Missouri Independence
Mission History
Many will remember this painting from the
As you all
know this mission is a land of promise. This is a page of accounts of this great
mission. Starting with the timeline as outlined from Mission net.
Highlights of the History
·
Mission Timeline
·
Mission History – President and Sister
Clayton
·
1973-1976 Mission President - Graham W. Doxey - LDS
Church News
·
Ensign
May 1979 Missouri History Pictures Today
· 1968 Far West Monument erected in 1968 marks the temple site
·
1971 Independence
Visitors’ Center, dedicated in 1971 on part of the temple lot.
·
September 2, 1978 Independence Stake Center Dedication
– President Kimball Visit
·
1979 Additional
Reader’s Digest Inserts Planned
·
1979 Independence MO Courthouse
· 1979 Independence pageant Announcement
·
1981 Benson Visits Independence – LDS
Church News
·
1988 Independence Pageant Story June - LDS
Church News
·
1991
Independence Missouri Regional Conference - LDS
Church News
·
March 1993 – Announcement of New Nebraska
Omaha Mission - LDS Church News
·
1993 Independence Pageant Article – LDS
Church News
·
July 31, 1993 OPENING OF REMODELED
INDEPENDENCE VISITORS CENTER - LDS Church News
·
1993 Liberty Jail 30th
Anniversary Article - LDS Church News
·
1994 FINDING FRIENDSHIP IN MISSOURI, Article - LDS
Church News
·
1994 New Stake President – Independence MO
- LDS Church News
·
Dec 1998 Liberty Jail becomes 'enlightened dome' - LDS
Church News
·
Dec 1998
Display at Independence Visitors
Center builds bridges to community - LDS Church News
·
April 1999 Painting Unveiling at Liberty Visitors Center marks an. of D&C 121-123 - LDS
Church News
·
June 1999 New temple announcement for Omaha Nebraska - LDS
Church News
·
October 2000 Missouri
Heritage Conference - LDS
Church News
·
July 2001 Independence Visitors center lights up for Fourth - LDS
Church News
Missouri Independence Mission History –
From the Beginning
Organized on
Indian
Territory
Reorganized
as "Southwestern States" on Tue 29-Mar-1898
Southwestern States
Reorganized as "Central
States" on
Central States
Reorganized as
"Kansas-Missouri" on
Kansas-Missouri
Reorganized
as "Missouri Independence" on Thu 20-Jun-1974
Missouri
Mission
History
By President and
Sister Clayton
At the 1855 LDS General Conference in Salt Lake City, 5 Elders were called to
serve as missionaries to the Indian Territory Mission. Their service began
among the Cherokee and Creek Indians in the Shawnee area of Kansas. Three of
the missionaries served there for 4 years and were eventually expelled from the
Indian Territory by Indian agents who were unhappy about unrelated trouble with
Johnson’s Army. The last two missionaries from that group returned home in 1877
. . . 22 years later.
An iron railing led up the steps of the
first LDS chapel in the mission which was located in St. Johns, Kansas. The
Mission Home was actually a hotel rented by the church in the same city.
Apostle George Teasdale was the first President of the Indian Territory
Mission, which was formally organized in April 1883. President Teasdale served
until September of that year and was followed by Elder Andrew Kimball, who
served for 12 years (June 1885-April 1897). In April of 1897 Elder William T.
Jack was called as Mission President until May 1900. During his presidency, in
March of 1898, the mission name was changed to Southwestern States Mission and
on December 26, 1900, the Mission Office was moved to
Seven years later the mission headquarters
moved from Kansas City to Independence, Missouri where a hall was rented in the
Examiner Building, (located unknown) for worship services. In 1906 the mission
name was again changed to become the Central States Mission. Another name
change occurred in 1969 and the mission was called the South Central States
Mission and shortly thereafter became the Kansas Missouri Mission (1970).
In 1974, the mission name was once again changed to become the Missouri
Independence Mission.
This mission history was provided by
President and Sister Clayton.
1968 Far West Monument erected in 1968 marks the
temple site
Far
West today is peaceful and pastoral. In 1838, it was Church headquarters. The
Saints purchased thousands of acres of land in the area, but nothing now
remains of their school, stores, homes, and bustling city.
In 1838, the Saints gathered in Far West in Missouri’s Caldwell County. The Prophet Joseph dedicated this grassy field as a temple site; and D&C 118 instructed the Twelve to depart on their missions for England from here. Even though the Saints were driven from the state, the faithful apostles returned to this site before starting their journey across the ocean. Four days before that revelation, on 4 July 1838 the cornerstones for the temple were laid. Pictured above is the southwest cornerstone, marking one corner of the 110-x-80-foot rectangle. Each cornerstone was laid by select groups of the priesthood in a grand procession of Church officers, militiamen, ladies, and gentlemen.
A
commemorative monument erected in 1968 marks the temple site. Cornerstones are
clearly visible next to the fence. All four corner markers may be seen in this
photo.
1971
Independence Visitors’ Center, dedicated in 1971 on part of the temple lot.
1973-1976
Mission President – Graham W. Doxey
Graham W. Doxey was the
first mission president with the mission named Missouri Independence Mission.
Article
about Graham W. Doxey in the Saturday, April 27, 1991 LDS Church News
LIKE NEPHI, HE
WALKS BY SIMPLE FAITH
BY GERRY AVANT, Church News Assistant Editor
For years, Graham W. Doxey has relied on favorite stories from the scriptures
to teach, inspire and motivate others, and to find courage for himself.
``One story that has been a great help to us in the
past few years has been the one of Nephi where he, with his brothers, was
assigned to get the plates from Laban,’’ said Elder Doxey, 64, who, exudes a peaceful, happy
countenance. ``They made the first effort and were unsuccessful. They were
unsuccessful the second time. Nephi finally got his brothers to go back with
him to the city, but they were so cowed with fear that he told them to stay
outside the city while he went in alone. They couldn’t imagine how they
possibly could get those plates. They had lost their gold; they had nothing
with which to bargain.``But even in the face of that, Nephi was not dissuaded.
He went. It was at night, as he said, ` . . . not knowing beforehand the things
which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth. . . . ‘ (1 Ne. 4:6-7.)
``Nephi took a step. He didn’t have knowledge. He went
on blind faith, stepping into the darkness beyond the light.’’
And that, declared Elder Doxey, is an
apt description of how he is approaching his call to the Second Quorum of the
Seventy, to which he was sustained April 6. ``Sometimes we just have to go on
simple faith and take a step,’’ he said.
His parents helped set examples for such steps of
faith. His father, Graham H. Doxey, presided
over what was then the East Central States Mission from 1943-46. His mother,
Leone Watson Doxey, now 91, served as a counselor to LaVern
Watts Parmley in the Primary general presidency. Elder Doxey’s
father died 21 years ago.
The younger Graham Doxey,
who is known to family and close friends as ``Bud,’’ was 16 when the family
moved from Salt Lake City to Louisville, Ky., then the mission’s headquarters.
Years later, in 1973, he and his wife had an
opportunity to be a ``mission family’’ when President Harold B. Lee called him
to preside over the Kansas-Missouri Mission, which a short time later became
the Missouri Independence
Mission. ``We enjoyed three years in the mission,’’ Elder Doxey
said. ``We had our 12th child born to us in Jackson County; we had
two married at that time, and the others were with us in the mission. It really
was a family experience for us. It welded us together.’’
For Elder Doxey, the realization of the
importance of families began in early childhood. ``My grandfather, Tom Graham
Doxey, was born in England,’’ he related. ``His mother died
and his father was away at sea. His grandmother brought him to America when he
was 14, about the time they joined the Church. He lived with a roommate in a
dinky little room. He told me that when he was a young boy, he hungered for a
family.’’
