Headquarters. 

This little plot of land where the temple will one day be erected

is owned by the Hedrickites or Church of Christ (Temple Lot),

--another splinter group

from the Mormon religion. 

They are named after the founder, Granville Hedrick,

who claimed to have a vision to return and purchase the land,

which he was able to do in 1867 after the Saints had been

driven from Missouri.

   The Church of Christ is a small group of about 3,000 members.

 They have not built a temple on the lot,

but do have a visitors center. 

 I think they are probably serving a

wonderful purpose in the Lord's plan for this temple lot.

"The Stone", meaning one of the corner stones

laid to mark the temple. 

Wes and Mckay are standing on the spot

where the corner stone was found.

I thought this church across the street was beautiful. 

While Wes went into the Hedrickite Church to learn their beliefs,

the kids took a break.  They were tired of tours,

so they played in the fountain

on the other side of the temple lot. 

Not the end of day three, no--not yet! 

But the end of this long blog!