The next day after touring Adam-Ondi-Ahman and Far West we went and did Liberty Jail and Independence Visitor Center. I have never been to either nor was I familiar with Church History in Missouri so I was excited to be able to not only see Church History but to learn more about Church History. When we got to Liberty Jail, Grant went to get Spencer out of the car and Spencer said in a distressed voice "No more stories Daddy." By this time in our trip Spencer had endured three days of nothing but stories and plays in Nauvoo that he was pretty much tired of it; but he was a trooper and did good at Liberty Jail and Independence.
At Liberty only part of the jail was still intack, they did have to add some rocks and stones over time. To project the jail, they built a rotanda around the jail as well as the Visitor Center. I have only seen pictures so I thought that they built a replica of the jail so I was surprised to learn that it was real thing. As you go through the tour they play audio recordings depicting the events that took place in Liberty Jail. As I sat there and listened my heart filled with gratitude for the Prophet Joseph Smith as well as a deeper respect for him and the person of character he exemplified. I think that is what I have gained most from this trip is a greater sense of character the Prophet Joseph Smith exemplified. He truly was and is a remarkable person who exemplified charity in every sense. Anyway back to Liberty. It was humbling to see the jail that the prophet spent so much time in. The room is really dark and due to all the layers of rock, stone, and wood that they put as safety measures one can see and almost feel how cold it was in there. Knowing now the hardships that the prophet endured, the sections from D&C that came from his time in Liberty mean more to me. The Prophet definitely experienced trials during this period of time, but he never lost his faith in the Lord and in the healing power and strength that comes from the Atonement. His example and the lessons I learned from Liberty fortified my strength and courage to take all my trials with the exact faith, strength and courage as the prophet. If he could endure such crucial treatment with such courage and love; then whatever trial I am asked to endure I can do the same. Liberty Jail was a place on confinement for Joseph Smith, but I think it was in a way a place of freedom for him as well. It was in Liberty Jail that the Prophet learned, and what me must all learn, is that when we place our faith in the healing power of the Atonement our trials don't confine us but give us freedom. I have seen this with experiencing the many trials of Madeline's health. Sometimes the trial seems to great but when I remember that my Savior Jesus Christ already took this upon Him and that I need to turn it over to Him, and not hold onto it, I feel freedom. I feel peace. I feel joy, despite the fact that my trial still exist. The Atonement takes away the worry and gives me room to see what my Heavenly Father wants me to see and to learn what my Heavenly Father wants me to learn so I can return as a valiant Daughter of God. Liberty Jail will hold a special place in my heart for there I learned and gained a stronger testimony of the "Liberty" one can receive when we give our trials over to the Savior.
As soon as you walk through the doors of the Independence Visitor Center you feel like you walking through the front doors of the Temple. The Spirit is in abundance there and the purpose of life emenates from the walls there. The first tour that we did was about family, and when our tour was done I looked in the eyes of each of my children and in their eyes I saw a gift; they are truly a gift and I saw some areas that I could improve on to take advantage of the gift that has been given to me. I also saw how Satan in such suttle ways distracts us from our gifts. I just wanted to hold my children a little closer and a little longer and to savor the time I have with them and make those moments my priority and to kick Satan's distractions to the curb because after all it is the moments that I have with my family that I can take with me to Heaven and when I get to the other side I want my room bursting with moments; for it is in the moments that we find true joy.
Other parts of the Visitor Center were filled with interactive displays for the kids to learn more about Church History and various prophets in The Book of Mormon. The kids really liked these interactive displays and Grant and I were able to captialize on these moments and to talk to our kids about the prophets from The Book of Mormon and hopefully in some small way bear our testiomny to them of the gospel principles that they taught us.
Down stairs they have a Church History tour for you to walk through and in a small way experience life like they did when the Saints lived in Independence. Since Spencer was all "storied" out and Anthony and Madeline were done listening they along with Grant played in a little log cabin play house that they had there. I went on the tour and gave Grant the shorten condensed version afterwards. The Saints in Independence had it hard, I just cannot complain anymore when I feel that life is hard after my experiences in Independence. Despite the hardships that they faced they never lost their spirit of love; that was intriging to me. It caused a lot of reflection in my life and I realized that at times when life gets hard the spirit of love goes out the window and without that spirit I just have this impassable obstacle in front of me. However, with the Spirit of Love abound within you don't see the obstacle you just see blessings and joy. In Heaven there won't be any obstacles because we will all be filled with the Spirit of Love. This is a goal that I have set for myself to fill my home and my heart with spirit of Zion which is love so in my journey through life I will see the blessings and joy that surround me and not my obstacles. Obstacles our Satan's tools to distract us from our eternal goal. There will be obstacles in my life, but if I fill my heart with love (the spirit of Zion) then my obstacles won't be "obstacles" but they will be opportunities of blessings and joy.
After our walk through the visitor center we took a few moments and walked across the street to the Independence Temple site and were able to see a couple of the cornerstones. As I stood there up on the hill I could see in my mind the Temple of God and though there isn't a temple there yet you can still feel of the spirit that comes from the Temple.
This pretty much filled up our day and the kids were ready to head back to the hotel and enjoy some time in the swimming pool. This church vacation has been amamzing and such a testimony building experience. I am so grateful for the opportunities that I had to see and hear such amamzing things. I am so grateful for the early Saints for their faith, courage, and most of all for their Testimony. Despite all their hardships their testimony shined and they never lost sight of the eternal goal. I am so grateful to be apart of a great pioneer heritage and legacy and I hope that I can carry the testimony of our ancestors into the hearts of our children so that the legacy of our ancestors will never die but continue on forever; then when the day comes that we all gather around the dinner table in Heaven there will not be any empty chairs.
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