When the time came for Graham W.
to leave the family circle, he gained a greater understanding of the loneliness
his grandfather must have felt in his youth. After he graduated from high
school in Louisville while his father was mission president, he joined the Navy
and was assigned with the American forces sent to northern China to transport
Japanese soldiers out of China after World War II.
``There I was in northern China, lonely and homesick,’’
said Elder Doxey. ``I was the only LDS boy in our unit.’’ The
slim, 6-foot-tall young man with blond hair and blue eyes, through that
experience in China, gained a brief glimpse of the loneliness his grandfather
must have felt.
Out of that experience, however, came an incident that
demonstrated to him that family love can narrow the distance across thousands
of miles. He and about 12 other sailors got on the wrong train while returning
from leave in a city about 40 miles from their base. When they discovered their
error, they got off the train in a desolate area, which he described as looking
much like Utah’s Salt Flats. They started walking back toward the base.
They found a hand-pump cart beside the railroad, which
which they put on the tracks. They got off and pushed it up inclines and jumped
on to ride down hills. ``One time, it started to gain momentum as it went down
hill,’’ Elder Doxey recalled. ``Everybody jumped on. I was
running alongside looking for a place to jump on. The only place left was in
front, between the tracks, right in the center. I thought it wasn’t very wise
to try to get on there, but that was all there was left.
``I thought about my mother. All the years of my life,
as I went out the door, she would say, `Now, Bud, you be careful.’ I could hear
the squeaking screen door close as she was saying that.
``That went through my mind. I thought, `This isn’t
being careful,’ but I had to jump on or be left behind. I ran between the
tracks, jumped on the cart and perched there for a few minutes. Then I fell
between the tracks in front of the cart. My right foot got caught in the gears
underneath and locked the wheels. It was a foolish thing to have done. My boot
was cut and my foot was cut a bit. It could have been serious; I could have
lost my life.
``My next letter from Mother and Dad asked, `Has
something happened?’ I wrote and said I had a little accident but it wasn’t
serious. It turned out that at the very moment I was thinking of my mother, she
and my father were on a mission tour. It was about 2 in the morning where they
were. She sat straight up in bed, shook my father and said, `Bud’s in trouble.’
They got out of bed and knelt beside it and prayed that whatever trouble I was
in, that I would be preserved. We determined it was at the exact moment I was
having that experience with the rail cart. That’s always been a sweet
experience and lesson.’’
After he returned from the Navy, he attended the
University of Utah for a year before he was called to serve in the mission over
which his father had recently presided. The day after his mission began,
however, the mission was divided. He was assigned to the new Central Atlantic
States Mission, where he served two years in Virginia and North Carolina.
While on his mission, he and Mary Lou Young, with whom
he became acquainted before his mission, wrote to each other. They were married
in the Salt Lake Temple on June 22, 1950, by Elder Spencer W. Kimball, a friend of the Doxey and
Young families.
Elder Doxey graduated from the University
of Utah in 1952 with a degree in business and returned a year for graduate
work.
He then went to work for the Doxey-Layton
Realty Co., a company begun in Salt Lake City in 1923 by his father and Howard
J. Layton, a carpenter and contractor.
Sister Doxey received a bachelor’s
degree and was certified to teach elementary school. However, she had other
plans for how she would spend her time and talents.
She said, ``I always wanted a large family. When I was
growing up, I heard my father say many times, `There’s nothing that will bring
you greater joy than having a large family.’ I grew up saying, `I’m going to
have 12 children.’ And I did.’’
Elder Doxey said, ``I thought four would
be nice; we could fit them all in the same car. But Mary Lou’s ambition was to
have a larger family. That takes a lot of selflessness. She has never had any
concerns for the material things she could have wanted; she just wanted what
her family desired and needed. Observing her has been a marvelous inspiration.
She has focused on the important things in life.’’
One of the important things, according to Elder Doxey, is
doing one’s best in life. He recalled an early childhood experience that
lessened his self-esteem but quickened his caution to never offend or hurt
others through thoughtless words or actions. ``I overheard one of my elementary
school teachers tell my mother that I would never amount to anything,’’ he
said. ``The teacher said I would never get through high school. She told my
mother, `If he can just get a job sweeping a floor some place, let him do it.
That’s the best he will do.’
``My parents knew I heard the teacher’s comments. My
father told me, `You can do anything. Don’t hold back. You’ve got all these
capabilities.’
``I guess I worked hard so I would not disappoint my
parents,’’ Elder Doxey said. ``They were supportive, but they didn’t drill
that their children had to have straight-A’s to succeed. And I think that’s
been our attitude toward our children. They were good students, but my wife and
I tried to teach them that grades and paychecks are not the only measures of
success.’’
*****
(Additional information)
Elder Graham W. Doxey
- Family: Born March 30, 1927, in Salt Lake City to
Graham
H. and Leone Watson Doxey.
Married Mary Lou Young June 22, 1950, in the Salt Lake Temple; parents of 12
children, they have 54 grandchildren.
- Education: Attended the University of Louisville one
year; graduated from the University of Utah, 1952; attended graduate school,
1953.
- Military: U.S. Navy, 1945-46.
- Employment: President of Doxey-Layton
Co., a real estate management firm.
- Church service: Bishop; stake president; mission
president, 1973-76; and a counselor in the Young Men general presidency,
1977-79.
President Kimball visited the Mission to
dedicate the new Independence Stake Center.
This photo was provided by Jeff Richards (MIM Alumni, 1976-1978).
This picture was
taken on September 2, 1978. It was on this day that President Kimball
visited the Mission to dedicate the new Independence Stake Center. The photo
was taken at the Mission Conference on the steps of the old chapel that
President Kimball helped to build when he was on his mission to the Central
States Mission. This photo was provided by Jeff Richards (MIM Alumni,
1976-1978).
1979
Independence MO Courthouse
Looking
down from the courthouse in Gallatin, Daviess County, we can see the courtyard
where hostilities began in earnest over an election on 6 August 1838. Violence
escalated until the Saints were driven out again.
1979 Reader’s Digest Inserts
News of the Church
Reader’s Digest Inserts
Spark Interest
“News of the Church,” Ensign,
Feb. 1979, 74
They are perhaps the Church’s smallest missionaries measuring just seven and a
half inches high. But when a series of Church-sponsored inserts published in
the Reader’s Digest went into homes of Digest readers in 1978,
they proved that impact can’t be measured by size.
The four inserts were published in the English and German editions of the April, June, September, and December issues of the Digest. The inserts, labeled clearly as advertisements, explained the family, the roles of men and women, self-reliance, and the relations of parents and children. Since the inserts were published, stories of their effect on individual lives have been accumulating.
Two missionaries serving in the Massachusetts Boston Mission reported that while four elders were at a meetinghouse, a woman called to ask if she could learn more about the Church. She said she and her husband had read the insert in the Digest.
One month after their first appointment with the missionaries, the couple were baptized.
In New Orleans, Louisiana, a woman read the insert and went to a public library to study about the Church. The next Sunday she and her two children attended meetings. They were baptized a few weeks later, followed in two weeks by the woman’s mother.
Two elders tracting in the Oregon Portland Mission met a nonmember woman who told them she had just read the insert. She requested that they come in and tell her more about their church. They subsequently taught her the gospel, and she prepared for baptism.
In the Texas San Antonio Mission, a ten-year-old girl read the insert, and called two missionaries to tell them that she wanted to belong to that kind of family. She asked if they would teach her.
Any conversion to the gospel can have far-reaching effects on the family and friends of the convert. In Howard, Kansas, those effects are quickly becoming obvious.
