Prophets, Royals, Jawhawkers, Bushwhackers and Bandits

By Greg:

Debi is still on family leave.  After a short scare, and a day back in the hospital, mother and baby are doing well.  Debi reports that she has been able to get a few hours sleep as well.

Meanwhile, I am working hard with Elder Lillywhite finding, renting and stocking with furniture, apartments for Elders and Sisters.  I have also been thinking about a few things.

When Joseph Smith was visited by Angel Moroni he was told that his "name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues. or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people."  In the deep dark recesses of Liberty Jail the Lord whispered to him "The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee; while the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand."  So it is clear, that to some Joseph is the Lord's prophet in this dispensation, while to others, he is at the other end of the spectrum.

I am pretty sure that there are at least a hundred men in this town who would happily kill us if it were still legal.  I know that this was Halloween, but this was  outside a bar across the street from the public square here in Jackson County:

I have been trying to find out why the Kansas City baseball team is called the Royals.  I am from Hooper and I attended Roy High School, in Roy, Utah.  When I went there it was a brand new school (I went there its second year) and we were still in the process of establishing traditions.  Those responsible for choosing our mascot decided on the Roy High Royal.  We adopted the Crown and the Royal Lion.  We had Royal Guardsmen, Royalairs, and our outstanding football players wore black armbands as they were knighted "Black Knights".  They painted a cool crown and lion in the jump circle on the basketball floor and at dances we put up a fence around it so we would not step on the crown as we danced. It was to become a serious tradition:  Do not tread on the Crown!

 No one seemed to care that America had fought the revolutionary War to overcome the Royal class distinction and establish a country where we were all part of "we the people", hey, we were Royal.  We stood and shouted, "We're from Roy and we couldn't be prouder, if you can't here us now. we'll yell a little louder!" It did not matter that some of us were actually from Hooper.

So why the Kansas City Royals? 

I Goggled the question:  Why are the Kansas City Royals called the Royals?  The answer:  They are named after the big livestock show that is held annually in Kansas City called the American Royal Livestock Show.  Now that should have put the question to a rest, but not for me.  I needed to know why the livestock show was called "Royal".  Further, I have noticed that there are several things around here with "Royal" ties.  There is King Street and also Queen Street.  And, of course. there is the Queen City Motel, right here in Independence.

In the early 1980s, I attended a two week income tax couse of study at the University of Illinois.  After I was done, Debi flew to St. Louis and met me and we had a nice trip.  We "took the slow road home" and passed through here and toured the Church history sites.  One night we had just left the Liberty Jail and took the back road to Independence.  The only motel we could find was the Queen City Motel.  It looks even better now than it did then.  The only thing I can say is that I fell asleep, but Debi did not.  She realized that they were renting the room next to us "by the hour".  Still, why the Queen City"?

So I Goggled the American Royal Livestock Show.  Now I already knew that most of the huge ranches in Wyoming and Colorado in the early days were owned by Englishmen.  So it stands to reason that as they began importing breeding stock they would want to show them off, and sell bulls.  Hence, the Kansas City Show.  It began in 1899.  There had been a similar show in London held for years.  It was called the "Royal Livestock Show." So they started calling this one the "American Royal Livestock Show".  The show sponsored a "farm" baseball club and called it, yes, the Royals.  Oh, they also started the Future Farmers of America.

Now, we know all about the problems the Mormons had in Jackson County with the old time settlers.  Even thought they talked the talk about living in a republic and having freedoms, those in the mobs only believed that freedoms applied to themselves.  That sounds a little like "Royals" to me.  The Mormons arrived in 1831 and were pretty much driven out by 1839.  Then the highborn Missourian had to look elsewhere to find an inferior people.  In the 1850s they found what they were looking for.

