Visiting Liberty Jail

Last Sunday we went to Liberty Jail. It was so neat! I learned so many facts about it and the history of it that I never have heard before and I probably never would have heard! I will give you a few facts. Fifty years after the jail was built it was no longer used at a jail because the mortar that held the bricks together began to deteriorate and it was no longer safe to hold anybody. It began to fall apart and they re-built it awhile after. Then somebody found out it was a historical sight so they bought it and eventually built a huge southern house over the top of it! (Who would have known) The church eventually bought it from this guy and used to house missionaries in this home where they would show people the jail. Then they tore the house down and now they have built a visitors center over the top of it to preserve it forever. We sat in a room and one of the missionaries gave us a lot of history about how the economy was at the time Joseph was sent to liberty jail and a lot of details about his stay there. It was the coldest winter in the history of Missouri. The Missouri River and the Mississippi river both froze over that year because it was so cold. We listened for awhile and looked at old pictures of the original jail and then went into this very big tall ceiling room where we saw the jail. We listened to audio about the revelations that Joseph Smith received while he was in liberty jail and learned how the jail was operated and how members of the church would sneak food, writing supplies, candles etc. in through the tiny windows on the side at night to the prophet and many other interesting details. We loved it. We picked up a pamphlet of all the historic sights that are in Missouri and are eager to visit them all throughout the summer. You will be seeing many posts to come about our discoveries. After seeing the jail and witnessing it for myself and feeling the spirit that was there, that section of the Doctrine and Covenants will mean so much more to me forever.