Michael Land of Howard had been dissatisfied with churches he attended; he began holding services in his home, for his family. He saw Donny and Marie Osmond on television and was impressed with them. Then he read the first insert published by the Church in the Digest. He and his wife wrote Church headquarters for more information. The same day they received information in the mail, they were telephoned by two missionaries. They were taught by the missionaries, and they attended the Missouri, Mormons, and Miracles pageant at Independence, Missouri. Within a week of the pageant, they were baptized, on 26 June 1978.
Brother Land says that before finding the gospel, he was lost in a forest. Now that he is out of that wilderness, he goes back in to help others find their way out. First he introduced his wife’s sister and her husband to the Church. In December, another family he approached were baptized.
The converts in Howard are looking toward a time when they can have a branch of the Church and full-time missionaries in their town.
The Church’s Public Communications Department reports receiving an average of 575 letters a day from Digest readers requesting more information. Those responding to the December insert are sent a recently published brochure What Keeps the Osmonds Together and Happy? It is the same size as the Digest inserts.
Missionaries have used the insert in tracting, and members have given copies of the insert to nonmembers.
Additional Reader’s Digest Inserts Planned
“News of the Church,” Ensign,
June 1979, 77
The Church will publish four additional advertising inserts in the Reader’s
Digest during 1979. Four were published in 1978.
The first in the 1979 series, “7 Keys to Mormonism,” deals more directly with Church doctrine than did the 1978 inserts. The Articles of Faith are included on the back cover.
The insert scheduled for the June issue uses the Word of Wisdom to explain revelation and prophets. The September insert explains the plan of salvation and genealogy work. The Savior is the focus of the insert in the December issue.
Readers can send for free copies of the previous inserts as well as for free tracts. A print of a nativity painting will be available at no cost with the December insert.
1979
Independence pageant Announcement
Pageants Scheduled for 1979
“News of the Church,” Ensign,
Feb. 1979, 74
This year, like recent years, is one of pageantry for Saints in the United
States, Canada, and New Zealand. Nine pageants—eight of them outdoor
productions—have been announced. Admission to all is free. Including Independence MO:
Independence, Missouri, June 14-16—Missouri, Mormons, and Miracles will be staged near the Church’s visitors’ center. Attendance in 1978, 9,000.
1981 Benson Visits Independence – Church News Article
This is an article written about President
Benson and a visit to Independence MO. He was there in the latter part of
1981. President Bensons stayed with the
President and Sister Flake, who was the mission president at the time. This is
a great article of the testimony of not only our Prophet, but the great
testimony of President and Sister Flake. This testimony and love for the gospel
was passed on to their children and all the missionaries that served with them.
Saturday, June 4,
1994
LDS Church News
PROPHET HAD A DEEP LOVE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
BY SHERIDAN R. SHEFFIELD, Church News Contributor
Many redheads suffer through
childhood with jeers about the color of their hair and the numerous freckles
that cover their face and arms.
But having freckles and red hair became a boon for
young members of the Church, thanks to President
Ezra Taft Benson.Many times when he would see a redhead, President Benson would sing the song
``Freckles,’’ to the child’s delight.
Read Flake,
now 25, remembers when President
Benson, then president of the
Council of the Twelve, sang ``Freckles’’ to him and his two brothers – all
redheads.
During a trip to Independence, Mo., President
Benson stayed in the Flake home.
Read’s father, Lawrence Flake,
was mission president of the
Missouri Independence Mission at
the time.
Read was only about 12 years old then, but his feelings
about President Benson and his
visit with the family remain vivid in his mind.
``He had a kind, gentle manner about him that was
really noticeable to us and made an impression even at that young age. I
remember that he was on our level as children, whereas some adults might tend
to shun us or treat us like little kids.
``He talked to us a little about the Church and about
reading scriptures, specifically the Book of Mormon. He told us to remember to
say our prayers and encouraged us to go on missions. I still remember that. It
has stuck with me.’’
Elaine Flake,
mother of the redhead boys and five other children, said President Benson ``was very attentive,
kind and loving and good to our children. He talked to them and made them feel
like they were important. We were just amazed at how good he was with children.
It was definitely a talent he had.’’
While in the Flake home, President Benson also sang ``A Mormon Boy,’’ a song that
became a favorite for the boys after his visit. They all learned the words and
would sing it as well.
``He just seemed to have a real softness and tenderness
for children that was very impressive,’’ the former mission president said. ``He was kind and
gentle with everyone, but he really seemed to be that way with children.’’
One of the qualities that President Benson admired about his
wife, Flora, when he first met her was the way she treated children, he once
said in a tribute to Sister Benson. He took her to his home and while there his
youngest brother fell down. Sister Benson went over to him and said, ``Oh, did
you make a hole in the floor?’’ The comment distracted the young boy from
thoughts of pain and he went on playing. Meanwhile, President Benson was falling
further in love.
President
Benson’s love for children was evident when he would speak to them. He
considered them an important element of the Church by speaking directly to the
children during an April 1989 general conference address:
``Dear children, our Heavenly Father sent you to earth
at this time because you are some of His most valiant children. He knew there
would be much wickedness in the world today, and He knew you could be faithful
and obedient.
``I promise you, dear children, that angels will
minister unto you. You may not see them, but they will be there to help you,
and you will feel of their presence.’’
After his address, a videotape was shown of him singing
``A Mormon Boy’’ to a group of children.
When the videotape was made, the children gathered in
the lobby of the Church Administration Building to meet the prophet. Michaelene
P. Grassli, Primary general president, recounted the experience:
``When he entered the room, he was rejuvenated to see
the children. He reached out to each child individually and said, `I love you.’
I think they could feel that he really did love them. As he sat down on a
bench, he motioned to a couple of children and they crawled on his lap. He
talked to them eye to eye and then he
sang to them. Every eye was glued on him just because he emanated genuine love
and concern for each one. I’m sure he relates to children everywhere in the
same way.’’
His interaction with children indicated how much they
meant to him. Those who assisted him through the years said he went out of his
way to talk with handicapped children or any children with special needs.
President
Benson’s love for and belief in the youth of the Church was also evident, as
explained by Church leaders who have worked with young people. Elder Jack H
Goaslind of the Seventy and Young Men general president said: ``President Benson’s love for youth,
his understanding of their problems, and his dedication to teaching them to
live by gospel principles began early in his life when he served as a young
Scoutmaster.
``His vision of what young men could become through
honoring their priesthood and learning to do their duty helped to shape his
views on living worthily to be ordained to the priesthood, missionary
preparation and service, and preparing for fatherhood and a lifetime of service
to others. Throughout his life, he was drawn to youth, and they were drawn to
him.’’
Speaking of the prophet’s belief in youth, Janette C.
Hales, Young Women general president, said: ``Nothing has been more reassuring to me than
the words of President
Benson when he told young people, `You have been born at this time for a sacred
and glorious purpose.’
``His words give me confidence in the future and in the
divine potential of young people,’’ Pres. Hales added.
Concerning her personal feelings and love for the
prophet, she spoke of when she was set apart as a counselor in the Young Women
general presidency in 1990. President Benson, she related, helped set her apart. ``Being
in his presence,’’ she said, ``made me want to be as prepared as Alma explained
in Alma 34:32.’’
Ardeth G. Kapp spoke of the prophet’s love while she
served as Young Women general president from 1984-1992. ``President Benson’s love for youth
was evident in his countenance and his sensitivity to their presence in
addition to all that he said.’’
In Provo, Utah, for a meeting of the Young Women
Worldwide Celebration in November 1989, President Benson was walking past a young girl about 12 or 13
years old when he stopped and without saying a word cupped the young girl’s face
in his hands.
``To our knowledge he said nothing, but simply looked
at her,’’ Sister Kapp related. ``The evidence of his deep love for her brought
tears to the eyes of those who stood close by. The stake president said he knew the prophet
was inspired to stop and touch the girl because she was a young woman who was
having some challenges.’’
