GALLATIN, Mo. — The first meetinghouse of the Church in Daviess County, an area rich in Church history, was dedicated in Gallatin March 13. The area, where the Prophet Joseph Smith and other early members of the Church settled for about a year before they were driven from the state, has scriptural significance; in this vicinity is Adam-omni-Ahman, the "place where Adam shall come to visit his people" (Doctrine and Covenants 116:1).
Early members of the Church left here more than 167 years ago; in recent years, Latter-day Saints have been returning to the area. They held meetings in a home, a school building and with another Church congregation 30 miles away. Just prior to receiving the news that they would have a new "first-phase" building, the members were meeting in a renovated funeral home in Gallatin.
Several hundred people, including neighbors and friends of Church members, attended an open house and toured the building on March 12; many of them came not only from Gallatin but also from places across northern Missouri such as Livingston, Grundy, Caldwell and Clinton counties. The building was dedicated the next day by Detlef G. Lehnardt, president of the Liberty Missouri Stake.
Several who attended the open house and dedication are descended from early Church leaders such as Brigham Young, John Taylor, Orson Hyde and some 22 other early gospel stalwarts. Standing beside these descendants, filled with emotion, were members who are descendants of early Missouri residents.
One such descendant is now a member of the Church, Mayor B.J. Breckenridge, Caldwell County. She said, "I shall always recall the hymn 'Come, Come Ye Saints,' which I heard performed by a quartet almost 30 years ago in a church of another faith, as touching my heart so profoundly that I began to seek out the artist from whom this song originated. It wasn't long before I was given A Marvelous Work and a Wonder to read. Shortly thereafter I received a Book of Mormon, instruction, and my personal witness, burning deep within my heart, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was and is truly the restored church of Jesus Christ on the earth today."
E-mail to: sheliabridges@centurytel.net
