Day Seven: Kirtland and Hiram

What a busy final day. After a breakfast of strata (reportedly Bob Hope’s recipe), sticky bacon (covered in maple syrup), biscuits, and a top-notch berry-type concoction, accompanied by a step-by-step account of the B&B’s restoration, we headed out. Following a brief stop at an antique store (where I picked up two historical books from the mid-1900s), we arrived at Historic Kirtland, a series of restored homes and sites managed by the Church. We first watched a video about the history of the Latter-day Saints in the Kirtland area, which touched Mom deeply. Next, we toured the Whitney home, where we learned about summer kitchens (off to the side of the house to keep heat out during summer cooking) and that yellow was the most expensive pigment in the 1830s, so if you painted your house yellow, you were kind of a big deal. The Whitney Store was well-stocked, and the School of the Prophets upstairs inspired lofty thoughts. After a stop at the John Johnson Inn (turned into an auxiliary visitor’s center), we observed a working sawmill and the only operative ashery remaining in North America. Apparently the stuff that falls to the bottom of your fireplace could be turned into a cash cow back in the day.

Homestead House Bed & Breakfast

Whitney Home

Whitney Store



School of the Prophets inside Whitney Store



Manuscript of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible



First Edition Book of Mormon

Sawmill and Ashery

Mom and I hightailed it to the Kirtland Temple, which is currently owned by the Community of Christ, a group that split off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. It was great to see the temple, but it kind of felt more like a historical building than a sacred place. This may be due in part to the plethora of folks who have occupied it over the years. Still, it was interesting to step inside this key spot in LDS history.

Zooming through the area from which the stone for the Kirtland Temple was quarried, we headed to Hiram to see the John Johnson Farm. Joseph Smith, Jr., and his family lived with the Johnsons for one year, during which time many of the sections in the Doctrine and Covenants were received, including the section on what happens in the afterlife. The room in which these revelations occurred fills one with the spirit of enlightenment and peace.

Kirtland Temple Stone Quarry

John Johnson Farm

This has been a truly rejuvenating and insightful trip on so many levels. I wish we’d have bypassed Toronto and spent an extra day in Ohio in order to see all the significant LDS sites and spend some time chilling with the Amish. I’ve always wanted to kick it Amish style, and I’ve only had the chance once when I was interviewing in Pennsylvania for graduate school. Well, I did get some cool salt in Toronto, so whatever. Be sure to stop by next February for my oh-I’m-so-tired-from-the-internship-application-and-interview-process-now-that-my-rankings-are-submitted-I’m-getting-the-heck-out-of-town Caribbean cruise.