Insert Church Here

The story I’ve always been told about my ancestors on my father’s side is that they traveled across the country as settlers with Joseph Smith and other Mormons in search of the promised land. Apparently, some of the settlers were convinced when they’d reached Independence, Missouri that they’d already found the promised land, and so they let the rest of the Mormons go on to Utah without them and stayed behind. A main concern for them was this one spot of land, which they believed to be particularly spiritual. It took some work, but eventually they were able own it rightfully, and they believe that when Jesus returns during the second coming, this place is destined to be the site of his temple, and Independence (renamed, New Jerusalem, I think), will become the second religious capitol of the world, (just after Palestine, according to the docent at the Church of Christ in Independence.) They haven’t built the church yet, because, as the docent told me, “According to the prophecy it will be built,” which I guess means that they’re waiting for Jesus to give some input on the blueprints. The cornerstones though, have been all laid out. Inside the church they have the original cornerstone placed by Joseph Smith. Here’s where it will all go down (please note the tiny, plain, Church of Christ in the background):

My favorite part of the story is that eventually the Mormons decided the site, indeed, will play a large part in the second coming. They’ve tried to get the land back from Church of Christ, but have had to settle for building huge temples like this one across the street, and also two next door, and all over town, actually.