LDS Church History tour - Kirtland, OH!

Monday morning, we drove to Kirtland, Ohio to tour the sites where the saints used to live. Kelli and I at the Newell K. Whitney store in Kirtland, Ohio! I took church history classes from Susan E. Black at BYU and loved them! I had seen pictures of the store and it was a joy to actually be at the place once heard of.

The story is, these lanterns each had a different design specific to each family. The purpose serving, if a carriage came through town at dark, one would be able to know who they were by the design on the lantern given off by the candle inside. These lanterns hung for display inside the N.K. Whitney store.

On our tour, the missionary told us this was an original table once used by Joseph Smith Jr. while he lived above the store. I looked at it and was just amazed that they still have it. What a blessing for us to have a little taste of Joseph with us, to remember the sacrifices he made for the fulfillment of the gospel.

Original floorboards, and yes...they looked old!

These scriptures and glasses were sitting on the table once used by Joseph Smith Jr. Yet, not his, it gave the sense of what he would've been doing at this table.

I found these slits in the ceiling so interesting, they are for air conditioning!

The room in which Joseph held the school of the prophets, on the top floor of the N.K. Whitney store.

The Whitney home. I love the yellow paint!

I also found this metal object very interesting, I don't know if I would've guessed. It's a baby bottle. I can't imagine using that now days.

One of the features I came to love of the Midwest was their wildflowers, but not at all the humidity. I fell in love with the beauty of Kirtland and their wildflowers that were abundant everywhere!

Outside the sherry in Kirtland. The saints discovered that if they refined their ash from fireplaces, they could sell it to make glass and ceramic wares. The missionaries on our tour reminded us that Christ refines each of us in a similar fashion until we are perfected.

The Kirtland Temple, construction began in 1831 and dedication services were held March 27, 1836.

A "House of The Lord, built by the Church of the Latter Day Saints"

In the cemetery across the street form the Kirtland Temple lies the twins, born to Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith who died soon after birth in 1831. Also buried under the same grave marker, Mary Duty Smith, grandmother of Joseph Smith Jr., and Jerusha Barden Smith, wife of Hyrum Smith.

Thankful Halsey Pratt, Parley P. Pratt's wife.

On the night of March 24, 1832, Joseph and Emma Smith were caring for their adopted twins. Both of the twins were sick with the measles. While Joseph was sleeping on the trundle bed on the first floor of the Johnson home a mob of about 25 attacked Joseph and dragged him out the front door. Joseph struggled with the mob but was overcome. The mob choked him, tried to put acid in his mouth, put tar all over his body and then covered him with feathers. When Joseph got back to the house, Emma thought that the tar was blood and fainted. Joseph's friends spent the rest of the night cleaning the tar off of his body. The next day, Joseph preached a sermon to a crowd which included some of the mobbers and baptized three people. One of the twin babies, the eleven-month-old boy named Joseph Murdock Smith died four days later. The Johnson Farm held a spirit unlike that at historic main street Kirtland. It's truly a sacred place.

The meadow outside the steps of the John Johnson home. It was most likely where they took him to tar and feather him. Several revelations were received by Joseph Smith and other church leaders while at the Johnson Farm. Sixteen of the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were received. Among these revelations were section 1, the introduction and section 76, the vision of the degrees of glory. As part of section 76, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon stated, "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of (Jesus Christ), this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--."