Day 12 TIRED but so AMAZING!!!

Today began at 3:00 AM. Yes you read that right. 3:00 AM. Today we left our beloved bus driver John in Cleveland as we boarded the plane for Kansas City, Missouri. We flew into Chicago and then over to Kansas City. From here we met our new bus driver, Gordon....a nice guy but he just wasn't John.

Our bus driver, John....caught reading the Book of Mormon!

First we went to Independence, MO. Now this is such an interesting place. This whole place was an experience of the apostasy for me. You can tell there was a lot of religious turmoil and upset here. Finally things landed in place and settled but it doesn't mean they fell in neccessarily the right place. Many people in Independence belong to the Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). They have a temple there and some other sights as well. Its such an interesting place because we share such a rich history with these people yet we are on totally different paths now.

A few of us headed over to the Community of Christ temple for our first stop. We were lucky enough to join a tour with a group of youth from the Community of Christ. They were on their way to a version of EFY at their church's college named, "Graceland University" in Lamoni, Iowa. It was interesting to go through the tour and not only see the differences they held with the LDS church but also within themselves and their changing from the RLDS church to the Community of Christ. Our tour guide was from the "old church" and you could tell was familiar with the LDS church as well. He was very impressed with how much we knew about church history and the scriptures and chastised the youth of his own church for not knowing their doctrine and history. It was kind of sad for me to look at these youth. They looked like good enough kids but there was no light.

We left the Community of Christ temple (which is really just a glorified church building) and headed across the street to the temple lot and then to the LDS Visitor's Center. Walking into the visitor's center was like a breath of fresh air. Truth emitted from the missionaries as they shared with us the gospel and the history of the area. These missionaries were very enthusiastic and eager to share with us. It was so nice to feel the Spirit and to notice the difference between the two places. Not that the Community of Christ is bad. Its not. They do a lot of good things and are a force for good in the world. They really are. Its just sad that they had truth and now its gone. Like I said...It was like I was experiencing the apostasy first hand. Anyhow...it was nice to be "home". I'm glad we ended at the LDS visitors center instead of the other way around.

From here we went to Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith was incarcerated for so long. The visitor's center there was great. You can tell it was a powerful place. Many talk about Joseph Smith the prophet before Liberty Jail and after Liberty Jail. He had some amazing and trying experiences here and that spirit can still be felt there today.

Far West was next on the trail. Not much at Far West. Just a site, but the cornerstones for the temple are there. It was sad to be me that no structures remain there. A lot of sad things happened there. Missouri was not good to those early members of the church.

Adam-ondi-ahman was the next stop on the trip. Here we had a brief devotional and then had our private time to wander through the area and study scriptures. It was peaceful and beautiful. I didn't want to leave.

From here we headed east to Quincy, Illinois where we would stay the night before heading to Nauvoo the next morning. We did a lot today and I was exhausted by the day's end.