 |
| Church of Christ (Temple Lot) |
Today was primarily a traveling day taking us from Independence, Missouri to North Platte, Nebraska. Along the way we finished listening to “Joseph Smith the Prophet” by Truman Madsen.
Throughout this trip, Dad has been tremendously fascinated by the endless corn fields, how corn is harvested and what good use can be made of residual corn stalks. These questions have been building for weeks in the car. Finally today, I told Dad to drive so that I could Google the answers and we could end all this talk about corn. Well we did find all the answers, but the discussion did not end. Even after 10 pm tonight, there we were, two old white guys huddled around a computer fascinated by You Tube videos of corn harvesting combine machines. What is happening to us?
 |
| Community of Christ Temple |
An historic moment occurred tonight as we stepped out of the car at our motel into the Nebraska farmland and Dad uttered his first complaint of the entire trip wrinkling his nose: “The air reeks like a barnyard.” He repeated the complaint several times during dinner. I guess the Heavens heard his petition and before we could leave the restaurant, a torrential rainfall poured out of the skies cleansing the air and making it sweet again.
As we dodged through the cold rain to our dry car and warm motel, we felt greater appreciation for our pioneer ancestors who had to walk and sleep outside in these types of conditions on these very plains.
 |
| Pondering it All |
Dad says:
Mark’s above account of the “Miracle of the Barnyard” is accurate. Maybe it’s inevitable that after driving all day with no pioneer sites or inspirational places to enjoy, my attitude became impatient and easily negative. Mark’s interpretation of the cleansing effect as being a gift from Heaven seems right under the circumstances.
We continue to wend our way homeward, though with much still to see in Wyoming. The thought of hugging Kare and sleeping in my own bed is delightful indeed - - and is in no way a reflection on Mark who continues to be the Caretaker of Caretakers.
In the flat state of Nebraska, I’m surprised that the Platte River which the Saints followed has enough grade to make it flow. But it is wonderfully fertile country and provides corn for this nation and others. On my request, Mark Googled “What becomes of old corn stalks, and are they used in any way?” The answer is interesting if you care enough to Google it yourself.
 |
| Walking in Adam-ondi-Ahman |
Referring to our previous two days, I had feelings of great respect for the efforts the Church has made to protect its historic sites. I’d heard that Adam-ondi-Ahman was nothing to see because there’s no development of buildings or structures there. However, the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman and Spring Hill and Tower Hill, so beautifully cared for, speak of great events past and future to happen there.
Our Sunday was most unusual. It began with our own Church meetings and then included visits to the highly unusual Temple and Conference Center of the Community of Christ (RLDS). Everywhere we encounter these people, they are courteous, warm and dedicated.
We also had contact with the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) which is one of scores of remnants of our Church resulting from our move west. We had a delightful hour discussion with an Elder of that Church whose sincerity was heartfelt but whose information about that Church left much to be desired. They hold only the Temple Site itself which Joseph identified in August of 1831 before the Church moved to Kirtland, plus their own building next to that Site.
There are at least seven factions of the Church right in Independence and many others elsewhere (one estimate is at least 150).
Sunday we also visited the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and burial site. It’s beautifully done and certainly justifies my high impression of this “little man” who served as a giant for his two terms following the sudden death of President Roosevelt. Truman faced huge decisions regarding the wars and the economy. He met them squarely, and in my opinion, made right decisions. He is still criticized by many for some of those decisions including authorizing the dropping atom bombs on Japan.
As this day ends, there’s a downpour of drenching rain. How would it have been to be in such weather in a covered wagon or even less?
No comments:
Post a Comment