Porter Summer Tour - Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland - what a fun surprise! We didn't realize how much there is to see in this small, historic town.
 On Sunday the 28th we escaped the wrath of Hurricane Irene in NY and made our way to Kirtland, Ohio, where the Saints moved in 1831. The original houses of historic Kirtland have been restored to look exactly as they would have looked in the early days of the church. There is a great spirit in Kirtland. We could feel the excitement of the Saints as they were working hard to learn the Lord's will for them, organize themselves as the church grew bigger, and prepare for even more wonderful blessings to be bestowed (the temple).

The Newel K. Whitney store is a pretty significant place. The Whitneys had joined the church when missionaries came to Kirtland, and they welcomed the prophet and Emma into their home and the living quarters in their store for over a year. They were very wealthy, yet they consecrated all they had to the building of the temple and the church, and never were successful financially again. But, they had plenty of faith and commitment and willingness to serve.

The Whitney Store sold a little of everything.

The picture below shows Joseph Smith's table in the upstairs room in the Whitney Store, where Joseph worked and received at least 20 revelations. In fact, it is called the "revelation room."

Next to the revelation room is the room where the School of the Prophets was held. The Savior appeared here and there was great instruction given by the prophet to the early leaders of the church in the tiny space.
Notice below that Joseph is busy writing something as we are listening to the missionaries talk. We got smarter as the trip went on, and we realized that Joseph needed a diversion. So, I carried a pad of paper with me so he could draw pictures. We also started a "star reward system." I watched for appropriate behavior and quietly marked a star on my own piece of paper. Joseph knew that once he got to 5 stars he could get a surprise. This worked great!

Joseph checked out the "bustle oven" where they would bake bread and other baked goods, next to the open fire.

There were a lot of authentic furniture pieces in the houses. We liked the little baby cradle, complete with an early baby bottle. Made out of what?  Lead of course.  Lead baby bottles.

The Johnson Inn in Kirtland is now a visitors center. My favorite scripture happened to be posted on the wall.

Joseph next to a miniature replica of the Kirtland Temple.

And, a great shot of Aubrey I took on the grounds in Kirtland. The flowers were gorgeous.
 
After touring historic Kirtland we relaxed in our hotel, which was one of the cutest hotels we have ever stayed in - it was a Best Western but it seemed like a bed and breakfast full of antiques!  

The next day we visited the Kirtland Temple, now owned by the Community of Christ church. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the temple. It was fascinating to see the inside of the temple, which was primarily designed as a temple focused on instruction, with two large chapels.  We also looked through a little museum next to the temple.

 

 Joseph was the photographer for the pictures above and below.

 Next on our tour, a fun three day trip to an awesome amusement park!