Independence Missouri

After a breakfast at Denny's, we headed for the Independence Missouri sites. We are actually going about this tour backwards, but there is a good reason for it. We want to end our trip in Connecticut where our son Kenny lives.

To do a trip in order would have been to start at Vermont where Joseph Smith was born and continue west from there. But as I said we did it backwards.

The first place we visited in Independence was the LDS visitor center, which was wonderful! We were interested in visiting the sites and other churches on the same block, and did so.

We visited the Church Of Christ. We had an interesting talk with the gentleman there. Mostly he talked, and mostly we just listened. We were interested in going through the Community Of Christ temple, but was too tired do so. We were headed to the Truman Library and needed to save some energy.

The Community Of Christ Church is the new name since last April of the Reorganized LDS Church. The temple was pretty and Mike's brother Ray told us tonight on the phone that it was worth seeing. Maybe another trip we'll get to do that.

Visiting the Truman Museum was a wonderful experience! We went to the Reagan Library about four years ago, and it was also very nice. These are the only two presidential libraries we've seen, but it's a start.

After that we went to the city of Liberty, to see the Liberty jail where Joseph Smith and five other men were held on false charges for four and a half months.

After that we went to the city Far West, where the early saints lived. There isn't a visitor center there, but the church has bought the land there where the cornerstone has been laid for a temple. There was a wonderful feeling and spirit there.

We met a couple there who were from Salt Lake City. They had driven from Salt Lake to Omaha Nebraska, and then came back to Nauvoo and the other sites we've done today. We will be going to Nauvoo tomorrow.

It was a wonderful day and a very spiritual day for us. We had dinner at Ma and Pa Kettles, went to Wal Mart, and returned tired but happy at our motel room to relax before we set off in the morning for several other sites.