We started at the LDS Visitor's Center at the site of the Newel Whitney store and home, ashery, and lumber mill. We learned lots from the senior missionary couple that took us around the site. One of the stories we heard was how the church acquired the land and re-routed roads to have all the sites on one whole section of land (instead of spread out and across the street). President Hinckley was dedicating the Whitney store in 1984. Steve Young (still at BYU) was in Kirtland at the time to run in a marathon, and of course, got a shirt to commemorate the event with 'Kirtland' written on it. The city had been resistant of the church's request to make the area belong to the church - the idea kept getting shot down by the city council time after time. Years later, when Steve Young began starting for the 49ers, the team came to Cleveland to play the Browns. After the game, reporters were interviewing Steve Young, and when he took off his jersey and pads, he had on his Kirtland marathon shirt. Sports Illustrated took a picture. A student at a Kirtland elementary school brought the magazine in to show his teacher (who had been against letting the Church have their way with the site), and she was so impressed she took it to city council. They mayor thought that was pretty cool, and they invited Steve Young to the school (as long as he brought a poster of him in his shirt!). He came, met everyone, and at the next meeting, decided to let the Church develop the site and reroute the roads. I always knew Steve Young was great!
While we were there, President Uchtdorf and his family were there. They were in the Whitney store while we were there, so we couldn't go in. We decided to go to the temple site and come back to go to the store. When we got back, we had a different senior couple take us to the store and learned more stories.
In the early 1980's, Brother Woods (of Woods Cross fame) had a dream of two missionaries staying in the 2nd level of the Whitney store in Kirtland. He decided to go to Kirtland to buy the store. When he got there, he discovered that it was there, but it had become Tubby's Tavern. (It had been several things after the Whitneys left - a tavern a few times, a restaurant, an inn) He went to the owner and offered to buy the tavern. The owner said it wasn't for sale, and Bro. Woods said that anything's for sale for the right price. The owner responded with an 'I'll think it over', and Bro. Woods showed up at his home at 5 am the next morning with another offer to buy the place. The owner sold it to him ('Always wanted a tavern, eh?'), and Bro. Woods kept it until the Church needed it a few years later. Very interesting. Another sign of the Lord's hand in everything.
The Kirtland Temple was next. The Community of Christ church owns the temple, and does tours through it. It was kind of interesting to listen to their video presentation and hear their take on things. Most things are exactly the same, with a few twists, until Joseph Smith dies. A lot of the LDS perspective about the Saints and all their moves are based on their faith in the gospel and knowing that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw and did what he said he did... the Community of Christ perspective felt to be more about the Saints being forced to leave and blindly following. Kind of interesting. Anyway, the temple was very cool. It is pretty small inside. It really would have been something to be inside the day it was dedicated (or the second dedication, said to be even more wonderful, with even more ministering of angels than the first). They said that right now, fire code would allow about 500 to be in the hall where it was dedicated - there were over 1,000 present, in the room, for the dedication. Wow! And talk about uncomfortable seating... yikes! Worth it, no doubt about it - but wow!
We got to go to the second floor, which is almost identical to the first, and then to the third floor, where the School of the Prophets was held for a while. There were 4 or 5 classrooms there for the purpose of educating the Saints, both in gospel topics and in general - reading and writing and such.
Here's some pictures from the day:
Holly and me at the Whitney Store - the Wal-Mart of the early 1830's!
The Whitneys' home. In the 1830s, if you were well to do, you painted your home yellow - the most expensive color of paint around. Red was the least expensive.
Inside the ashery and ready to go into the pit!
In front of the Visitor's Center
What a pretty place! And so green!
Kirtland Temple
Close up of the dormer windows of the temple. What great natural lighting they provided those upstairs classrooms!
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