Fire Storm

I never really understood the term "fire storm" until this week. We had the "perfect" fire storm here in San Diego. The weather, high winds, and draught conditions combined against us in an apolcalyptic way. Sunday afternoon the sun turned orange and the east wind brought all-too-familiar ash - signaling wildfires in the area. Listening to the news, we learned fires were raging in the Ramona area. We were concerned for Katie and George, who live in Ramona. They evacuated that night, moving in with George's brother in La Mesa. We went to bed Sunday night to howling winds, but with a sense that the fire was far from us.
Monday morning we found ourselves under mandatory evacuation. Ironically, I had spent the previous Saturday manning a booth at the local town council's Emergency Preparedness Fair. I went home with new resolve to prepare more thoroughly for this kind of event - having spent several hours telling others how to do it. But of course I put it off. We were fortunate to have time to pack all the cars and leave - and to have somewhere to go. We spent Monday and Monday night at Roger's folks' house in Pt. Loma and returned to our house Tuesday morning even though the evacuation orders had not yet been lifted. The fires swept by a few miles north of us. Watching the blaze on local news, I saw live footage of the fire literally raining down on neighborhoods nearby. We feel grateful to be home, thankful for the four walls around us with only a bit of grit to clean up. Thanks for all your prayers in our behalf.

Lynlee Bo Peep

It has been forever since I blogged - caught in the melee of summer trips and visitors. Things have quieted down some, but the real motivation for adding to the blog is that I finally discovered how to include photos! I can think of no better way to intiate the new-found techno-knowledge than to publish a photo of Lynlee in her Halloween costume. The Bo Peep idea is all Jana's - and Lynlee will be accompanied by her sheep surrogate, Fritzi II, on the big night. We made the costume at my house, so Baxter is standing in for Fritz in this picture. Pretty cute, huh? I posted a few more pictures of Bo Peep on myflickr. Now that I know how to include photos in my posts, there is no stopping me! bwahaha!

Richmond, MO

There is a little pioneer cemetery in Richmond, where grave markers have been salvaged and set in cement (see my flickr). A flood destroyed the cemetery years ago, so the church has taken over the maintenance of the grounds and restored headstones as much as possible. Peter Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery were buried here, although it is impossible to tell where. Heber J. Grant dedicated a monument to the three witnesses at this little cemetery in 1911. Our tour guide told us the three measures of meal in the parable of Matthew 13:33 represent the three witnesses of the restoration. Where does he get this stuff? He also told us Parley P. Pratt was made the missionary companion to Matthias (see Acts 1:15-26) in the spirit world, and that Cain killed Able at Far West, Missouri. As far as I can tell, there is no marker for Able either.

Midwest Headstones

While traveling between church history spots in the midwest, our bus stopped at a few cemeteries. On the road to Richmond we found Sunny Slope Cemetery, where David Whitmer is buried. The headstones in these fine places are an education in themselves. My flickr photos show examples of some interesting trends. Several of the grave markers we saw were sculpted to look like tree trunks. And on MANY headstones, great and small, there was a relief of a hand, the index finger pointing toward heaven. Other headstones bore the likeness of two hands shaking. Although the sign for Sunny Slope indicates it was established in 1911, many of the markers are from a previous time - a time when tree trunks and pointing fingers were in style. Modern cemeteries would have none of that. It causes one to wonder if the dearly departed were given directions so that when they emerged from the grave they would know which way to go. Straight up!

Liberty Jail

Always sounded like an oxymoron to me: Liberty Jail. In fact, when in use it was an inescapable dungeon, located in Liberty, MO. The weather was muggy and warm as our bus pulled up to the visitor's center at the site of the old Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith and others were incarcerated during some of the darkest days of the Church. The jail has been described as a Prison Temple, and indeed it became a sacred place in spite of the vile circumstances of the incarceration. Sections 121-123 of the Doctrine and Covenants were received at Liberty Jail.
The first of two photos up on my flickr shows the rebuilt jail, in a cutaway that gives an idea of the construction of the walls and the dimensions of the basement cell. The other photo shows the exterior of the visitors center, which is lovely. The visitor's center is built around the jail site, with sister missionaries on hand to explain the history. Our tour guide talked about Lyman Wight, also known as the Wild Ram of the Mountains. He was one of those who shared the cell at Liberty with Joseph. Apparently Brother Lyman once told Moses Wilson he was only alive because Joseph wouldn't let Lyman kill him. He seems to have lived up to his Wild Ram epithet.

More Independence

The latest photos up on my flickr show a few more of the sights in Independence, MO. The Historic Courthouse there is a bit of a tribute to Harry Truman, a native son. There was a Truman Museum/ Library in Independence also, but it was not on our tour. The current courthouse has a nice statue of Stonewall Jackson riding a horse on one side and a statue of Harry Truman on the other. Across the street from the courthouse is a reconstruction of the old Gilbert and Whitney Store, looking quite new compared to the rest of downtown Independence. Also up on my flickr is a picture of a stained glass window taken from the inside of the Old Stone Church, and an interior shot from the Community of Christ Temple. It was very interesting to see the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, crosses and seashells all together in the Community of Christ setting. They were lovely to show us around their buildings. Of particular interest was the museum inside the temple, which had oil paintings of Joseph and Emma as well as printers copies of the original Book of Mormon. Wish we had had more time in the museum!

Hedrickites

According to our tour guide, Calvin Stephens, there were around one hundred different sects of Mormonism as of 1964. The official name of one of these groups, the Hedrickites, is "The Church of Christ (Temple Lot)." We were privileged to hear from one of their apostles on our visit to Independence, MO. He was sharp and feisty, eager to share his beliefs and doctrines. Like the Community of Christ, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) believes in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, and recognizes Joseph Smith as a prophet - up to a point. They believe the office of President of the Church is unscriptural, so they have a council of 12 apostles but no first presidency. They also believe they have been chosen to hold the temple lot identified by Joseph Smith as the site for a temple to be built in Independence, and will some day be called upon to build that temple. If you visit my flickr, you will see photos of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) building, located just next to the original temple lot. Also, there are pictures of the temple site marker and some stones they excavated from the lot. It was interesting to see the Hedrickite building, with its legal claim to the temple lot (they in fact purchased the property in the late 19th century), towered over by the Community of Christ Temple just across the way, a neighbor to our own LDS Visitor's Center. The air in Independence was heavy and hot, the humidity seeming to match the doctine-filled air of dispute.