Kirtland, Ohio

After we initially moved out to Ohio the first thing we wanted to do was go visit Kirtland. There is so much history there for our church, and it was really special for us to be able to go. We ended up not being able to go until around the end of May. It was great though because it wasn't unbearably hot and humid yet, and it wasn't raining! The weather was literally perfect, and we had an amazing time.

When we arrived we went to the Visitor's Center, there we got paired up with some missionary tour guides who showed us around the little village of Kirtland. My favorite place was the Newel K. Whitney & Co. store. I loved all of the old artifacts that had been collected to furnish all these historic buildings. So beautiful.

It was a very special experience to be in this room. One of the missionaries guiding our tour asked Samuel to share is testimony with our group and it is a memory that I will always hold dear.

After we stopped at the Visitor's Center and the N.K. Whitney Store we headed over to the site of the Kirtland temple. The Communityof Christ owns this historic building, and so it is no longer an operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was awesome to see the very first temple that the members of that time had built though. I can't imagine all of the sacrifice they had to endure in order to complete such a building in that day and age. Amazing.

After we went and saw the old temple in downtown Kirtland, we headed out to the Johnson farm. It was about a 45 minute drive, but it was worth it. There was such a special feeling there, and the stories the missionaries told us of all the amazing things that took place in the rooms we walked through were so powerful. The church has done a really good job of preserving all of the old buildings out at the Johnson farm and furnishing them with furniture and wares from that time period. It was so interesting and such a cool experience to be able to go out there and visit, and it was a beautiful evening.

^This oil printed canvas rug was so beautiful!^