My favorite day!

In addition to the regular breakfast routine, there was a really awesome type of rain falling. It was a very light sprinkle, and when anybody asked about it, it was referred to as 'misting,' which was very appropriate. Very cool. I rode bus #1 again, with Tiphani Robinson, aka "Tiph-dawg", as my bus buddy and we drove just 9 miles to Kirtland to see the various sites there. There was another three-site rotation, and we started at the LDS Visitors center, then moved onto the Whitney home and Store. Newel K. Whitney and Ann, his wife, were very prosperous and had a fine house, but what made this my favorite site and one of the greatest days was the store. It was really awesome because you could sense how it was back then- about 80% is original and the artifacts that were in there gave it a very genuine look and authentic feel. There was the actual store that was very vibrant with the various items for sale, then the storage/office room. The sister missionaries were very detailed and friendly, too, which made the tour that much better. Then upstairs to Joseph Smith's office and translation room. It was really interactive, and the group I was with were excellent. Then my favorite part- the School of the Prophets. It was a small, cramped room where the Apostles met to become gentlemen. They were taught the ways of the Lord and principles of the Gospel and, because most were raised on farms and uneducated, they were taught arithmatic and foreign languages, like Latin and Hebrew. But the room was a very sacred room. Joseph Smith prophesied that if they were prepared and ready that heavenly messengers would visit them. The room was a lot like a temple; I even think the sisters said that beginning ordinances of the temple were performed in there. Being clean, prepared, and worthy were so crucial to being able to take of the Spirit there that Joseph would give mini-temple recommend interviews to those entering. We were able to sit in there for a long while because there wasn't anybody behind us. The sisters told us of the different events that happened there, like the revelation of the Word of Wisdom and even the visitation of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in vision. Then they gave us reflection time then we sang "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet." I had been having troubles, I guess you could call it, feeling the spirit very strongly and that room broke that. We finished at the first stop by visiting the ashery and woodmill, then we drove to the Kirtland Temple. At first I wasn't looking forward to going to the temple because I have been to other religion's houses of worship and you get a void in your chest because you can't feel the Spirit, so that is what I was expecting. But Mindy asked a question at the store, wondering if the LDS Church would ever get that temple back. Brother Campbell answered that it doesn't necessarily matter who owns the earthly title, but that it was dedicated and accepted by Heavenly Father and, in the end, its His. That changed my mindset and I was more open to the Spirit that was there, even if it wasn't the full potential. We started our second stop in the RLDS (changed to the Community of Christ in 199_, but RLDS is easier to type) visitors center, where we watched their movie about their church. It was funny the difference in quality between the LDS and RLDS movies, but besides the point ha ha. Then we walked into the temple and took the tour. We started in the second floor, which is in the likeness of the main floor, in that the two opposite sides of the rectangular room had the seats for the offices of the priesthood. The lady tour guide (who was ordained to the office of a priest) then took us down stairs and talked (vaguely) of the visions of Joseph Smith in the temple. Questions were raised consistently because of their peculiarity and the aweful closeness of their religion to ours, and answers were later clarified by Brother Campbell. We then sang "The Spirit of God" like the saints did for the opening meeting, and I was privileged to play the piano for it. The tour ended, which was a shame because I wanted to go to the third floor to see Joseph Smith's office and, in doing so, also seeing the rumored holy of holies. Brother Christensen (in seminary my junior year) told us of his experiences up there and he said it was truely amazing. Then we drove to lunch at the Issac Morely farm, then did the tour there. It wasn't much, but it was still pretty cool. The grove of trees surrounding an old cabin (the cabin's use is important and relevant to church history, but it has slipped my mind, as does the name of the cabin. I do remember that Joseph Smith had other priesthood holders bear their testimonies and the Savior did appear there.) is nicknamed the Sacred Grove of Ohio. Then we drove to a stone quarry where the saints got the stones to build the temple, but it was a short stop. We met up with the other buses at the LDS Visitors Center and took off for Holiday City, Ohio, which was just a two hour drive. I slept on the bus and watched "Cars" and slept. When we got here, we had a magnificent dinner with really good chicken and pot roast! Very excited. Then we had time for ourselves, so I just chilled like customary. Then we had a FHE type meeting where the leaders and chaperones put on a "melodrama" which was rather funny, but we couldn't take any pictures ha ha. I enjoyed it. Brother Jenkins played his guitar and we sang not only primary songs, but a little Johnny Cash too. After that, I mingled, hopping from a game of scum to more guitar playing and singing, and from that to a game of speed (like spit, but different). They kicked us out and sent us to bed when 10:30 rolled along and, after checking my email and other things, logged on and blogged:)