Missouri was a slave state, and most of the people in Missouri below the river came from Southern States.  Jackson County is below the river.  West of here, Kansas wanted to join the Union.  But the big question was:  Would Kansas be a slave or a free state?  Congress said, "Let the people of Kansas decide." Well, the Jackson County boys went to their fathers and asked, "What can we do?"  And they said, "Well, we drove out the Mormons, you can do the same to the Free-soilers" (those who favored a free state).  So they got on their horses, took their guns, their torches and their liquor and went over to Kansas to persuade the people to vote for slavery.  The problem was there were groups in the north raising money to help northerners pay the $1.25 per acre to actually settle in Kansas.  When it came time to vote, they were residents.  The Missourian were "residents for a day". 

The Missourians were called Bushwhackers.  They burned houses, shot people, stole animals and pretty much did to the people in Kansas what they wanted.  But, the people in Kansas fought back.  They were called Jayhawkers.  They crossed into Missouri, stole back their horses (and a few to pay expenses) as well as liberated slaves.  They also looted, burned and killed.  This border war was really terrible. Today I was in Harrisonville, Mo. and I saw this painting on the wall in the downtown area: 

In case you can not read this or make out what is depicted, this shows Kansas Jayhawkers in blue Union uniforms looting and shooting in the town square of Harrisonville, Missouri.

Well this border war continued until it became legal to kill each other.  Both sides were delighted to have the Civil War finally come and let others join in the fight.  The problem in Missouri was it did not secede from the Union.  So the Jackson County boys (who were pro-slavery, pro-secession) expanded their fight to those who were Unionists and opposed secession.  Many of them were their cousins, brothers and even sons/fathers.  The sad thing is the men on the trigger end of the guns actually knew most of the men on the barrel ends.

One of the Bushwhacker leaders that became a Confederate Colonel was a man named William Clarke Quantrill.  This guy was a bad man (unless you think he was a great man).  Remember, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.  I don't think I would go into the Golden Corral here in Jackson County and yell slanderous things about him.   Quantrill generally liked killing people.  And, he did not fight fair.  He and his men were guerillas.  There are three main rules to guerilla fighting: 1) always be on the offensive; 2) never fight on your enemies terms; and 3) in between attacks, return to normal life and blend in to the general population.  This has been used by many to a great advantage. 

Well, he really ticked off the Union Generals who like picking a battleground, setting a time to begin and fighting it out.  So in frustration they decided to fight back issuing what was called General Order 11.  They determined that the residents of Jackson County were aiding and abetting the terrorists.  So they attacked the civilian population and burned their homes, barns, fields and businesses.

Alexander Doniphan was a leading citizen in Missouri, a lawyer and was also a military leader.  His law partner, David Atchison was also a militia leader and would later be a US Senator, and a leader of a group of Bushwhackers.  The Saints did not have money to pay all of their legal fees so it was proposed to offer the lawyers land in Jackson County.  Joseph Smith, as a friend of Doniphan said:

"I advise you not to take that Jackson County land in payment of the debt.  God's wrath hangs over Jackson County.  God's people have been ruthlessly driven from it, and you will live to see the day when it will be visited by fire and sword.  The Lord of Hosts will sweep it with the besom of destruction.  The fields and farms and houses will be destroyed, and only the chimneys will be left to mark the desolation."

After the Civil War Doniphan attested that the prophesy had been fulfilled, especially following the issuance of General Order 11.  Most historians agree that few if any counties suffered more destruction during the Civil War than did Jackson County Missouri.

After the War it was no longer legal to kill people, but some of them really liked it, so they kept it up.  Quantrill and his men became bandits.  They were joined by two young brothers from north of here.  There names were Frank and Jesse James.  They attacked Northern Carpetbaggers, banks that were foreclosing on farms, and railroads, who were seen as the oppressors of all.

Jesse was caught and killed in St. Joseph, having been betrayed by one of his own men.  But Frank James and William Quantrill were both caught and brought here to Independence for trial.  They were in "jail" but it was more like a hotel.  They were tried by a jury of their peers and found not guilty and released.  Again, one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter.

