July 5th
So I didn’t really understand how far those early Saints had to walk. Reminds me of Moses and the children of Israel wandering around the wilderness. I kind of always just assumed they left Palmyra and headed west making a few stops to establish cities along the way but mostly following a direct route west. I didn’t realize that they first went all the way west to Independence and then east to Nauvoo and then west again to Winter Quarters and then finally on to Salt Lake. They made little settlements all over the place and there are still monuments all over the Missouri/Illinois/Iowa /Nebraska area depicting the saints and the influence they had over this region. And these weren’t short distances. I feel like I have been zig zagging across the Midwest forever and I am going 65mph and not carrying everything I possess. Although Ryan reminded us that we are kind of like the pioneers in that we are traveling in our “home on wheels” too. Our RV is probably 10 times as big as their wagons and we certainly aren’t carrying everything we own in it. We all have plenty of room for our stuff and a nice place to sleep every night. The AC alone would make it a million times better than a wagon. Also the bathroom is a big plus. We aren’t wadding through mud and our rv is completely water and bug proof. Boy am I glad I was not born a pioneer. Kind of. If the spirit we feel as we watch depictions of their lives is anything like how they felt actually living it – I might trade.
So today we visited Independence and Liberty jail. The sacrifices they freely gave were enormous. The Liberty Jail was described as a temple prison which blows my mind. And Joseph and his friends endured it well. My little trials sure pale in comparison and it is not very often I endure them well. The kids sat well for the tour, which surprised me because they were pretty off the walls before. The church does such an impressive job of creating an atmosphere where you can not only learn but feel the significance of the events depicted. It continually surprises me the difference between our church and the Community of Christ. We have been to three areas owned by the Community of Christ now and they are all so different than the church sites. They are more like a business and less like memorial. We came to late to take tours of the Nauvoo and Indigence sites so we just walked around ourselves and read signs. The differences were enormous. Even a simple things like the landscaping. We walked around the grounds of the Community of Christ temple. It looked more like an office building than a temple – except for the huge ice cream cone swirl on top. There were rocks and bushes and trees but there were also weeds all over. Then we walked across the street to the visitors center . Even that was immaculately clean and orderly. The grounds were beautiful with flowers everywhere and not a weed in sight.
The whole community of Christ church just really saddens me. These people used to have the fullness of the gospel and they gave it all up. Now the avoid talking about Joseph smith, don’t use their book of Mormons and deny the existence of God and Christ as two separate beings. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that they can say Jospeh Smith was the founder of their religion but have thrown out so many of his principle teachings. And the one of the most devastating parts of that is the fact that they did it largely for money and acceptance. One of the sister missionaries told us how many of the older members were leaving the church as they see so many changes being made and that most likely the only reason they have totally renounced Jospeh Smith is because of these older members who are probably big tithe payers. Rick was saying he can’t understand why they are holding on to sites like the Jospeh Smith home in Nauvoo or the Kirtland temple. Why not just sell them to the church and totally separate themselves. I would think our church would pay them a pretty penny for such sites.
One of the sister missionaries in the Independence visitors center told us that all the missionaries were a bit nervous for this weekend because the Smith family was having a big family reunion and that as part of it one of the LDS members of the family had arranged to bring the family there to the Independence visitors center. There have been prophecies that the Smith family would find their way back to the church and that the visitors center would play at part in that. Elder Ballard said the time is now. Now they are coming and the missionaries are feeling the pressure. I can’t help but think Jospeh must be devastated that his children weren’t raised with the fullness of the gospel under the leadership of a true prophet and with the privilege of priesthood authority. Someday I am sure that prophecy will be fulfilled.
The community of Christ seems less like a religion that worships God and more like an organization to promote peace. Which of course there is nothing wrong with promoting peace in the world, that is a great thing, but there is so much more they could have. The early saints gave so much but those that left the church when Jospeh died seemed to give them for naught. I guess that is why enduring to the end is an essential part of the gospel. It doesn’t’ do a whole lot of good to suffer through the first half of the trail and then stop without making it the summit.
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