We all loved our tour of the Kirtland temple (on day 6). We heard that they occasionally offered a behind the scenes tour. John found out that there was one coming up. We hesitated a bit because it cost $25 per person and because we would have to get up at 6:00 AM to be there on time. Our love for the Kirtland temple won out and we decided to go for it. The tour was about 3 hours long and given by Ron, the site director who has worshiped at the temple since he was a young boy. We were able to see the entire temple from basement to bell tower. We got to climb into the crawl spaces between the stories, and even walk up and touch the beautiful altars where the Heavenly Father and the Savior appeared.
Ron explained the architecture and building techniques as well as the retrofitting and modernization that has taken place. He told us the history of the temple over the past (almost) 200 years. He related many spiritual stories and how the temple has been preserved so many times. Ron knew one of the temple caretakers who worked there from about 1930 - 1960. He began each morning in the temple with an hour of prayer and pondering to decide how to best care for the temple. The RLDS Church had little money, so the temple needed to be maintained in creative, low-cost ways. Once the caretaker was awoken in the night by a dream that the temple was on fire. He hurried to the temple to find a small fire and with help he was able to extinguish it before more serious damage was done.
No one is allowed to take pictures during any of the tours, but when we climed up to the bell tower, we were allowed to take pictures outside as we stood on the ladder. If we looked carefully, we could see a sliver of Lake Erie about 8 miles away. I am so grateful we were able to spend so much time in the house of the Lord.
Then we took Marianne to another sacred place, the Morley farm where in 1831 during a priesthood meeting, many saw a vision of The Father and The Son. I loved our time in Kirtland so much and I was really sad to leave it. It truly is holy ground. It looks very similar to the Sacred Grove.
Before we left for the airport we stopped in the town of Mentor to see the home of President James Garfield. It is a beautiful home surrounded by many large trees. It has a huge stone windmill that originally provided the home with running water. I wish we had a bit more time so we could take a tour. Maybe next time, because I definitely want to come back to Kirtland!
Melanie
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