I think the Devil is a terrorist, the ultimate gruella fighter.  He is always on the offense.  He does not play fair or ever fight on an open field.  And his workers try to hide in the general population so that they will not be found in the daylight.  But beware, God has a General Order that one day will be issued, and all who aid and abet the Devil will suffer wrath.

But, we also have an army on the field.  I am so impressed with the young missionaries that I have met.  Yes, they are good at moving furniture, and eating at Arbys, but they are endowed with power and are the front line of defense and are out there every day!  God bless them all.

Which Church to Join?

By Greg:

Well here is another post.  My children all know when I am left alone because I start to wax eloquent and then I get weird.  Well, I can feel myself slipping.

With my main companion gone, I have been assigned to help Elder Lillywhite with apartment acquisition and furnishing.  He is my now senior companion (he is 70, I am only 61).

Yesterday we started at 8:30 in the morning and ended after 8:00 pm. We found a new apartment to station some elders in Warsaw, Mo.  We will move them out of Clinton.  We found a new apartment for sisters who will move to Clinton.  We will give up the current elder's apartment.  We furnished the new sisters apartment with new beds and all of the other stuff they will need. It felt like moving one of my daughters into a student apartment at BYU.  Clinton is either the beginning or the end of the KATY trail, depending on how you look at it.  Warsaw is about an hour beyond that and is in the area known as the Lakes of the Ozarks.  There are lots of lakes and it was so beautiful with the fall leaves and the calm waters.  If the Elders can fellowship the right people they might get to fish from the shore.

We got back to the office at 5:00, and we were tired, but it was just in time to jump in my truck and go one hour north to Cameron and look for a home for another set of sisters.  On the next transfer (November 12) we need 8 new apartments.  We looked at a couple of options, but decided on a little house.  Again, we will move the Elders to the house and the sisters will get their current apartment.  We made it clear that the elders need to move out and clean it before the sisters arrive.

I have a lead on a couple of other apartments that we will look at on Monday.  This is a big job, but I am happy to help.

I took today and did a real P-day.  I got a hair cut, lubed and washed the truck, went shopping, did my wash (well, actually I went to the cleaners) cleaned the apartment (not to Debi's standard however--but after looking at these Elder's apartment--mine is Temple Ready!). In the afternoon I decided to take a walk.  I walked up to the Town Square and the Temple Lot.  It is not far, but the loop I walked took 2 hours.

I am still amazed at all the different churches.  When Joseph arrived in Far West in the spring of 1838 the Lord changed the name of the Church.  They were the Church of Christ before that April 26, 1838.  In Section 115 it reads: "For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".

Well, if you go to the temple lot and look in all directions you can see:

The Visitor Center for our Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Then there is the "Temple" of the former Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ.  I think the names were too confusing for even them, but they still believe in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, but the look past some of both, and apparently section 115.

I was on the temple lot looking  south and east at our visitor's center and the RLDS (sorry, they will always be that to me) Temple was to my left (north of our visitor's center) and their tabernacle was to my right, just west of us on the same street.

They hold their meetings in their tabernacle, but their temple is for worship and reflection.  It is a symbol of peace, which is one of their major themes.  This is a big plaque on the wall of the temple proclaiming peace.

Also, in the plaza there is this cool statue where the man and his child is "beating swords into plow shares and spears into pruning hooks" as the prophets have dreamed of.

Just behind me was another "slinter group" known as the Church of Christ.  Also called the Church of Christ-Temple Lot.  Their main purpose is to own and hold the temple lot.  They have a white church.

Just north and across the street from the Temple Lot folks is what is called the Stone Church, which is one of the original RLDS buildings in the area.  This was their headquarters before the Tabernacle was constructed.

Now it gets a little tricky.  West of the Stone Church is another building that has this name: The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Around the corner I found the Restoration Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Now I walked east a couple of blocks and was back near the town square.  Here I found another panoramic view of churches.

