The Titans Assemble - Again

Thanks to Study Group chairs, Rich and Lori Boyer and to our tour guides, Brent & Eddy Ward; we're back on another Mormon Heritage Tour. This time in Missouri and Illinois. And our numbers have grown. Everyone has returned from last year's group - Wards, Dibbles, Cannons, Blacks, Sandbergs, Hammers, and Bryce are back. This time Bryce has his new bride, Peggy, with him. First timers, Camerons and Boyers are here joined by Brent's sister, Claudia Ward, and Gary's brother-in-law, Robert Taylor.

Brent and Eddy wasted no time getting us on the road. First stop - Independence, Mo in Jackson County. Brent accompanied our singing with his harmonica and we learned that the site dedicated here for the temple actually encompassed 63 acres of land in anticipation of some 24 buildings. After checking out the "temple lot" we went into the uniquely cone-shaped temple of the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS). The entry to the spiral dome is through a doorway that represents the Sacred Grove in Palmyra. The glass is 3/4'' thick and carved like Lalique. It is spectacular.

Then we were on our way to Richmond to see the statue of Alexander Doniphan and the site of Joseph's imprisonment before being transferred to Liberty Jail. Here also we saw Oliver Cowdery's grave in a lovely little cemetery with a section commemorating the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. David Whitmer's grave was in another cemetery nearby.

At Liberty Jail, our guide told us to watch for symbols in the room. On our way out we pressed her about the symbols. She told us that if we noticed, there is no doorknob on the interior of the jail. Therefore, the jailer would be imprisoned in the building as well as the prisoners until someone came to let him out. What in our lives imprisons us? Can we let ourselves out? There are bars in two walls of the jail. If one looks through them, the picture of the Savior in the next room is aligned perfectly to be seen through the bars. She believes that whatever kind of prison we may be in; we are not there alone. The Savior will be there with us. Lastly, she had us take note of the ceiling. Above this "prison temple" are symbols of the sun, the moon, and the stars. These are symbols found on the Nauvoo and Salt Lake Temples.