This day’s adventure starts very early – 2:30am to be exact. When we left Orlando, I had been to the Dr because of an infection on my face (we think from a bug or spider). I was not about to let a little thing like an infection stop me from going on this trip.
Unfortunately, when I got up in the wee hours, my face was swollen up to my eyes, and I have been calling myself Kwasimodo for most of the trip so far. After a nice visit to the Coschocton Hospital, one shot and three prescriptions later, I am on the road to recovery.
We said our goodbyes to Erma, after visiting her place and enjoying a nice casual breakfast. Our next stop – Kirtland, Ohio.
We arrived in Historic Kirtland about 2:30pm. We were immediately greeted by friendly LDS members and were told that a missionary would be coming to take us on a tour. What a joy our guide was. Her name was Sister Schoell and she is pretty new in the mission field, and is from Salt Lake, but Bruce and I enjoyed her knowledge, her testimony and her stories so much.
Newell K Whitney House
One of the things that impressed me about this house was the fact that there was a summer kitchen for when it was hot. There were two doors on either side that allowed the breeze to come through. This was not usual of most houses of the period, unless the owners were relatively well-off, and, the Whitneys were. The furnishings in the house were quite nice. When Joseph and Emma Smith first came to Kirtland and stayed with the Whitneys, they gave up their own bedroom for them to sleep in, while they slept with their children.
N.K. Whitney & Co. Store
The store was amazing and it’s construction is 80% original. A huge effort was made to stock the store with the items that would have been sold at the time. Some of the items of note:
Shoes: Shoes at the time were not right or left, so not always comfortable, but built to wear more evenly and last longer.
Lanterns: Tin lanterns were customized in a pattern specific to each family so that, in the dark of night, you could recognize who was coming to call.
Bonnets: Women of the era would line their bonnets with peach lining, as it highlighted their complexion to give it a “peaches and cream” glow. This store was also the location of the first Bishop’s Storehouse.
Joseph and Emma lived in this house for 18 months from 1832 to 1834. Emma was pleased to have her own kitchen. Burns from dresses catching on fire was a common occurrence with women in the 1800s as everything was prepared over an open fire. Contraptions such as the one in this fireplace prevented someone from having to reach too far into the fire. One other interesting item in this room was the Courting Lamp. This lamp was given to potential suitors of young ladies, and when the wick ran out, the visitation was over. It is said that more favorable suitors were given longer wicks.
School of the Prophets
In this room, Joseph received many revelations and manifestations. This is the room where he received divine revelation about the Word of Wisdom (Doctrine & Covenants, section 89). Sister Schoell told us that when Joseph received this direction from the Lord, all of the men went directly to the fireplace and threw in their pipes and tobacco. This room held special significance for us. The spirit was very strong, and Sister Shoell offered a beautiful prayer that was just for our family.
Doctrine & Covenants 84-98, 101 and 78 were said to have been received in the SE corner room. Joseph’s original table is still in the room.
Sawmill and Ashery
The reconstructed sawmill was very authentic, and our understanding from Sister Schoell is that the person that was originally supposed to complete this replica backed out at the last minute. The Church located a man in Utah who built the sawmill that is there today a piece at a time and sent to Kirtland – a piece at a time.
The lumber from the sawmill was very important to the Saints as it supplied lumber for houses, businesses and the Kirtland Temple. The Ashery was also significant because citizens were able to bring ashes from their fireplaces in exchange for other goods. Newell Whitney utilized the byproducts of the ashes to make china and other tradable goods.
Bronze Statues
At the end of the tour, we were very excited to be able to view a collection of bronze statues spotlighting key points in Christ’s life. The statues were all intricate and beautiful, but the lifesize statue of Christ labeled “Come Unto Me” was awe-inspiring. Bruce was moved by the fact that the eyes of Christ were so piercing and real that he expected it to begin speaking any time. Another status of importance was that of Doubting Thomas and Jesus. Bruce has often called himself Doubting Thomas and this vignette made a profound impression upon him.
As were leaving the Visitor’s Center and filling out our comment cards, one of the missionaries sang “Where Can I Turn For Peace”. It was acapella and she had the voice of an angel. We promised to stay in touch with Sister Schoell and exchanged emails. It was too late to visit the Temple, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
