Day Six; Saturday, July 5th, 2014

Today was a neat experience.

It started out terrible. First of all, we lost the bus right from the get go, and we didn’t know where we were headed. We lost the bus because we were having some problems with tired parents and grumpy kids. 

So that didn’t improve the atmosphere. We lost the bus for almost an hour and a half, which meant we missed the first stop. Let’s just say it was one of those times I wished I were home.

We finally found the bus, and got out. It was a cemetery.  We see a lot a cemeteries, but the stories connected with them are so sublime that I, for one, never tire of them (except when it is hot).

This was especially special. It was a monument to Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdrey, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer. It is the actual grave site for Oliver Cowdrey. The spirit was so special there.

Then we got into the car and our troubles resumed. Worse, it started raining. We went too far west and saw Far West, out in the middle of nowhere. We saw the cornerstones of the temple that was started, but has never been finished.

It was pouring the whole time and our stop was very brief. Our next stop was Adam-Ondi-Ahman, but our guide said if it didn’t stop raining, we wouldn’t go. The idea of missing that very special sight was devastating. When we got into the car we offered a prayer, thanking the Lord for our time so far, and asking that the rain stop so we could see Adam-Ondi-Ahman. 

We had lunch.

The rain started to let up, and our guide said we would try it.

The rain had stopped entirely as we walked onto the small hill that serves as a lookout onto that beautiful, lush, green, gorgeous valley, with its rolling hills, mighty rivers and tinkling brooks. It has thick undergrowth, strong trees, and farmland.

I am starting to feel a special, subtle spirit at many of these places. A feeling of love, peace and reverence. The knowledge that some of Heaven’s most faithful souls walked, loved and sacrificed on this ground. A feeling of awe. A sense of human pain and temptation overcome by divine will and love. A feeling of reverence. This spirit is present at many of these sights, transforming normal earth into something lovely.

This spirit was very strong in Adam-Ondi-Ahman. It was like I could hear a faint strain of music. At times it would swell into a river of heavenly sound.

It was utterly, absolutely magnificent. The pictures can only catch the scenery. What was amazing about Adam-Ondi-Ahman was the spirit.

As we stood looking over the valley where the Savior will walk someday; the place where Adam and Eve first offered thanks to God, the gentle rays of the sun peeped over the hills.

The valley was bathed in golden light. Our prayers had been answered.