26 Jul - Independence, MO, LDS Visitors’ Center

Our last historical stop of the day was the LDS Visitors’ Center, which sits on 20 acres of the original 63 acres. When the Saints came to Missouri, Edward Partridge purchased 63 acres of land for the temple complex that was to be built in the New Jerusalem, which will be one of two centers of Christ’s kingdom during His Millennial Reign. Partridge purchased the land for $130, or about $2 an acre. Saints poured in because of revelation given to the Prophet Joseph and purchased lands around the temple site. Soon there were more than 1000 members in Independence. They were drawn to the rich farmland and bountiful resources in this land of promise. Some Saints settled in Clay County, where they were treated well.

In Jackson County, growth came faster than the Saints could build houses. Even though they helped each other, sometimes up to 10 families lived in a small log one-room cabin. Members were counseled to keep the commandments and live as good examples of children of God. The Colesville Saints came here after being deprived of their inheritance in Kirtland. Here, Joseph sealed them up (See D&C 57, 58, 59). Section 59 is given at Polly Knight’s funeral. The Knight family was especially faithful.

One new member of the Church in Independence was W.W. Phelps. He owned a printing establishment and was called by the Prophet to print the Book of Commandments. He also printed the Morning and Evening Star and wrote the hymn, “Now Let Us Rejoice.” We all know the story of the mobs destroying the printing press and shop and tarring and feathering W.W. Phelps and Edward Partridge. We also remember the children who saved pages from the manuscript of the Book of Commandments. Soon problems arose over religion and conflict about slavery (Missouri was a slave state and the Church was opposed to slavery), and mobs drove the Saints out of Jackson County (giving them as little as 15 minutes to gather their belongings). A book of grievances was compiled, part of which was presented to President Van Buren.

We ended this portion of the tour with a couple of videos. One was about the first Bishop’s Storehouse and the message, “Find and Feed those in need” (both temporally and spiritually). Another was President Hinckley speaking about the Church in more than160 nations. Four million copies of the Book of Mormon are printed each year in 77 languages. He spoke of the early Saints learning that Zion was not just a place, but a state of mind where the people had all things in common and there was no contention among them—that they learned to build Zion in their hearts. The missionary then spoke to us about how we can build Zion today. She was impressive in her ability to use appropriate scriptures at just the right times that helped her and us understand the concept of Zion.

We wandered around some of the other exhibits while we waited for the end of the tour. We heard Elder Uchdorf’s testimony of the living Christ and began listening to Elder Bednar’s testimony. We’ll have to look those up on the Church website: www.lds.org
Our last exhibit was a walk through “God’s plan for His Family,” an exhibit and video showing the importance of eternal families. It was very uplifting and a great way to end our tour of the visitors’ center and church history.

It might have been interesting to go on the walking tour of some of the homes and stores in the area; however, we had to catch our planes for home. After 11 days together, it’s time to get back to the real world. You know, the one where we have to make our own beds, change our own sheets, clean our own bathrooms, cook our own meals and clean up afterward, fill up our own cars and drive ourselves places, and generally get back to work. This trip has been uplifting, inspiring, informational, relaxing and hectic at the same time, and most especially, testimony building. Thanks to John, Tricia, and Henry for making it happen.