Our Trip To Kirtland, Ohio

I have always wanted to see Kirtland, Ohio. I served my mission in Independence, Missouri and it was impossible to teach anyone about early Mormon history in Missouri without talking about Kirtland.

Kirtland was the first Mormon settlement after the Church was founded in 1830. Church members settled for several years here, starting in 1831 before having to move on to Missouri because of persecution. The first place we saw was the Newel K. Whitney store.



Brother Whitney was a Church leader and was the second to be presiding bishop of the Church. He had been a successful business man and a local civic leader.
Brother Whitney and his wife were close friends of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Emma. Joseph Smith was owner of the store, and lived upstairs while Newel K Whitney and his wife oversaw the day to day operations. The store was started so that the Mormon community could be self-sustaining. Many business owners elsewhere would refuse business from Mormons, so it became necessary for them to be able to provide for their own needs within the community.


Here you see the store house, and the sister missionaries giving us the tour. This is what I did on my mission. The sisters were pretty good, but had no idea about the tour giving legend who stood before them.





This is the storage room. The grain was stored there, and it was also where they weaved the baskets.





Now, we are going upstairs to the Prophet's living quarters. This is also where the School of the Prophets was.



I don't know why this is called the knitting room. It was the Smith family dining room.






Joseph Smith received about 20 revelations in the store, up in The School of the Prophets, where the Elders of the Church would meet. Many of the elders who attended the meetings became important Church leaders, including Brigham Young. The revelation that is known as the Word of Wisdom was received in that room. Emma complained to Joseph about having to clean up after the men who would chew tobacco and spit it in the room where they would meet. That is when Joseph prayed about this, and it was revealed to him that among other vices, tobacco was forbidden. Emma was very happy.

The teaching that took place, and the revelations received in the upper room of the store house make this store one of the most significant places in Church history.








The kid's bedroom:



Joseph and Emma's room:



We're going back downstairs now:



The next post will be about some other house and the saw mill. The saw mill was built for one purpose, for the building of the Kirtland Temple.