Many children throughout the Church have
returned their love to the prophet through letters. The bulk of his mail came
from children sending valentines, birthday cards, pledges about reading the
Book of Mormon and notes saying they accomplished their goal to read the book.
``I know you are reading the Book of Mormon, for I have
received hundreds of personal letters from you telling me that you are reading this
sacred book,’’ President
Benson said to the youth in his April 1989 conference talk. ``It makes me weep
for joy when I hear this.’’
In a Church News article Feb. 23, 1986, President Benson
wrote a special thanks to children who sent him valentines. ``To the many
choice Primary children and youth who sent us such beautiful valentine’s
greetings, Sister Benson and I send our love and thanks. We were overwhelmed
with your tender, handwritten messages of support. May the Lord bless each of
you in your righteous pursuits is our prayer. We love you.’’
Children would often slip notes to visiting Church
authorities in their area asking them to take the notes back to the prophet.
Many times President Benson referred to youth as ``a rising generation’’
and the ``promise of the future.’’
``God bless the children of this Church,’’ President
Benson said in his April 1989 address. ``How I love you! How Heavenly Father
loves you! And may we, as your parents, teachers, and leaders, be more
childlike – more submissive, more meek and more humble.’’
1988
Independence Pageant Story
Saturday,
July 2, 1988
LDS Church News
PAGEANT DEPICTS SAINTS’ STRUGGLES
Suffering from the effects of a
drought, residents here perhaps found the pageant at the Independence Visitors Center especially meaningful
this year, as it dramatizes the hardships of frontier life in western Missouri during the 1830s
The pageant, “A Frontier Story, 1833,” was presented in
three performances June 23-25 on the hillside behind the visitors center.
Despite stifling heat, an estimated 6,000 people saw the pageant, reported
Elder Robert Blodgett, a public communications missionary in the Missouri Independence
Mission.Each evening for three hours
prior to the pageant, visitors attended a Frontier Fair, a living display of
artisans in pioneer dress using authentic methods and tools of frontier Missourians
in the 1830s. The fair was held in a portion of the set used for the pageant.
About 300 cast members, mostly from the Independence, Kansas City. Liberty and Olathe
stakes, acted out the fictionalized drama based on actual events experienced by
19th Century Latter-day Saints. The story is told from the
perspective of two woman, one Mormon and one non-Mormon, who become friends in
the midst of turmoil between Latter-day Saints and other settlers in Missouri, according to pageant director Cheryl Blasnek.
The production is enhanced by the use of live animals
and special effects to depict such action as thunder and lightning, and the
burning of Mormon homes by a mob.
This is the second year the Frontier Fair has been
held. It was expanded from last year’s event and involved about 45
participants, including some who are not Church members, according to fair
coordinator Coleen McLain.
Displays included candle making, basket weaving, chair
caning, spinning, weaving and log bench and shingle making. Groups and
individuals from the community performed international folk and square dances,
told stories, and gave musical performances on banjo, guitar, harmonica and
hammered dulcimer.
Fair spectators were given free gingerbread cookies and apple
cider. They also received a program containing interesting facts about the
frontier and Mormon pioneers, along with recipes for gingerbread cookies,
old-fashioned soda crackers, old time remedies, and homemade hand or laundry
soap.
Elder Blodgett said about 15 pageant-goers filled out
cards and checked a box indicating they would like more information about the
Church. He said many missionaries rought investigators to see the pageant.
The event was well publicized by local news media, with
two front-page stories in the Independence
Examiner, and an article in the Kansas City Star, Elder Blodgett said.
June 1991
Independence Missouri Regional Conference
Saturday, June 8,
1991
LDS Church News
INDEPENDENCE GATHERING
More than 7,000 members
of the Church attended the Independence
Missouri Regional Conference May 12 in the Municipal Auditorium. The gathering
of Latter-day Saints was perhaps as large or larger than gatherings here in the
1830s when the Church was headquartered briefly in Independence.
Members came from the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan
area and from Topeka, Kan. Speakers included President Howard W. Hunter of the Council of the
Twelve, Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve and Elder Graham W. Doxey of the
Seventy.
March
1993 – Announcement of New Nebraska Omaha Mission in Church
News
Saturday, March 13,
1993
LDS Church News
NINE NEW MISSIONS
CREATED
Nine new missions, including six in the
United States, were announced this week by the First Presidency. Eight new missions were announced last week.
(See March 6 Church News.)
The new missions
announced this week are: Brazil Florianopolis, Brazil Recife South, California
Carlsbad, California Roseville, Canada Toronto West, Colorado Denver North,
Nebraska Omaha, New York New York South, and Tennessee Knoxville.The two new
Brazilian missions
bring the total in that country to 19, while the new California missions bring to 14 the number in
that state. With the new mission
in Toronto, Canada will have seven missions,
and with six new missions
in the United States, the U.S. will have 85.
All the missions
become effective about the first of July. Presidents of the new missions will be announced later.
All the
new missions were listed including the announcement of the new Nebraska Omaha
Mission:
Nebraska
The Nebraska
Omaha Mission
will be created from a division of the Missouri Independence
Mission. The new mission will have 12,532 members in four stakes and
one district, and a population of 1.9 million. The Missouri Independence
Mission will retain
23,058 members in seven stakes, and a population of about 3 million.
The new mission will be headquartered near the historic
Winter Quarters area, now part of greater Omaha, said Pres. Thomas
R. Murray of the Independence Mission.
``There is a very active missionary effort in the four stakes of the new mission – Kearny, Lincoln, Papillion and Omaha,’’ he
said. ``There has been a definite upward trend in baptisms in the missionary
work in that area in the past six months.’’
Included in that effort have been inner city branches
in several areas, including a successful Vietnamese Branch, where two young men
were recently sent on full-time missions.
The historical ties of the Church to the community are
strong, since Winter Quarters was the first city in Nebraska. ``We have a very
good relationship with the community and historical societies,’’ he said.
1993 Independence Pageant Article – LDS Church News
Saturday, July 3,
1993
LDS Church News
IN MISSOURI PAGEANT, LOVE HEALS
OLD WOUNDS
BY NORMA NEILSON KING, Liberty Missouri Stake Public Affairs Director
On ``the hill,’’ 13 families wait in
the growing darkness, their children clamber on wagons, play tag or feed the
two goats whatever vegetation is handy. Teenagers whisper and giggle, and oxen
shuffle impatiently.
At last the strains of an old ballad fill the humid
night air: ``Here far in the realm of Missouri,
I sit and sing and tell thee a story how many trials I have passed o’er before
I found this dwelling in peace. . . .’’The families begin to move, wagons roll,
children scamper back to their parents. ``A Frontier Story: 1833’’ has begun.
As one of the Church’s nine pageants, ``A Frontier
Story: 1833’’ was presented June 23-26 at the four-acre pageant site in Independence.
While the pageant is a recreation of the events that
took place in Independence 160 years ago,
pageant producer Don Organ said the story is really as up-to-date as today’s
news headlines.
``A kind loving Heavenly Father has given the people of
this area a very powerful witness in the form of this historical drama of what
happens when we let pride rule our lives,’’ Brother Organ said of the pageant.
He cites several gospel principles taught in the
pageant, such as the power of the Savior’s teachings, the power of personal
testimony and the witness that ``love is the only weapon for a true
Christian.’’
Some 315 volunteer cast members from the Independence Missouri
Region portray Mormon settlers and Missouri
townsfolk.
``The pageant tells the story of two pioneer families
who meet and remain loyal friends in spite of their differences and difficult
circumstances in their lives,’’ said Cheryl Blasnek, a Gladstone, Mo., resident
who has directed the pageant for the past seven years.
Sister Blasnek said working in the pageant is a
spiritual experience. She has seen testimonies grow and lives changed, and has
learned much about pioneer life and suffering.
