Combined - Church History Tour

Dates

October 7-15, 2008

Overview

This fall foliage Church history tour includes nine-days and eight-nights and will visit renowned Church history sites in New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. Enjoy the slower pace that a nine-day tour offers as you see Palmyra, Fayette, Niagara Falls, Kirtland, Independence, Liberty, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Far West, Nauvoo and more. The tour will give alumni and friends the opportunity to appreciate historical sites while also enjoying cooler temperatures, fewer tourists and the magnificent fall colors of the surrounding scenery. For more information email alumni_tours@byu.edu.

Itinerary

Days One & Two: We fly into the Palmyra area where we will begin our tour. We stop at the visitors center, the Palmyra Temple, and spend time in the nearby Sacred Grove. Other visits in this area include the Peter Whitmer farm, the Grandin Press (where the original editions of the Book of Mormon were printed), the Martin Harris farm (no tours will be given as it is private property), the Smith homes and Alvin Smith’s grave.

Days Three & Four: We travel to Niagara Falls where we will take a boat tour aboard the Maid of the Mist. We will proceed to the Kirtland area and visit the stone quarry (from which stones were extracted for the Kirtland Temple) and the Isaac Morley farm. While in Kirtland we will visit the Kirtland Temple, the visitors center, Historic Kirtland (including the Newel K. Whitney store and home, and the sawmill and ashery), and the John Johnson farm in the neighboring town of Hiram. We spend an evening with the knowledgeable “Mr. Kirtland, ” Karl Ricks Anderson.

Day Five: Early morning flight to Independence, Mo., where we visit Liberty Jail and the visitors center. Next we will visit many important sites in Independence, both for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and The Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church). We will see the Community of Christ Temple and Auditorium, the LDS visitors center, and the temple lot, where Joseph Smith dedicated the land for a great temple in the latter days. Our next stop is Adam-ondi-Ahman, where we will ponder the great events that occurred there and anticipate the future of the area. We overnight near Far West, where seven revelations were received, and we will see the cornerstones for a temple, which were laid when the Church was suffering severe persecution.

Days Six, Seven & Eight: We begin our day with a stop at Haun's Mill, the site of the infamous massacre. We will visit Carthage Jail to see where the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum took place. We will continue to Nauvoo where we will spend three nights. We will have time allotted for a session at the Nauvoo Temple. In addition we will have free time to visit the family history center, seventies hall, the burial site of Joseph and Hyrum, the red brick store, the Women’s Statue Garden, and the cultural hall. While at Nauvoo, we will visit the Pioneer Cemetery, one of the most sacred sites in Church history after the Sacred Grove. We will also visit the stone quarry, the Catholic cemetery (where the revelation on baptisms for the dead was received), and the irrigation canal site where John Taylor bid farewell to his wife prior to his mission in England. One evening we will attend the Nauvoo Pageant - A Tribute to the Prophet Joseph. There will be free time for everyone to become acquainted with Old Nauvoo on their own.

Day Nine: We’ll re-cap our time together during our drive to St. Louis where we depart on an afternoon flight home.

Costs and Fees

Please send your deposit of $200 per person ($150 is non-refundable) along with your booking form to secure your space. Final payment due Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. No refunds after payment. Click here to download the official booking and reservation form.
**Please note: Schedule is subject to change.