The 1st Christian Church.  This is cool because the followers of Jesus were first call Christians at Antioch.  So if this really is the 1st Christian Church, it is really old.

Without moving from the interception I saw the 1st Presbyterian Church.  I thought it was also cool, as it was the first.  They are proud of the fact that they held together during the American Civil War, not like their neighbors, the Baptists. They also claim Harry met Bess here in Sunday School.  They do not mention that Harry Truman was not a member of this church.

 

 

Not to be outdone is the First United Methodist church, ever!

 



 

Joseph said they teach for doctrines the philosophes of men mingled with scripture.  Well they have expanded to self defense.

 

 

Then, of course, their is the First Baptist Church.  But I don't think they stayed together during the War of Northern Aggression.  Hence, we now have Southern Baptists.  Still, this one claims to be the first.

 

Harry Truman lived his whole life right here, except when he was in Washington.  He was never baptized nor did he belong to a church.  He certainly had several options very close by.  His church was government.  Here is where he presided as a judge.

As I read the plaques on all of these churches, I was taken by the fact that though many of the buildings were built after the congregations were founded, all of them were founded before the Mormons arrived in 1831.  The early brethren stated that among those opposing us, and also leading the mobs, were ministers of Christian churches in Jackson County.  I think the competition was part of the problem.  Our first missionaries converted several Jackson County families and that probably did not sit well with those ministers.

Well, everyone looks like they are doing OK now.  The buildings are well kept.  It would be interesting to go there tomorrow and see how we stack up with our three wards meeting in our Stake Center against the congregations of the others.

Still, Joseph was told to join none of them.  Especially the Methodists, the Baptists, and the Presbyterians.  Also, he was told to establish THE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 



Holy cow and Halloween

HOLY COW!

 

By Greg:

I have often said that if I have to come back to earth as a cow, as some believe, that I hope I get to be a cow on the Hawaiian Islands.  But maybe a cow at Adam-ondi-Ahman would be nice too!
 

Today is October 31, 2013.  It is Halloween.  Debi and I were married 40 years ago, tomorrow.  We first set our wedding date as Wednesday.  But we soon moved it to Thursday when we realized Wednesday was Halloween.  I guess getting married was scary enough.  But we also did not want to spend all of our anniversaries trick or treating.  Well, we have rarely celebrated on the exact date as Halloween did interfere. Of course, our children have usually come first.  We did celebrate once in Hawaii.  But Halloween in Hawaii is another story.  The call it the Mardi-grais of the Pacific.  This is not at our wedding date, but I still think we look cute.

 

Today our sweet little Georgia Lewis, soon to be known as Gigi (with a strong G, not a Z) was born in West Virginia.  I don’t have all the stats, but the report is after a long day of labor, mother and daughter are doing fine.  She may have red hair like her mother.  She also does not have any teeth, like most of the people in WV. We now have 31 beautiful grandchildren and we love each one.

 

I guess Gigi will always be a citizen of West Virginia.

 

Debi left yesterday to be with Millie and Gigi and to tend Aurora and Dash. Oh Robert fits in there somehow.  So I am left "a lone man in the Garden of Eden".  Yes, remember, Joseph said the garden was here in Jackson County.  Is it good for man to be alone?

As I do not have a companion I have been working in the office today helping Elder Lilywhite with acquiring and furnishing apartments for missionaries.  We need to find 8 apartments and furnish them in the next week.  We have been buying second-hand furniture today.  We have what they call the “Bat Cave” in the basement of the Stake Center.  There is a full basement under the Church that is a multi-purpose area.  It is rough and unfinished, and it is a good place for scouts, storage and a tornado shelter.  Who knows what is there?  There must be over 50 missionary bikes, as well as odd furniture and stuff.  Some is really odd.

 

I went swimming this morning before reporting to work.  I turned on the radio.  I learned that if you are a sex offender in Missouri you are not allowed to be outside from 3 to 10 tonight (Halloween) and you have to put a sign on your home that says you have no candy to give away and that children should stay away.  Tonight that sounds pretty much like me.