``I have come to realize we sacrifice nothing today in
comparison to what the early Mormon settlers did,’’ said Sister Blasnek. One of
her favorite memories is of a young man nearing his 19th birthday
who wasn’t sure he wanted to go on a mission,
but after participating in the pageant, ``told his family he had sufficient
experience out on the hill, that he knew Heavenly Father wanted him to go on a mission.’’
Most of the stage sets are actual buildings. One, a
140-year-old cabin, once stood in a wooded area near Independence and was donated by a member of the Reorganized
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The cabin serves as the Jackson
County Courthouse in the pageant.
Features of the pageant include a historical Fourth of
July celebration complete with fireworks, stagecoach and wagons, a horse race,
and the tragic cabin-burning sequence near the conclusion of the pageant as the
Mormons are forced to leave Jackson County.
The final scene takes place in Salt Lake City and shows
the enduring love of the Savior and those who follow His teachings.
Brother Organ said a ``beautiful sweet spirit’’ was
present during the performances, and many in the audience felt it. ``They
applauded when it was over, but they walked out in a contemplative mood, almost
a reverent mood. There were some hearts touched. It was almost like they didn’t
want to break the spell.’’
A total of 12,600 attended the pageant this year. They
were invited to take home an art rendering of Jesus Christ and written
suggestions for family home evening discussions.
July 31, 1993 RIBBON
CUTTING MARKS OPENING OF REMODELED
Saturday, July 31,
1993
LDS Church News
RIBBON CUTTING MARKS OPENING OF REMODELED VISITORS CENTER
BY BARBARA D. TORRES, Public Affairs Director Independence Missouri Stake
After six months of closure for
renovation and remodeling, the Church’s visitors center in Independence was formally reopened July 9 at a ribbon-cutting ceremony
featuring area government and religious leaders.
Church leaders at the ceremony were Elder Graham W.
Doxey of the Seventy, second counselor in the area presidency; President Thomas
R. Murray of the Missouri Independence Mission; Gerald Harris, former president of the Independence Missouri Stake; Elder Clemont Bishop, visitors center director;
and Elder Dee Horton, a missionary serving at the visitors center.Also taking
part in the ceremony were Mayor William Carpenter of Independence; Roger Yarrington, assistant to the First
Presidency of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; and
Apostle William A. Sheldon of the Church of Christ, Temple Lot.
The renovation included installation of an elevator and
other changes, making it more accessible for the physically impaired. A theater
was added to the first floor, making a total of four theaters that are used to
acquaint visitors with the beliefs of the Church, particularly as they relate
to the Savior and the Plan of Salvation.
A resource room with exhibits on the first floor
includes interactive video screens that teach basic Church doctrines and
concepts, such as ``The Purpose of Life,’’ ``Our Heavenly Father’s Plan,’’ and
``Strengthen Your Families.’’
A museum of Church history on the lower level features
displays of the Mormon experience in Missouri. The displays include
a multi-media theater that presents the story of LDS settlements of the 1800s.
Authentic artifacts dating back to the 1830s are on display, and many
historical items have been painstakingly recreated to give visitors a
first-hand view of family life in frontier Missouri.
Music was provided by a string trio comprised of Dr. A.
Harold Goodman, a former Music Department chairman at BYU, and his
granddaughters Arian and Natalie Goodman of Blue Springs, Mo. Leslie Goodman,
accompanied by Yvonne Bishop, sang a vocal solo. A reception was held after the
program.
The visitors center in Independence
is open each day from 9 a.m. to
1993
Liberty Jail 30th Anniversary Article
Saturday, October 2, 1993
LDS Church News
30TH ANNIVERSARY RECALLS CHURCH’S RECONSTRUCTION OF
HISTORIC LIBERTY JAIL
BY NORMA NEILSON KING, Liberty Missouri Stake Director of Public Affairs
One hundred fifty-five years after
the Prophet Joseph Smith and five others were incarcerated in the Liberty Jail,
the mayor of Liberty joined with dignitaries, members and friends to
commemorate the event and the anniversary of the reconstruction of the historic
site.
In a special open house held Sept. 15, exactly 30 years
after the dedication of the Historic Liberty Jail Visitors Center, Liberty
Mayor Robert Saunders, not a member of the Church, said the site was a
``historic and saintly place’’ and the visitors center grounds ``have been a
spot of beauty in the city of Liberty.’’The reconstructed jail and visitors
center were dedicated on Sept. 15, 1963, by President Joseph Fielding Smith of
the Council of the Twelve.
Other speakers at the anniversary program included
Elder Everett West, director of the visitors center, and his wife, Betty West;
Dell Johnson and Harvey Evans, members who once attended Church meetings in a
house that had been constructed over the jail dungeon; Ross Schriever, who has
portrayed old-time jailer Sam Tillery in vignettes at the jail; Liberty Stake
Pres. Michael Barker; and Pres. Thomas R. Murray of the Missouri Independence
Mission.
The jail was constructed in 1833. In November of 1838
the Prophet Joseph Smith was arrested on false charges and imprisoned there
with five other Church leaders: Caleb Baldwin, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith,
Lyman Wight and Alexander McRae.
The old jail was the strongest in Clay County and
perhaps western Missouri when it was
constructed with its four-foot-thick walls. It was used for just 23 years as a
jail. From 1856 to 1878, it served as an ice house for Clay County and then was
abandoned.
In 1900 the upper floor was torn down, and a home was
built upon the dungeon foundation, which became a basement.
In 1939 the Church took steps to acquire the building.
Members used it as a home for missionaries and a Church meetinghouse. In the
early 1960s the house was demolished. The dungeon’s limestone rocks were
carefully removed, numbered and later reset in their exact location as the jail
was rebuilt. The modern visitors center was built around it.
The jail was constructed as close to the original as
possible. Besides the original stone dungeon, other original artifacts are an
outer door, the lower window bars and some of the door hardware.
For the past decade, area members have participated in
vignettes each month at the Liberty Jail for visitors to the site. Three actors
portray the Prophet Joseph Smith, Emma Smith and jailer Sam Tillery. Tom Wight,
a descendant of early apostle Lyman Wight, frequently takes a turn portraying
the jailer. He lives in nearby Excelsior Springs.
This month, for the first time ever, deaf members from
the Olathe Kansas 4th (deaf) Branch did vignettes in sign language
for deaf members and friends.
Deaf member Susan Debauge, who portrayed Emma Smith,
said the experience increased her appreciation and respect for Emma. Her
husband, David Debauge, portrayed Tillery. In sign language and verbally, he
said: ``I feel the Spirit here. I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet and it
[the gospelT is true.’’
In his anniversary speech, Mayor Saunders noted that
the city of Liberty has recognized the Mormon role in the history of the area
in a historic mural in the Liberty City Hall, one panel of which depicts the
Prophet Joseph Smith.
``You continue to be part of our history and we
continue to be part of yours,’’ he said.
1994 FINDING FRIENDSHIP IN MISSOURI
Saturday, January 8,
1994
LDS Church News
FINDING FRIENDSHIP IN MISSOURI
BY JOHN L. HART Church News Staff Writer
To Church members in this area,
finding friendship in the present is more important than belaboring the
persecutions of the past.
One who has been at the forefront of building bridges
between the Church and others is a prominent farm implements executive, J. T.
Whitworth of the Blue Springs 2nd Ward in the Independence Missouri
Stake, who serves as director
of public affairs for the North America Central Area.A lean, hard-driving but
affable businessman who is known for his penchant to ``do it now,’’ Brother
Whitworth has seen considerable progress in inter-faith relations in the past
few years.
One event that seemed to
crystallize that progress was the 1992 visit of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Independence, he said.
The Tabernacle Choir was invited to perform in the
Auditorium of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
which has its world headquarters in this city, near the Church’s visitors
center.
