June 28, 2009, Sunday INDEPENDENCE, MO
OK be proud of us. We were up and to church by 8:30 this a.m.!! (I thought we were on vacation!) Yes, it’s true, Betty and I like to linger in the supine position for as long as we can. We have no “mind over mattress” like Mike and Ralph do. Fortunately the church was right next door and all we had to do was walk down the grassy hill and we were there!
We didn’t realize there is such a large population of Polynesian people here in Independence. These are Mormons who have a great desire to be in “New Jerusalem.” They are faithful Saints and they are awaiting the Second Coming. This was by far the most spiritual Sacrament Meeting we have been to in many years. I started crying during the Sacrament Service and didn’t stop until we left the building. The Spirit was so strong and the people so reverent. One Polynesian Sister who is currently on her mission here in Independence spoke. She had no notes, no books, and no scriptures, just stood and spoke. It was absolutely beautiful. She truly spoke from her heart. She even quoted from the scriptures and from other leaders in the church with no reference to notes. I cried all the way through. Then a Polynesian returned missionary spoke. He only had his scriptures with him and spoke and quoted without falter. He had been on his mission in South America (I forget what country). It was cute, he could speak Samoan, English and Spanish. It was a beautiful talk and yes, you guessed it, I cried. He told about the day he got to his mission. He got off the bus, was met by his companion and they began to walk. It was about 70 uphill to their residence. He thought, “I can’t do this!” They started walking and people would literally come out of their houses and ask them if they were the Mormon Missionaries that they had been waiting for. They walked and taught the whole way. People would feed them wherever they went. He was so filled with the Spirit he forgot about the walking. He also told us that one time they went in to teach a man who was a Jehovah’s Witness. He thought to himself, OK this will be good, I’m ready. I’ve got all my scriptures memorized and know others to turn to and I’m ready . I'm up for the battle! He was with a companion at the time that didn’t speak Spanish. He and the JW went back and forth for quite a while, getting nowhere, and then his companion put his hand on his arm and stopped him. The companion looked at the JW and spoke the only thing he knew in Spanish, “I know the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.” The Spirit was very strong and the investigator looked at him with tears in his eyes. They were able to leave the home with a good Spirit.

After church we walked over to the Visitor’s center and took the tour there. It is by far the most inspiring VC I’ve ever been to. Their movies and displays were awesome. The sister missionary from Bountiful did a wonderful job showing us everything and explaining the displays. The Spirit was so strong in this building that a started crying again.

Next, we changed clothes and went to the cemetery in Richmond. We saw David Whitmer’s grave and Ralph and Betty found some Holman’s, a name that is in Betty’s family tree, and I found some Morehead’s, a name which is in my family tree, but the stones were so old it was very hard to read first names and dates. We went home and ate chicken and Mike’s special potato salad. Yum!