Yesterday I went with the Sisters to Cameron to teach our investigator, Andrew, another lesson.  Debi was gone so I arranged with a member sister to go with us so there were three sisters and me in my truck.  That was OK, I guess?  We taught him the Plan of Salvation.  I tried to let the sisters teach, but I did add some, especially when Andrew asked questions.  I love teaching as a missionary.

At one point Andrew asked, “So when we were with our Father in Heaven before we came to earth we were pure, without sin, and then we came to earth and sinned, but you are telling me that we can go back to our Father in Heaven clean and pure again.  How is this done?  How is that possible?  I cannot even imagine that.  That is amazing!”

Yes Andrew, it is amazing.  It is possible.  It is true.  As the Lord told Enos when he asked the same thing, it is because of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his Atonement.  I felt such a spirit as I bore testimony that it is true.  And yes, I too am amazed.

Impact Families

By Greg:

 

Several years ago, my mother compiled a book about the original settlers of our town.  She called it The Impact Families of Hooper.  Well, all families have an impact, but she selected several that she thought the family members especially were memorable.

 

This week we were out in the country looking for Young Single Adults who are on the Church records.  We met a young man, who, with his family, lived on a long dirt road many miles north of Richmond, Missouri.  The family is active in the Church.  I asked the father how he came to be in the Church “way out here?” He said that he was born in the Church.  In the 1930s, missionaries walked down these roads and met his grandparents.  They accepted the message and became an “impact” family in the Church.  All of his uncles, aunts and cousins were and are Mormons.  Now, his children are as well.  The young man had recently had a serious auto accident, but plans to serve a mission when he is fully recovered.

 

One of the “impact” families in Church History is the Whitmer family.  Peter and Mary Whitmer were one of the early converts.  It was in their home that the Church was organized.  They had eight children, five sons and three daughters,  one daughter died young, but the other two married Oliver Cowdery and Hiram Page.  So, two of the Three Witnesses and five of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon were from their family (counting there sons-in-law).

This is the new monument in Liberty, close to the Temple, in memory of the Missouri Leaders, the Eight Witnesses, Zion's Camp, and the Sadler Farm.

 

The Whitmers ended up here in Missouri.  When Joseph Smith came with Zion’s Camp he organized the Presidency of the Church in Missouri.  David Whitmer was called to be the President with W.W. Phelps as 1^st counselor and his brother, John Whitmer as 2^nd counselor.

 

The financial and other troubles that happened in Kirtland in 1837 spread to Missouri.  Joseph and Sidney Rigdon found it necessary to leave Kirtland in the middle of the night in January of 1838.  Their families joined them and they traveled overland in the winter.  Emma was six months pregnant with four little children at her side.

 

While they were in route the High Council at Far West, under the leadership of Thomas B. Marsh (who was also the President of the 12) and Apostle David W. Patten, held councils and excommunicated the entire Missouri Presidency, as well as some of the other Whitmers, including Oliver Cowdery.  This must have broken Joseph’s heart when he finally arrived at Far West and found that many of his oldest friends had turned on the Church, and him!

 

Some of them came back, but none of them ever denied their testimony of seeing the plates.  In fact, their mother, Mary Whitmer, was also shown the plates by the angel, the only women on record to do so.

 

Oliver and several other Whitmers are buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Richmond.  Many years ago the Church erected a monument there honoring the Three Witnesses and the Whitmers.  David Whitmer lived longer and is buried in the city cemetery in Richmond. 

 

 

This is the stone at David Whitmer's grave.

 

 

Christian Whitmer was the first to die.  He died “in the faith” before that terrible period.  He is buried at another site.  A monument was placed there in 2011 to honor the Eight Witnesses, Zions Camp, the Sadler farm (where the Saints found work and refuge when they were expelled from Jackson County) and those who died during the Cholera epidemic at the end of the Zions Camp experience.