``This was mainly because of their kind feelings toward
us, and RLDS President Wallace Smith’s friendship with President Gordon B.
Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency. That really solidified our
friendship.’’
Brother Whitworth said that in the greater Kansas City
area, of which Independence is a
part, ``We are well-respected. The people know who we are, and we have become
known as a hardworking, family-oriented group with high moral standards. We are
more community-minded than we have been, but we have a long way to go in that
area.’’
In the summer of each year, the Church works with other
faiths in ``Project Hunger,’’ in which local television stations and grocery
stores are enlisted along with the public to gather food for the homeless and
underprivileged.
Church members also take part in a local inter-faith
choir. ``We sang in the choir in the RLDS performance of Handel’s `Messiah’.’’
Church members worked hand-in-hand with others during
what is now known as ``the great flood of ‘93.’’
``That was a unified effort, particularly by the
Liberty and Independence stakes
where we assisted in sandbagging and providing clothing and blankets and food,
etc. for the flood victims, both during the flood and during the clean up.’’
Independence
is a pivotal area in Church history where early members once tried to settle in
fulfillment of scriptural admonition. (See Church News, July 24, 31 and Aug.
28, 1993, p.14.) They were, however, violently rebuffed by local frontiersmen,
who feared the growing population would outnumber and overwhelm them.
Even though the Saints were once forced to leave the
area at great hardship, Independence
has remained important to the Church. Today, the Church has a large visitors
center and an adjacent stake center across the street from the original temple
lot in Independence, ``the
center place’’ of Zion. (D&C 57:1-3.)
On a sweeping grassy slope between the visitors center
and the stake center is site where an annual pageant, ``A Frontier Story,’’ is
presented each July. The props and backdrop for this pageant are particularly
striking. Brother Whitworth explained:
``A lot of the props and materials used in building the
Independence pageant set came
from Nauvoo where the set for the film ``Legacy’’ was built. We tore down what
we could use and trucked it here, and rebuilt it for our use.’’ Said Brother
Whitworth. ``That was beneficial for us.’’
He explained that the pageant recounts the moving of
the Saints into Missouri, and
their persecution and expulsion by the Missourians. Events of that epoch are
portrayed near the locations of where they actually took place.
``We had an attendance of about 15,000 people in four
days. In addition, the visitors centers in Independence and at Liberty Jail are very successful.’’
Even when he goes to work, Brother Whitworth, manager
of imports/exports for AGCO Corp., is near historic areas. The acres-large
plant, manufacturer of tractors and combines, is located on property adjacent
to the visitors center.
Giant combines and powerful tractors, built at the rate
of four a day, are shipped around the world from this facility. The company
also imports tractors from such countries as Italy, Poland, France, United
Kingdom and Japan.
Brother Whitworth oversees purchasing of tractors from
these countries, as well as overseeing shipping of tractors, combines, hay
tools, etc. to European countries, and to Australia, New Zealand, and Saudi
Arabia.
Brother Whitworth started with the company 33 years ago
at a branch office in Pocatello, Idaho, of Allis-Chalmers, the predecessor of
AGCO.
Born on a ranch in Bancroft in southeastern Idaho, the
son of Frank and Wanda Whitworth, he grew up taking part in raising cattle,
milking cows, and growing sugar beets on a 4,000-acre ranch.
``One thing we learned was the value of work,’’ he
said. ``We were up long before sunup, and long after sundown.’’
He graduated from North Gem High School in 1954, and
then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force for four years. Afterward, he graduated
from Ricks College and Idaho State University in business management. Shortly
after his military service, he married Kaye May.
After he graduated from college, he and his wife went
to live on his father’s ranch, where he worked. But the ranch life was arduous,
and when a child died at birth, the couple decided to leave the ranch. She died
in 1972 while giving birth to their fourth child. He later married Marie
Phillips, and they now have five children.
During his career in various places around the United
States, as he worked his way up the corporate ladder, he served as bishop
twice, high councilor, stake mission president twice, stake president’s counselor and
director of public affairs.
His emphasis on his family, hard work, moral values and
service to others has made him an exemplary ambassador of the Church in the Independence
area.
New
Stake President – Independence MO
Saturday, October 29, 1994
LDS Church News
INDEPENDENCE MISSOURI
STAKE: (Oct. 16, 1994) President - Charles Kent Wood, 47, special agent for FDA
Office of Criminal Investigations, succeeding Gordon Dean Goodman; former high
councilor, bishop and counselor, high priests group leader, and elders quorum
president, married Carolyn Chapoton. Counselors - Manuel Medina, 42,
information services manager for Hallmark Cards, former high councilor, bishop
and counselor, ward mission
leader, and elders quorum president, married Malle Savaiinaea; Siale Fa`oa
Vaka, 43, customer service representative for AT&T, former bishop,
seventies president, ward mission
leader, and elders quorum president, married Aifai Mausia.
1998 Liberty Jail becomes
'enlightened dome'
Saturday,
December 12, 1998
LDS Church News
Liberty Jail becomes 'enlightened dome'
LIBERTY, Mo. -- On Dec. 1, 1838 --
160 years ago -- Joseph Smith and five other Church leaders were confined in the
dank dungeon of Liberty Jail. That event as well as the meaning of Christmas
were observed Nov. 27 at the Church's Liberty Jail Visitors Center with an
annual exterior lighting display and a new interior display. The interior
display features more than 80 Nativity scenes loaned by Church members from
seven stakes. It is the first time the interior of the center has been
decorated for Christmas.
"The message of Liberty Jail is a simple
one," said Elder Gayle D. Heckel, visitors center director, to the
assembled audience of more than 350. "Joseph endured many hardships here.
His faith was tested and found sufficient. He pleaded with the Lord in fervent
prayer, and the Lord answered his prayer. And that's a model for each of us to
follow."Speakers at the outdoor lighting ceremony were Liberty Mayor
Steven P. Hawkins and Bishop Detlef Lehnardt of the Liberty 2nd Ward. Also in
attendance were Bruce Ross, president of the Liberty Chamber of Commerce; Pres.
V. Daniel Rogers of the Missouri Independence Mission,
who gave the opening prayer, and his wife; and Jay Nielsen of the Liberty 1st
Ward bishopric, who gave the benediction. A choir from the Liberty 1st Ward
provided music.
The mayor, though not a member of the Church,
demonstrated a heartfelt affinity for what the historic site represents.
"This particular corner was a site of great
adversity for the founders of your church," he acknowledged.
"However, the re-enactment of the events in Liberty Jail of 160 years ago,
which takes place here every day, points out to us that out of adversity can
come great things, noble things in fact.
"Each of us . . . knows that we will be confronted
with difficulty. Challenge to things that we want to do or to the ways we think
or to the things that we believe will raise its head. Sometimes it will be an
uninformed challenge, sometimes it will even be mean spirited. Sometimes that
challenge will sprout from a small seed of truth, though it will be nourished
by a large manure pile of rumor. . . . But we know that we do not bear it
alone, and we know that that challenge can be overcome," said Mayor
Hawkins.
"The building we illuminate this evening," he
continued, "is an immediate example. The site upon which it arises was not
a pretty one, but it was and it continues to be a place of inspiration. The
walls may have been thick, the quarters dark, dank, dirty and cramped. But 160
years later, though one doesn't forget the adversity that occurred here, that
adversity has been overcome and is enclosed within an enlightened dome.
"Tonight that dome experiences its traditional
annual Christmas lighting, and within, there is a new tradition born, a display
of Nativity scenes, many of which are, in their own ways, artful enclosures
commemorating another dark grotto in which a momentous event occurred almost
2,000 years ago.
"As we admire the impressive physical beauty of
this structure, and we remember the dark past which it encloses, as we gaze
upon the special seasonal contents and remember the humble surroundings they
symbolize, let us be inspired to believe that some of the things we stand for
today against opposition may in some small way be celebrated as enlightened
domes someday in the future," said the mayor.
