Spiritual Highs Amid Persecution

The day began with a smile as Brent related how he had mistaken the hotel’s gravy (as in biscuits and gravy) for oatmeal at breakfast. Yummy!

We left in a rainstorm but found ourselves at Far West in lovely, cool summer weather. Here we found a plaque commemorating the birth of Jeff’s great-grandfather. Joseph F. Smith, son of Mary Fielding and Hyrum who was born in a cabin nearby. A lovely monument and well-maintained grounds mark the site designated for the Far West temple that was abandoned when 5000 saints were forced to leave their homes here and relocate in Illinois. Detailed accounts were given of their experiences here, perhaps the most touching was Peggy Wade’s about Emma Smith.

Joseph had prophesied that the twelve would leave for a mission to England from this spot April 26, 1839. Before that prophecy could be fulfilled Gov. Boggs had issued the extermination order and the Mormons were driven out of Missouri. In order to fulfill the prophecy the apostles traveled back the 200 miles to Far West and under cover of darkness at 1:00 am the morning of April 26^th, set the final cornerstone at the temple site and pledged themselves to fulfill their mission. (Each of the four cornerstones represents a group of priesthood: the First Presidency, the Melchizedik priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood, and the 12 Apostles) Wilford Woodruff and George A Smith were ordained apostles in this setting and joined Brigham Young, Heber C Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E Page, and John Taylor as missionaries. The guys stood by the final cornerstone and waved to us to commemorate the apostles’ farewell.

Adam-ondi-Ahman was the scene of a picnic lunch under the trees in this lovely natural garden. We met John Bundy, whose restaurant provided our lunch. He was leaving after delivering our food but felt impressed to come back and talk to us. The result was discovering that John Bundy owns lands in nearby Seth that were previously owned by Jon Dibble ‘s ancestor, Philo. Later Jon recounted a story for us. Philo was one of many of the saints who watched their dream of Zion dissolve in the face of persecution. One night however, during the time they were being driven from Missouri, Philo was rewarded by seeing a vision of the city of Zion, it’s gates, it’s flower beds, it’s celestial beauty.

The group walked down to the overlook and saw part of the 3,500 acres owned by the Church. From this vantage point we could see Spring Hill and Tower Hill. We were told that the soil here is exceedingly rich and that water is abundant. The church is putting in water wells able to support the needs of 300,000 people. We spent some time sitting on the lawn overlooking the valley. Lori told us the story of Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young leaving for their second mission to England. They and their families we ill from fever bred in the swamps of Nauvoo. Still, as Brigham & Heber's wagon approached the crest of the hill leaving the city, both with great effort stood up in the wagon, waved goodbye to their wives & children and called out, "Hurrah for Israel." Lori's family has shared this story through the years and as their daughter Melissa left them at the MTC for her mission, she turned and called to them, "Hurrah for Israel." We ended by signing Scott’s favorite song, “Adam-ondi-Ahman”.

Jeff talked the bus driver into stopping at an Amish bakery for treats as we got on our way. We saw lots of hard working Amish women and tasted some of their baked goods. Doug gave us a fascinating report on Joseph Smith’s presidential campaign en route to Hannibal. We stopped briefly and found everything here closed.

Our evening meal in Quincy included dinner guests, David and Mary Costigan.

David is a retired professor of history at Quincy University. He shared with us some of his vast knowledge of the civil war, the Lincoln-Douglas debate that occurred here and the generosity of the people of Quincy towards the exiled Mormon refugees who had been driven out of Missouri. I was especially impressed when he told of Lincoln’s concerted efforts to develop his style of oratory. How he drew extensively from the Bible and from Shakespeare. Lincoln was able to quote long passages from Shakespeare’s plays. Many of his now-famous phrases come from the bible. For example, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. Lincoln taught himself and learned out of the best books.