 

We were driving along a dirt road near Excelsior Springs when we saw a monument.  We stopped and found that it was the grave site of another Whitmer family member, Hiram Page.

 

 

John Whitmer is buried near Kingston.  We have not been to that site yet.  Kingston is named after Judge Austin King, who was one of the judges who tried Joseph Smith.  He later became the Governor of Missouri and is buried near David Whitmer.  When the Saints were driven out of Caldwell County, the citizens that moved in did not want Far West to be the county seat so they started a new town and called it after Judge King.  Today, Kingston is the county seat of Caldwell County.  This is Judge/Governor King's marker.

This mission is becoming an interesting and enlightening experience.  When I left the mission field, 40 years ago, I thought my life of “tracting” had come to an end.  I was not unhappy at that thought.

 

Sister Haws and I have embarked on a mission of “search and rescue” here in the Liberty Stake.  On the rolls are 568 individuals that are designated as young (18 to 30) single adults.  What we are finding is that many are not single, and a lot are no longer here.  They have moved on, often to points unknown.

 

I am the first to acknowledge a person’s right, or agency, to belong and participate in the Church, or not.  But, it is hard when the Church keeps a person’s record and assigns them to a particular unit.  The leaders of that unit, and often missionaries like us, who are there to assist them, have a charge to seek out all of those who once entered into the Church by baptism.

 

As we drove around the neighborhoods this past month, looking for the homes of those we were seeking, it was as though I could see the past.  I could see young missionaries going up and down those streets.  They were knocking on the doors of those very homes.  This happened many times and over a period of many years.  Most people did not accept their invitation or message, but some did.  A number of those invited them in and listened to what they had to say and a few, a small few, accepted it and decided to join with them in fellowship.  There then followed a joyous baptismal service. The missionaries wrote home and expressed their joy to their parents.  Then there followed a period of activity and involvement.  Often there were children who attended Primary and many of the boys were ordained to the priesthood at age 12 and the girls joined in the Young Women’s program.

 

We are happy to report that many stayed and the impact of them staying is being felt by those who are happily participating in the Church.

 

Now for some of them something changed.  If that family still lives there, the deacon or young woman (who is now in his or her 20s) most often does not live there.  They may have moved on to marriage, the military, school, or just moved on.  Most no longer want to affiliate with us; some are more adamant than others about that.  Some are angry and express rage.  This breaks our hearts.  We wonder what the source of such hurtful feelings was.  We know that we are not the true target, but it is to us that the rage is directed.  We then apologize, retreat and try to express love and an invitation:  Please come back!

 

I know all the research.  I understand the categories. I can speak to why some choose not to affiliate with the Church.  But we are now looking into the faces of the people.  Most of the people we contact are experiencing various levels of upheaval and drama in their lives.  We wonder if they had stayed with the Church and the principles taught by the Apostles and Prophets would they have found more happiness in their lives.  We have. We know God has a plan of happiness.  I have always held that the root of sin lies in thinking that we have a better plan of happiness than God does.  When we repent, we first have to acknowledge that we were wrong, and he was right.  That is a very hard thing to do, and that is where both humility and godly sorrow enter into the process.

 

When I was a young missionary, and we encountered a person who gave us a strong rebuke, we felt the influence of that rebuke for several minutes, often hours, and in a few cases days.  We did several things to dispel the negative feeling, but always we had to have sorrow, empathy and love for the person who rebuked us, before we could move on.  I remember several times stopping and saying a pray that both them and us could overcome the darkness we felt.  Sister Haws and I have now had that same experience several times, and we are certain we will have it again, but we hope we can move on.  We know it will still take sorrow, empathy and love.

 

Our message to all is “Come Back”.  The scriptures say there is joy in Heaven when someone comes back.  The joy is felt not only by their friends and fellow Church members, but we know there is joy that is to be felt by them.  So, again, our message is, “Come Back!”

