Our second day in Independence was spent in the city. The Lord designated Independence as the center place of Zion (D&C 53) as long as the Saints we true and faithful. Now we know that Zion is a state of our heart. Being one as a church and being one with the Lord no matter where you live. Many important things in the history of the church took place in Independence and we learned about a lot of them as we toured the city. We began at the Independence Visitor Center.
Here we learned about the early Saints and how they lived. Also just like temple visitor centers, we were able to watch videos about the plan of salvation and other important messages and blessings our church has to offer. Everything was very interactive and the kids loved it.
Downstairs we got to learn more about pioneer life. We got see a house that was about the same size as a typical pioneer house. The kids were amazed at how small it was. I was amazed that a family with 10 kids could live in it! Then we moved rooms and got to see a printing press and learn how it was used just like in Nauvoo. William W. Phelps had his print shop in Independence and we learned more about him and the printing of the Mormon newspapers as well as the revelations in the Book of Commandments or D&C. We also heard the amazing story of Mary Elizabeth Rollins and how she and her sister saved the copies of the revelations when the mob destroyed and burnt W.W. Phelps printing shop.
In the next room, the kids got to play on some pioneer things like a horse and wagon, a cabin and more.
Right across the street from the visitor center is the Community of Christ temple. It was so tall that it could be seen for miles. We didn't go in it or anything because we didn't know if we could. With all of its spirals upward, it reminded me of the Tower of Babel. Anyway most of the area the Saints used to own is now owned by the Community of Christ and Independence is their headquarters. They used to be part of the LDS faith but it is now an off shoot through Joseph Smith III.
Across from the visitor center and the Community of Christ temple, is the Independence Temple Lot.
This was the place set aside and dedicated for the temple in Independence. The temple was never built but the Southeast cornerstone was laid and dedicated and is still there today. Emily is pointing to it in the picture.
After walking around the Visitor Center and the Temple Lot, we decide to do the walking tour of Independence. We walked all over the city looking for different land markers marking different places in church history. We found the Gilbert & Whitney store (which is still there but now modernized) and the location of W.W. Phelps printing office (the one that was destroyed by the mobs and Mary Elizabeth Rollins and her sister saved the pages.) We also found some locations of pioneer houses and the courthouse where all of the trials took place.
In the middle of town there was the Harry S. Truman courthouse where he was a judge before becoming president. The first picture is of a statue of him. The second picture is of Andrew Jackson on a horse depicting the role Missouri played in he Civil War and the battles fought here. I find it interesting that the Saints were driven out of Independence and Missouri and then a few years later, one of the major battles of the Civil War was fought right here in Independence. If the Saints had still been here, they would have bee right in the middle of the battle. But as it turned out, the Lord protected them by getting them out of there and far away in Utah. Sometimes we don't know why we have to go through a trial until years later but when we realize, we understand that the Lord has a greater plan for us and is sometimes protecting us from other dangers we cannot see.
This is us in front of the original courthouse. Independence was also the beginning of the Oregon and Santa Fe trails so many travelers passed through this bustling little frontier town. I have no idea where this Viking picture came from but somewhere in Independence.
By the time we had walked all over the city in the heat and humidity, we were spent. We headed back to the trailer for lunch and then melted some more in the trailer. Finally we decided we needed to cool off and have some spontaneous fun. We decided to hit up the Adventure Oasis water park in Independence.
This was the best idea we had all week! The water park was so fun and the kids had an absolute blast. And it was so nice to cool off in the pool.
The park had a kiddie area with water splashing and dumping on you from a giant bucket as well as a water playground with kid sized water slides. It also had three giant water slides we could go down by yourself or on tubes. My favorite part though was the lazy river. We just grabbed a tube and spent the day floating down the river.
We had so much fun and it was so nice to unwind and relax from our vacation. It was sort of like a vacation from our vacation. We were so glad we decided to go. This was one of the kids' favorite highlights of the trip.
When we got home from the pool, everyone just crashed on the couches and took a nap. We were so wore out! But we did manage to get up and go out for ice cream at a place all of the locals said was the best. I don't remember what the place was called, but, yes, the ice cream was very good.
We had a great time in Independence these last few days. In the morning we would head out to our next destination. We were glad to get moving out of the heat and humidity of Missouri.
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