More Missouri (Richmond, Lexington, Far West, Hannibal

Richmond, MO was the town that Joseph Smith and others were taken for their "mock trial" prior to being sent to Liberty. Their counsel, General Doniphan, said of the judge that "a cohort of angels could come down and declare their innocence and it would be the same with this judge".

It was at this jail that the prisoners were so completely offended by the language of the guards that that Prophet stood in chains and declared to their captors, "Silence, ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die this instant!" Parley Pratt said that he had seen "dignity and majesty but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon in an obsure village of Missouri". The funny part is that this village is still pretty obsure. Where the jail was is now a Salvation Army center.



Also in Richmond is a Pioneer Cemetery where Oliver Cowdery and many of the
Whitmers are buried. Ironically, the Church has maintained this small cemetery for the past 50 years.



I couldn't resist taking this photo. We were in the main Richmond Cemetery where Bob Ford is buried. His small headstone reads that he was the person who shot Jesse James. Not much of a tribute in as much as he shot him in the back! I hope I will be known for something more worthwhile.



This is a pretty nice shot of the County Courthouse in Lexington, MO. Not a lot of Church history here, but pretty significant Civil War activity.



A cannonball from the Battle of Lexington is still embedded in the pillar of the Courthouse!



This battlefield is one of the few remaining in which you can still discern the outlines of the trenches. You can see the Missouri River behind me.



Far West! Once the headquarters of the Church and the largest town in MO at the time. There is really not much there now. Just memories of times past. The most significant thing to see is the Temple site with the four original cornerstones. You can envision in your mind's eye what a thriving community of 5000 it was at the time. Many signifcant revelations are now in the D&C even though the Prophet was only there several months.




Our next stop was in Hannibal, MO. This town is pretty much dedicated to Mark Twain's memory. I even got Patty to paint the fence, and enjoy doing it!



Here is Grandpa Jay in front of Mark Twain's boyhood home.



A monument to Tom and Huck. Also, a lighthouse overlooking the Mississippi was erected in Twain's honor some 50 years ago.




Stay tuned until next time for Nauvoo!

Independence and Liberty,MO

From April 6th thru the 13th, Patty and I had a wonderful trip to Missouri and Nauvoo, IL. As most of you know our plans were to make this a road trip starting on Aril 4, but the snow and wind across Wyoming shut down I-80. We just said phooey and got plane tickets to Kansas City on the 6th. After all was said and done we were grateful for the way things turned out. I do enough driving as it is and we still put 900 miles on the rental car for the week. This is the first of a few blogs on the trip. I decided if I put all of this stuff on a what time, you would lose interest and I would run out of gas. So . . . here we go, first, to Independence and Liberty.

Our very first stop on the 7th was to the Independence LDS Visitor Center. You can see that it was a beautiful clear day (albeit a little chilly). We were the only tourists there at the time. A lovely Sister Missionary escorted us through the Center and it was a totally spiritual experience. This Center was recently rennovated. We sat in the front of the Christus statue and listened to the narrative. At the conclusion the Sister Missionary, from behind us, starting singing a sacrament hymn. She had a beautiful soprano voice. What a feeling!



We visited the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church)Temple across the street. Although they have a goodly number of neat artifacts from the Smith family, there was a totally different feel to this "upside down ice cream cone" edifice. Pat and I walked around for quite awhile trying to find someone to tell us where we could find the museum.



The Temple Lot. Literally. This 2 1/2 acre lot is owned by the Church of Christ. Joseph Smith dedicated this lot in August 1831 (see D&C 57:2-3. All I can say is a lot will change in this area in the future. Right now there is a lot of religions (and the associated confusion).



This is the original Flournoy home where Edward Partridge purchased the Temple Lot acreage (63 acres) for the Church for $130 in December 1831.



Jackson Co first courthouse and oldest building owned by the Church. (note: the fire hydrant was there in 1827.)



Liberty is located 13 miles north of Independence. For what it's worth, Jesse James masterminded the first successful daylight bank robbery in Liberty. The Church has a great visitor center there. Once again we were the only customers for the most part and received great attention. We really enjoyed spending a lot of time going to craft store and visiting with the town people. We had some interesting conversations with folks when the learned where we were from and that we were LDS. I will say that everyone we met were very friendly and neighborly. We had a great lunch at Corbin Mill, an old flour and feed mill so I felt right at home.



It was incredible to see the conditions that the Prophet Joseph and the others had to live. (example very little ventilation from the 4 ft walls and the ceiling was less than 6 ft high. All but one of the prisoners was 6 feet or taller, with Alexander McRae being 6' 6". But this Center was a very spiritual one and reminded you as it said in the presentation that "what could have been a time of despair became a season of faith."




This is the gravesite in Liberty of General Alexander Doniphan. He was a real friend to the Mormons. Joseph Smith named one of his sons after him.



In front of General Doniphan's statue in front of the Richmond, MO courthouse, but that area will be for another day.

Surprise Visit from the Dalpias!

On February 26, 2009, Holly Anna and family decided to make a surprise visit home to Utah. The only people who knew that they were coming were the parents. After almost a year of being in Okinawa it was truly exciting to see them again. However, because they have been so faithful (unlike some of the rest of us) of maintaining a weekly blog, it was almost like we didn't miss a beat in the grandkids growth and development.

Denver was excited to have a "Snow War" on Saturday. I guess they don't get to play in the snow much anymore.

The pictures and clips below show some of the activity at the Shupe residencs (formerly the Dalpias yesterday).

Welcome back for a short visit!

February 2009 Birthday Celebration

We had Eliabeth and Robert's families over on February 22, 2009 to celebrate a couple of birthdays (Brittney and Elizabeth).


Enjoying the birthday cake!


Robert brought over their Wii and everyone had a great time. Here is Grandpa Jay honing his skills on the ski jumping event.

Zion National Park - New Year's 2009

Enough said!

Remembering Christmas 2008

In case you missed these great pictures (and wonderful memories) here are some reminders.