25 years ago
President Spencer W. Kimball, accompanied by his wife, Camilla, returned to the sites of many historic events in early Church history with a visit to Missouri Sept. 1-3, according to the Sept. 9, 1978, Church News.
The article reported: "With pages of history linking the past to the present, President and Sister Kimball and their party visited the temple site in Far West, Mo., the hills and valleys of Adam-ondi-Ahman, the temple block in Independence, Mo., and the jail in Liberty. An added bonus was visiting the area believed to have been the location of the city of Seth, designated by the Prophet Joseph Smith as a place of refuge for the saints."
Also during the trip, President Kimball dedicated the new Independence Missouri Stake Center and spoke at a fireside in Kansas City.
The article stated: "At a banquet at a stake center earlier Saturday evening, Sept. 2, President Kimball spoke of his missionary experiences in Missouri, pointing out that his first assignment was in Independence [in 1914].
"He said the members and missionaries were getting ready to dedicate the first LDS chapel to be built in Independence. He helped lay sod that he and his companion gathered from a pasture and hauled in on a wagon. He told the Church News later that 'I did other things to help prepare for the dedication of the chapel. I washed windows and nailed down benches.' "
As a missionary, Elder Kimball attended the dedication of the chapel by President Joseph F. Smith.