 

Elder Ballard and this week

By Debi:

 

This last week we have been traveling all other northern Missouri.  The autumn leaves are starting to turn bright red, orange and yellow.  The weather has been beautiful but it is getting colder every day.

 

We have had two experiences this week that I would like to share. One late afternoon we were looking for a Young Single Adult in the town of Richmond.  Just as a side note, there are a couple of special monuments in Richmond.  One is the statue of General Doniphan who plays a big part in Mormon Missouri history and the Monument to the 3 witnesses. Back to the story, the apartment was located in a very old dumpy two story school.  The kind of school that most have burned down or been torn down.  As we walked in the door there was a big sign telling all tenants the rules; no drugs, no selling drugs (even in the parking lot) no going into other apartments and stealing stuff, etc. I was very surprised to read the rules but I was also determined to knock on the apartment door.  I wasn’t going to come this far and have fear stop me from finding that YSA.  We knocked on the door and no one answered.  But out of another apartment came a young man who actually looked very nice.  He asked us who we were looking for and he told us that the man we were looking for had moved to another town.  This young man saw our name tags and asked us about our Church.  He asked if we were preachers.  We told him that we were missionaries.  He told us that he use to go to a Baptist church but his mother had died 6 months before and he felt lost and wanted to be part of a religion.  We talked to him for a little while and he said that he would like the missionaries to come and teach him about our church. We wrote down all of his information and promised him that the young Elders would be by soon.  As we left the building I couldn’t really believe that we had just had that experience.  We almost didn’t go in because of fear and we would have missed meeting and helping this special young man.  We have called the Elders with the information and they are right on it.

 

The second experience was that same night. We went to a home of a young man that we were looking for.  He was at work but his mother spoke to us for quite a while.  She told us that she was not happy that her son had joined our Church.  She is Catholic and she was very hurt.  She told us that she doesn’t think Mormons are Christians and that we are a cult.  We were very sympathetic to her feelings and we both bore our testimonies that we are Christians and that we have a firm testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Redeemer.  I think she felt a little better after our discussion.  We told her we would talk to her anytime she wanted to explain our beliefs and help her understand that her son is not part of a cult.  She had been to a meeting with her friend of a Pentecostal church and a special speaker had come and told them all about the Mormon Church. It made me very sad that there are still people out there preaching that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not a Christian faith.  I hope we were able to soften her heart just a little.

 

Wow, we are having all kinds of experiences.  I have to say that this assignment is a little different from auditing!  We will truly have served two different missions. 

 

Our camera did not do this justice.  It has been a full moon this week.  We have been marking our mission by full moons.  The moon comes up on the horizon without mountains and it looks so huge.  It nearly takes our breath away.

 

 

By Greg:

 

Yesterday we took a day and went biking on the KATY rail-to-trail bike trail.  We over did it but it was so beautiful.  We have previously ridden this trail from St. Louis to here.  After a long ride we were very hungry so we decided to stop to eat at the local Golden Corral.  We were worried that we would not be properly dressed, but our fears were put to rest when we got in the restaurant.  I think this is the local chapter of the Duck Dynasty.   About half the men had long beards and many of the women were wearing duck hunting jackets.  We enjoyed listening to their conversations.  This was country at its best. I said those duck men were starting a fashion trend and Debi thinks these people have always dressed and looked like that and the duck men are just a reflection of reality.

 

Well, so much for that. We have had quite the week.  Last weekend we participated in the 50^th anniversary of the dedication of the Liberty Jail Visitor center.  It was wonderful.  They had a “reader’s theater” that was put on by direct descendants of Joseph Smith, some who are members of our Church.  One of them has been a bishop.  It was very moving.

 

Sister Susan Easton Black Durrant came and gave a presentation.  Many of our children have taken classes from her.  Her husband died and now she is married to George Durrant (father of Devin) and they are serving a temple mission in Nauvoo.  It was fun to meet her after all we have heard about her.  She also knows our son JB and said nice things about him.

