Halliday Family Blog

Today, the last day of our 4-day spring break, 1500 mile road trip (Sunday – Wednesday), we visited the Kirtland Temple on our way home.  The Community of Christ has done a nice job keeping the temple maintained.  They have added a new visitor center addition since we were last there:  a theater where, after the movie is over, the curtains open up to a full wall of glass looking out onto the temple.  They now charge $2 per person “maintenance fee” to tour inside the temple which is a little weird, but we paid and went on the tour.  The kids’ knowledge of the events of the times stunned the tour guide!  🙂

What a great sacrifice those early saints made to build that temple.

All-in-all, we had a GREAT trip and even enjoyed most of the 24 hours worth of driving (round trip) we did. 🙂  We hope that the kids learned a lot from the trip and now have a greater appreciation for our Church heritage.

After we visited Kirtland (see previous post), we drove to Palmyra where we stayed at the new and beautiful Palmyra Inn (two thumbs up if you go there and need a place to stay).  Today we saw the sites around Kirtland (the Hill Cumorah, the Grandin Building, the Sacred Grove, the first log cabin, the frame house, etc.)  and then drove to Fayette to the Whitmer farm where the Church was re-organized.  What an experience for us and for the kids.  Being there in early spring gave us a feel of what it would have been like for Joseph. 

There have been a LOT of updates done to the sites since we were there last, especially around the sacred grove site.  The old log cabin has been rebuilt, there is a new visitor center, the road has been moved to eliminate traffic between sites, and the frame home has been restored to period time.

The last time we were there the Palmyra Temple was being built.  Now it is completed and we had a chance as a family to walk the grounds together.  The kids enjoyed the picture taken by the sign to add to our collection of all the temples we’ve been to.

Well, spring break is here and as is typical of the Halliday family, we decided to do a road trip!  Our destination:  LDS Church sites in Kirtland, OH and Palmyra, NY!  Yesterday we drove the 6 1/2 hours to Kirtland, visited the John Johnson Farm (in Hiram, OH), and today enjoyed the sites in Kirtland. 

We hadn’t been here since Kirstyn was about 6 months old (almost 10 years ago)!  We were impressed with all the new sites they had built there (sawmill, ashery, Whitney home, updated visitor center).  The Whitney store was the highlight due to the amazing things that happened there.  We didn’t get to tour the Kirtland Temple becuase it’s closed on Monday’s and Tuesdays. 

At the visitor’s center, there was an exhibit of bronze sculptures that was absolutely amazing.  The sculptor’s name is Angela Johnson and the exhibit is called “The Healing Power of Jesus Christ.”  What a talented and insightful artist!  The exhibit is moving to Nauvoo in May so we’ll get to see it again for our family reunion.  The sculptor has a web site you can visit.  It’s http://www.ajsculptures.com/.

We had a unique experience in Kirtland this time around.  The senior missionary couple (Elder and Sister Christensen) were going home the next day after their 18 months of service and we were their last tour.  The really gave it their all, knowing that we would be the last ones that would enjoy their knowledge and spirit.  It was quite the experience.  The kids really enjoyed their time in Kirtland.