Merritt Memories

We woke up early to head to Carthage. I really wanted Carthage Jail to be last. I wanted to follow a chronological order. But we would have back peddled, and we were on a tight enough schedule already. This was Dustin's favorite part of the trip. We weeped all through the tour. For me, however, it was too heavy. So much heavy emotion and feelings were present. I'm not going to say I don't like to feel uncomfortable, who does, but I don't like heavy...this was too heavy. But I did love to sit outside and just htink about what happened in theis place. Sacred ground for us for sure.  I did find a couple quotes that I like from Joseph Smith, Jr: “I never feel to force my doctrine upon any person; I rejoice to see prejudice give way to truth, and the traditions of men dispersed by the pure principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ” “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of Him: that He li...

We passed through Kirtland on our way to Navoo. Kirtland is where the first temple for our faith was built. It is now owned by The Community Of Christ Church, formerly the RLDS Church. We enjoyed the museum there, but we also enjoyed the tour of the Kirtland Temple. It was interesting to sit in that building that had so much history. That was so importan to people of my faith, but also others that have splintered off. We went through the tour with other families of my faith, members of the COmmunity of Christ, and the FLDS church ( poligomists). Tom, our tour guide, called Kirtland the Grandma of many religions. It was good analogy. We also visited the Newel K Whitney store. It was interesting for me to hear my children's comments. I want it known right upfront that I said nothing to these guys to spark this discussion. Upon entering the store, I heard Angel lean over to Aaron and say something. He chuckled a little and nodded. She saw I was looking at them and said to me, ...

After visiting The Sacred Grove, we came back to our campground. It really is a beautiful, quiet place. We practically had the whole place to ourselves. I am so used to church sites out west. They are always full of people, but the sites in  the east were very different. Not many people at all. We enjoyed some of the fun things there. They had an arcade, bounce mat, pool, mini golf, and a dodgeball pit. We made the most with the time we had. Being on such a tight schedule really didn't allow for a whole lot of extra time. We made sure to get a good night's rest for the next day. We were going to Niagra Falls! Dustin and I were really excited for this. Dustin had been, but none of us. We waited in line. While we waited, they gave us our complementary ponchos. We didn't wait too long. Maybe 30 minutes. Then we were all squished on a boat. We really had to fight the crowd to keep our claimed spots on the boat. Pleople sure like to squeeze in! ...

Our first day in Palmyra, NY we went to two places: 1) Hill Cumorah 2)The Sacred Grove We first visited the vistor's center at The Hill Cumorah. There were many interactive stations that we enjoyed. Then we walked up the actual hil to the very top where there is a memorial for the place that the Angel Moroni visited and gave JOseph Smith the plates.  view from Hill Cumorah to see Jospeh Smith Farm We ate some lunch in the parking lot before we left to go to the Sacred Grove. The Sacred Grove was so quiet. I think that's what spoke to me the most in that space. We gaev each other space to wonder through the gorve as they saw fit. There were two paths, a larger and a smaller. Each path took you through the grove, but you saw different things on each one.  When my parents lived in Galitin, MO, I was too little to remember most of it. But, I have heard my mom talk about visiting Adam-ondi-Ahman...