Bishop Lehnardt emphasized that the citizens of Liberty
were not responsible for the prophet's incarceration but had indeed nursed the
persecuted members of the Church when they came across the Missouri River from Jackson County, where their
possessions had been destroyed and many murdered. "We thank you, people of
Liberty, and your ancestors, for treating our brothers and sisters, some of
whom were our ancestors, as kindly as you did."
The bishop recounted two experiences involving the
Prophet Joseph Smith which, he said, show his humility and that he had the
light of Christ.
In one, the prophet's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, was at
home a few days before Joseph's arrest at Far West, Mo., in 1838. Eight
soldiers came into her home searching for him with the intent of killing him
and the Mormons. "Lucy knew that he was in the adjoining room writing a
letter. When he finished writing, he came into the room where his mother was,
and she said, 'Let me introduce you to my son, Joseph Smith.' Joseph greeted
them and shook their hands. Then he explained to them about the Church and its
teachings. After a while, he turned to his mother and said, 'I will be leaving
now. Emma is expecting me.' "
Two of the soldiers immediately jumped up and insisted
on protecting him from the mob outside. The ones who remained in the home spoke
to one another of how they felt Joseph Smith was innocent. They soon left.
The second experience the bishop related was about Emma
Smith. She visited her husband in Liberty Jail at least twice. Returning from
the second visit, she found her house ransacked, and many possessions stolen.
Destitute in the cold of winter, she left with four small children with the
rest of the Saints for Illinois. Her letter to Joseph about the journey
prompted his poignant prayer and its answer, now recorded in Section 121 of the
Doctrine and Covenants.
"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the light of Christ
permeated this Liberty Jail 160 years ago, and it can be found today in the
teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ restored in its fullness through the
Prophet Joseph Smith," Bishop Lehnardt declared.
In an interview, Elder Heckel explained that it was
felt, since this was the 160th anniversary of the prophet's confinement,
something special should be done. His wife, Pat, came up with the idea of the
Nativities. The purpose, he said, is three-fold: to draw attention to the birth
of Christ; to show how many countries and cultures around the world celebrate
the birth of the Savior through their art; and to give everyone in the
community a special reason to come through the visitors center several times
during the season and feel the spirit of Christmas with their family and
friends.
Dec 1998
Display at Independence Visitors
Center builds bridges to community
Saturday, December 19, 1998
LDS Church News
Display builds bridges to community
By Tim Bowring, Multi-stake media relations
INDEPENDENCE,
Mo. -- A line from a popular motion picture, "If you build it, they will
come," seems to best describe the creation of an exhibit of outdoor lights
and indoor decorations at the Church's Independence
Visitors Center this Christmas season.
The exhibit benefits children through a charitable
foundation and was accomplished under the guidance of Elder Larry Brown,
visitors center director, and by a host of people in the greater Kansas City
area who assisted. On the evening of Nov. 28, Nicholas Franken, 6, threw the
switch lighting 250,000 lights decorating the visitors center and surrounding
trees and shrubs to the "oohs" and "aahs" of the 1,000
adults and children attending the ceremony.
At that moment, the "Light a Light for a
Child" program began, and the dream to raise funds for the Juvenile
Diabetes Foundation International was a reality. Nicholas Franken is one of
thousands of children afflicted with juvenile diabetes.
During the lighting ceremony, the public's attention
was drawn to the need for funding to combat the disease. Donation envelopes
from the foundation are made available to people who come to see the lights and
the exhibits inside the visitors center; the envelopes can be mailed to the
foundation with a donation enclosed.
Beginning the ceremony, Ron Stewart, mayor of Independence, commended the visitors center for
its efforts to strengthen families and communities. He said, "We are
approaching the time of year when we celebate the birth of our Christ
Jesus," adding that with the emphasis on commercialism, "we sometimes
forget what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about giving, and it is most
appropriate that we share what we have to help find the cause for and cure to
juvenile diabetes that afflicts so many of our children."
Lay Lakin, executive director of the Juvenile Diabetes
Foundation International in Kansas City, said, "Thank you for making this
incredible opportunity available to us."
Other speakers included Henry Kester, master of
ceremonies; Elder Brown; and Pres. Daniel Rogers of the Missouri Independence
Mission. Prayers were offered by Pres.
Kent Wood of the Independence Missouri Stake and Pres. Dennis Karpowitz of the
Topeka Kansas Stake.
Throughout the short program, the 120-voice Heart of
America Mormon Choir sang a variety of hymns, including "Angels We Have Heard
on High," "Christmas Is a Time of Joy," "Do You Hear What I
Hear," and "Silent Night," with the audience invited to join in.
The visitors center itself has been a show place and
hub of activity and excitement this season. In addition to the traditional
religious and historical exhibits, the center features:
A 125-foot, life-size Nativity scene spanning the
front of the center, lit by blue and white spotlights at night. The scene was
designed by Sharon Viskers, a graphic designer at Hallmark Cards and a member
of the Hickory Hills Ward, Lenexa Kansas Stake.
Eight Christmas trees donated and decorated by
local businesses and families.
Sixty-seven gingerbread houses, bridges, Mayan
temples and many other models designed by engineering students at the
University of Missouri Kansas City and Missouri Western State College. The structures
were constructed by local families with supplies donated by local mills.
A model train donated by Lionel Corp. that makes
continuous journeys through the largest of the gingerbread villages.
A unique display of Christmas greeting cards and
ornaments designed by Hallmark Cards for the White House and U.S. presidents
throughout the years.
The "Light a Light for a Child" exhibition,
which closes Jan. 2, has become a major Christmas attraction here and is on a
local Tour of Sites to See in Independence.
It has also built bridges to the community as people
have come -- by the hundreds.
On Saturday, Nov. 28, a record 884 visitors
passed through the center. Prior to this, the record attendance was 858, set
July 20, 1997.
During the entire month of December 1997, 29
non-LDS referrals were received. In one day, Dec. 5, 1998, 30 referrals were
received.
Comparing the first seven days of December 1997
to the same period in 1998, average daily attendance jumped 255 percent; total
number of tours conducted increased 219 percent; total number of non-LDS tours
increased 774 percent; total number of non-LDS referrals increased 1,460
percent; and total daily attendance increased 256 percent, according to Elder
Brown.
On Dec. 3, Bryan Hale, meteorologist on the
"Kansas City Today Show" on KSHB-TV 41, broadcasted live from the
visitors center, netting 16 minutes of air time. At one point in the show, he
said to the program's anchors, "Boy, you have got to come and see this;
these Mormons really know how to do things right."
April 1999 Painting Unveiling at Liberty Visitors Center Unveiling marks anniversary of D&C
121-123
Saturday, April 3, 1999
LDS Church News
Unveiling marks anniversary of D&C 121-123
LIBERTY, MO. -- Languishing in the
cold, miserable confines of a jail dungeon, the Prophet Joseph Smith 160 years
ago dictated a letter containing what today is some of the most memorable
scripture in Latter-day Saint canon.
It was March 20, 1839, that the revelations recorded as
Sections 121, 122 and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants were received and
spoken by the prophet while he was imprisoned at Liberty Jail.On that date this
year, the event was commemorated with the unveiling of a new painting at
Liberty Jail Historic Site and by other events at Far West, Mo., and the
Liberty Missouri Stake center. Community
and religious leaders of different faiths attended.
The painting, by Liz Lemon Swindle, was unveiled in the
Liberty Jail Visitors Center rotunda and will be permanently displayed there.
It depicts Joseph kneeling on the straw-covered floor of the jail dungeon and
gazing upward in prayer, a tattered blanket over his shoulders.
