kirtland -- temple and morley farm

Our visit to the Kirtland temple was awesome. It is not owned by the LDS church, but rather the Community of Christ church. They give tours of the temple for about $3 a person. It is an amazing building. Pictures of the inside are not allowed, but we were able to see the first and third floors. All the woodwork is painted white and the pulpits (like those at the sawmill) are white with gold lettering on them. I loved the pews -- they have gates on them, so your family basically sits in a little box. I thought it was a great idea for containing children! At the end of the tour we (our tour group) sang "The Spirit of God" together, just as the early saints would have done. A very nice way to end the tour. The early saints sacrificed much to build this, their very first temple. This is the temple in which crushed china was used on the outside to help the temple shine. The windows are wood frame arches. The glass inside the temple is original, while the glass in the windows on the outside are of course new. The early saints were incredible craftsmen.

The temple is undergoing restoration almost constantly to preserve it.

Here's us at one of the front doors. Off to the side, you can see the cracks in the outer walls of the temple. I assume some of the restoration work will tend to these cracks. There are several all over the temple.

A little tidbit I learned -- after the saints had left Kirtland to go to Missouri, Martin Harris remained behind and kept up the temple and grounds for many years.

Next stop -- Isaac Morley Farm. What a beautiful and peaceful stretch of land. There are no buildings to visit here, although there was once a home and a schoolhouse. Many saints stayed here with the Morleys as they arrived in the Kirtland area. J.S. and Emma lived here when their twins were born/died and when they adopted the Murdock twins. Many revelations were received here. The Morley's joined the church and remained faithful for the rest of their lives.
This is the trail up to where the schoolhouse would have been. Absolutely gorgeous.

Just having fun.