 

As part of the Liberty Jail 50^th anniversary the Kansas City Chapter of the BYU Alumni Association held a BBQ, a fundraising auction and hosted an additional speaker.  They auctioned several things.  One of them was a replica of one of the keys to the original Liberty Jail.  The RLDS claim to have the real one, but we also have one, and ours is much bigger, and it is on display in the visitor’s center.  Anyway, they are not making any more of these replicas so they auctioned it off.  It started at $20.  I was willing to pay that.  We would have probably given it to JB.  As some of you know, I was once involved in the Christmas Tree Festival in Ogden.  I know a little about charity auctions and how to bid things up.  Well I helped out this BYU chapter by bidding on this. It sold for $300!  I got out just in time, and I don’t think the guy who won knew what happened.  It was fun, but I scared Debi a little.  Oh, the RLDS does have the door, and they loaned it to us for a while to display.  But now it is in the basement museum at their temple.  So it might make sense that they also had the key.  Ours was given to us by a lady from Liberty in her will who said it was the actual key and she wanted the Mormons to have it when she died.

 

 

As I said, Elder M. Russell Ballard came and gave a fireside Sunday night.  Everyone that came needed a ticket to get in.  It started at 7:00pm and they opened the doors at 6:00pm.  All of the seats were gone by 6:30.  It was a great event.  He came because Hyrum Smith is his great-great-grandfather (Elder Ballard—His mother, who was a Smith—Her father, Hyrum Mack Smith, who was also an apostle—His father, Joseph F. Smith, who was the 7^th president of the Church—son of Hyrum Smith, brother to the Prophet, Joseph). Of course, Hyrum was in Liberty Jail with Joseph.  He was always by Joseph’s side.

 

Elder Ballard also has his family on his father’s side which includes his grandfather, Melvin J. Ballard, who was an apostle.  But his great-grandfather also has a Missouri story.  I discovered this while reading about a river boat on Good Friday on April 7, 1852.  This is not a story about Missouri persecutions, but rather of kindness and Christian service by the citizens of Lexington, Missouri.

 

Henry Ballard was 22 years old and a single man who came from England to New Orleans on the sailing ship Kennebee.  He was a sheep herder traveling with the family of his fiancée, Elizabeth, who is listed as being 26 years old.  Her father, George May, was also a shepherd.  Henry Ballard had with him two sheep dogs.

 

They traveled up river to St. Louis on a Mississippi riverboat.  At St. Louis, they boarded the Missouri riverboat, Saluda.  It took several days to get up river.  They had booked passage to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they planned to join a wagon train company and “cross the plains”.

At Lexington the Missouri River makes a bend.  The current was very great in the spring.  The captain made several attempts over several days to get around the bend.  Then on the morning of April 9^th he apparently said, “I will round the point this morning or blow this boat to hell!”

 

Well, we don’t know where the boat went, or the captain, but about 100 people were killed, including 28 Latter-day Saints.  At least that many Latter-day Saints were also wounded; some losing limbs.  There may have been 175 people on the boat, not all were Mormons.

Henry Ballard and the May family survived, but his two sheep dogs were never found.  The sad thing is that when they began their overland segment, Elizabeth died of cholera. So instead of marrying her, he helped bury her.

The townspeople of Lexington came to the aid of the injured.  Almost everyone lost all their belongings.  There were some orphans that were even taken into the homes and adopted.  They helped bury the dead, and raised money to help the victims.

There is a monument at Lexington in a nice little park.  The bell from the boat went shooting in the air along with a 600 pound safe.  They both landed high up on the river bank. The safe still had a spotted dog tied to it and the bell was recovered and placed on a church, where it is now on display.

Henry Ballard made it to Logan, married and had children.  He was a bishop in Logan for many years. His great-grand-son is a wonderful man, and is truly an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.