Elder Gayle D. Heckel, visitors center director,
conducted the commemoration and briefly explained the significance of the day:
"The Prophet Joseph Smith and five others were held here on
unsubstantiated charges for a little over four months during the bitter cold Missouri winter of 1838-39. The message of Liberty
Jail is a simple one. Here, they endured many adversities and hardships with
unwavering faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, the Prophet prayed fervently
to the Lord, and the Lord answered the prayer with revelation for the benefit
of all mankind, because when the Lord speaks to one of His prophets, He gives
revelation for the whole world, and the prophet has the responsibility of
passing it on."
Elder Heckel explained that the occasion was 160 years
to the day since the prophet dictated a letter in the jail to the Saints who
were then taking refuge in Quincy, Ill., and other places after being driven
from the state of Missouri. (An
observance this year on July 24 in Quincy will commemorate the gathering there
that immediately preceded the establishment of Nauvoo, Ill.) "He included
in that letter the revelations that he received here in Liberty Jail."
Presenting her painting, Sister Swindle said: "My
heart is full. This is such an honor to represent this historic event as an
individual that bears testimony of this man."
She told of one morning when she was looking at the
painting, still unfinished in her studio. She had been reading of Joseph's
experiences in the jail. "As I looked at the painting," she said,
"it took hold, and I felt those emotions that I was trying to portray. . .
. I felt his pain. I felt his tears. I felt his helplessness for the Saints he
loved. And I felt the love that he had for the Savior, that all that he did was
for Him."
Presiding at the unveiling was Elder Kay Christensen,
an Area Authority Seventy representing the North America Central Area
presidency.
Government and civic officials in attendance included
Liberty Mayor Stephen Hawkins, Missouri
State archivist Kenneth Winn, and officers of the Liberty Downtown Merchants
Association and Clay County Visitors Bureau.
Presidents of seven area stakes and the Missouri Independence
Mission attended. Representatives of
other faiths included Apostle Linda Booth and Presiding Bishop Larry R. Norris
of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; and Michael and
Julie Gatrost from the Restorationist movement.
Elder Heckel and his wife, Sister Patsy J. Heckel,
hosted many of the dignitaries at a dinner afterward in the visitors center.
Earlier in the day, Calvin Stevens, a Church education
institute instructor at Ogden, spoke to a gathering at Far West, Mo., about the
history of that location settled by Latter-day Saints in the 1830s.
In the evening, Sister Swindle and Cliff Cole, the
model for Joseph Smith in her paintings, spoke at a fireside in the Liberty
stake center, as did Brother Stevens.
June 1999 New temple announcement for Omaha Nebraska
Saturday, June 26, 1999
LDS Church News
New temples announced for Perth, Omaha
The First Presidency has announced
the construction of two new temples: the Omaha Nebraska Temple and the Perth
Australia Temple. The Omaha temple will be Nebraska's first, and the Perth
temple will be Australia's fifth.
With these new temples, the Church now has 114 temples
announced, under construction or dedicated.The First Presidency announced the
temple in Omaha in a letter to local priesthood leaders June 14, and they
announced it to their members at a meeting Sunday, June 20.
The Omaha temple will be built at the site of historic
Winter Quarters in the north Omaha area of Florence, a region rich in Church
history dating back to Mormon pioneer times of the late 1840s. Pending local
government approval, the temple will be constructed on 1.9 acres of
Church-owned land adjacent to the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery at 34th and State
streets.
Made up of 14 stakes and four
missions, the Omaha Nebraska Temple district will include the Missouri Independence,
South Dakota Rapid City, Nebraska Omaha and Iowa Des
Moines missions. The
temple, the first temple between St. Louis, Mo., and Denver, Colo., will serve
more than 40,000 members living in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota.
The Perth temple was announced June 11 by the First
Presidency in a letter to local priesthood leaders. The letter will be read to
local members in sacrament meetings Sunday, June 27.
The new temple will be built adjacent to the Dianella
Stake Center, located about 15 minutes from downtown Perth. The Perth Australia
Temple District will include 6,865 members from four stakes and one mission, the Australia Perth Mission.
John Grinceri, an Area Authority Seventy, said since
local Church leaders received official word of the temple from the First
Presidency, the news has been spreading among the members like wildfire.
"It is wonderful," he noted. "Excitement has been building.
Perth needs a temple."
Elder Grinceri said for years members in Perth, located
on Australia's western coast, have had to travel long distances to attend the
Sydney Australia Temple -- a journey that is similar to a trip from Los Angles
to New York -- or other temples located at even greater distances.
Elder Grinceri and his wife were married in the New
Zealand Temple. He was later sealed to his parents, "at great expense and
sacrifice," in the New Zealand Temple.
Elder Vaughn J Featherstone of the Seventy and
president of the Australia/ New Zealand Area, said that Elder Grinceri's story
is not unusual. Many members in Perth, he said, have made great sacrifices at
tremendous expense to attend the temple -- some driving three 18 hours days
across the country.
Elder Grinceri said members have watched with great
anticipation as other temples were announced for Australia. The Brisbane Australia
Temple was announced July 20, 1998. Ground was broken on the Melbourne
Australia Temple March 20 and for the Adelaide Australia Temple May 29. The
Sydney Australia Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley Sept. 20,
1984.
"While many members [in Perth] have only gone to
the temple once or twice in a lifetime," said Elder Grinceri, "now
they will have the opportunity to go much more frequently."
October 2000 Missouri
Heritage Conference
Saturday,
October 21, 2000
LDS Church News
Missouri Heritage Conference
By Carol A. Lemon
Media
relations specialist, Independence Missouri Stake
INDEPENDENCE,
Mo. — More than 300
participants learned about new research, swapped stories of shared LDS ancestry
and rubbed shoulders with prominent scholars at the Mormon Missouri
Heritage Conference Sept. 15-16.
The conference involved participation from the LDS Visitors
Center in Independence, BYU faculty members and the Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation, a
non-denominational group. It was held in the Independence
Missouri Stake Center, the adjacent Visitors Center
and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple. In
addition to BYU professors, the conference featured local historian Bill
Curtis, RLDS Archivist Ron Romig, former Missouri Independence Mission
President V. Daniel Rogers and Gracia Jones, a great-great-granddaughter of
Joseph and Emma Smith.
Topics included early Church historical sites in Jackson
County and northern Missouri, including Far West and the
temple site there. Significant historical figures, such as Joseph and Emma
Smith and Alexander W. Doniphan were the subjects of other classes. Susan
Easton Black, BYU professor of Church history, and LDS artist Liz Lemon Swindle
joined to present a fireside Friday evening.
A feature article in the Kansas City Star of Sept. 15
called the gathering a "peace conference," citing the growing
cooperation and shared scholarship of LDS and RLDS historians, as well as
recent community support.
July 2001 Independence Visitors
center lights up for Fourth
Saturday, July 21, 2001
LDS Church News
Visitors center lights up for Fourth
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — It was a
memorable and festive 4th of July in Independence[0],
said Carol Lemon, Independence[0]
Missouri[0]
Stake public affairs director.
There were enactments of Revolutionary and Civil War
encampments, patriotic singing and dancing, band concerts, children's games and
activities, summer-time refreshments, and dramatic presentations. Joining with
the City of Independence[0],
the Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church), the Truman Presidential
Museum and Library, the First Presbyterian Church, and Independence[0]
Power and Light, and the Mormon Visitors Center co-sponsored the annual event.
The highlight of the celebration was the energetic
performance of the Hughes Brothers, Church members who donated their time and
talents before an enthusiastic crowd in the Community of Christ Auditorium. The
five brothers, along with their families, brought part of their popular
Branson, Mo., show to the festivities. Concluding their program with a stirring
patriotic medley, the group ushered in a brilliant fireworks display on the
grounds of the Church's visitors center.
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