M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Another Witness of the Light:
The Museum of Church History and Art Showcases
Two Twentieth Century Photographers
by Scot Facer Proctor

Gallery 4: Images of Zion-the Missouri Period

Introduction
If you haven't read or at least looked at the other three galleries that we've published this is a good time for a review--guaranteed to lift and inspire you.

It has been such a privilege to display my photographs in the Museum of Church History an Art side by side with my companion of the early part of the twentieth century, George Edward Anderson, or George Edward as I affectionately call him.

I started studying the works of George Edward about a quarter century ago and have never stopped. He did an important work in his time-a work that has personally blessed me to come to know the Church historical sites and the sacred places of the Restoration more thoroughly than would have been possible without his images. I thank George Edward for that and hope that my work will also bless generations to come-not only the few images shared in these brief galleries but the untold thousands of images in my own personal archives. With each passing year those photographs become more and more of a reminder and a record of the past.

Shooting Missouri
Missouri is a fascinating place. I am not sure how George Edward felt when he photographed the Missouri sites-probably a bit scared, to tell you the truth. Even when we first moved to Missouri in 1957 there were Mormon haters living on our very street. Most of that has changed now. Our family lived there 27 years--and I call it home, though I am not an official born-native. I always tell people whom I lead through the Missouri sites the following:

"Missouri is the place where you can see less and feel more than any other place in Church History."

And so it is. Go and visit Far West in that obscure location in Caldwell County. What can you see there? Once it was a bustling community with homes and shops, a people trying to build Zion. Now all that remains--as if the people had been swept clean from the place-- are four large stones, now covered with glass, that mark the corners of a never-finished temple. What else? Nothing. You can see the endless rolling fields and the trees that grow so quickly, but relics and touchable items from the past? Nothing. The absence of any indication that they were speaks for itself. The best thing to do in Far West is just sit there and read the scriptures, read the histories, and think and pray. Then you'll be able to see everything more clearly.

Finding the Cemetery at Far West
When we were first out shooting Far West for our book Witness of the Light, we had been searching for something to photograph more than endless trees and fields. In some records, we came upon an 1875 interview with one of the remaining Whitmer brothers who talked of the old cemetery that lay just one mile west of the town of Far West that was reported to contain the remains of about 350 Saints. Ah ha! A cemetery! Now, that has some character and some texture. We determined to find the cemetery and shoot some of the old tombstones of the early Saints. Now, I had been coming to Far West since the early 1960's, and I had not remembered a cemetery, but there it was in bold print in the 1875 newspaper.

We were in our Suburban, and we calculated both the center of the town of Far West-the Temple-and the outskirts on the western side and tried to place the cemetery a mile west and between those two points of beginning. With that scant information, we began our search, carefully driving through fields and small roads through woods looking for any remaining hint of a cemetery. We kept wondering where the Saints would place a cemetery. "Well," we thought, "it had to be on higher ground and would likely overlook something." We kept looking and looking for some hours.

During the search, Maurine and I said aloud, "What could really depict this Far West period-the pain and anguish of a people who were turned upon by their own state militia and then driven from their homes?" Just then, as if on cue, this enormous storm cloud boiled up from the horizon on the west. It was so ominous and so overpowering in its appearance, we knew this was our answer. There were storm clouds of trouble forming all around Far West in the fall of 1838. Here was the perfect symbol for the time. We set up the big Pentax on the tripod in the middle of the field and fired away. Those pictures, though not included in the Museum of Church History and Art gallery, have thrilled audiences all over the country, just like they thrilled us the moment we took them.

Though we had recorded these boiling clouds, we were determined still to find the cemetery. We headed north on an old gravel road that paralleled the main paved road and lay about one mile west of the town site. We pulled up to the farmhouse to the east and I got out to talk to the farmer. As I approached him, I guess I just had that look on my face. He said in a deep Missouri drawl, "You look like you need some seed corn.," "Nope (I was tempted to slip into my Missouri drawl, but I refrained). I am looking for an old cemetery around here that used to belong to the Mormons." He pointed up the road and across to the west, "Yep, it's right up there by the old school house. Used to be there. Got plowed under 'bout four years ago." I was elated and in shock. We had found it, but plowed under? Who would plow a cemetery?

Maurine and I and the baby drove the last few hundred yards up the hill to the north. We pulled over and got out. There was, as it were, a 'rain' of silence. We walked out across the field and into the midst of where the cemetery used to be-we could feel the spirits of those whose remains had been placed there. As we listened, it was as if they were saying, "Don't forget us. Don't let our lives and our sacrifices be in vain." The Spirit was so strong we could hardly take it in. We have since verified and re-verified that this is indeed the cemetery. We have found corners and chips of gravestones every time we have visited there. We only shot one frame there--also not included in this gallery.

These experiences, I believe, are there for the asking whether or not you are a photographer looking to capture a picture or any of us wanting to see more. I believe that the Lord wants to bless each one of us with the things after which we seek-whatever they are. I know He has helped us again and again and the photographs He gives us are His.

Missouri Gallery

This is the only hand-held picture in Witness. All the rest of them were taken on the tripod. I had obtained the services of a goodly old RLDS man who knew the historical sites of western Missouri. Following him, I felt obligated to go at his pace, and concerned about using so much of his time, when we finally arrived at this place where Zion's Camp had been when the enormous storm broke loose that broke up the mobs, I just pulled out the camera, shot three or four frames and we went on. It is called Fishing River. This isn't a particularly beautiful shot, but it is accurate to the place. Joseph, Heber, Wilford ,and Brigham and others all stayed here. You can still feel that. By Scot Facer Proctor, 1990.

From this location on Tower Hill at Adam-ondi-Ahman you can see a gorgeous view of the great valley below. Here at Adam-ondi-Ahman we have had as many spiritual experiences with our tour groups as any other place on the nearly 3,000 mile trek. Adam-ondi-Ahman is not just a special place-it is a place prepared for the return of Jesus Christ. And He will come. And if you go there in the right spirit-you can feel it. By Scot Facer Proctor, 1990.

This was the first picture I took for the book Witness-significant because this is the overlook of the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County, Missouri. I was nervous that morning, wondering if I could be adequate to fulfill the project I had undertaken-to capture the significant sites of Church history in a way that would help tell the story. During the shoot, we slept every night in the back of the Suburban with the baby in her little carrier on top of the cooler. The Suburban actually made for quite a comfortable bed, but that night I didn't sleep well, because I felt the weight of the project upon my heart and soul. I was out of the car and had the camera set in place by about 4:30 A.M. There wasn't a beaker-full of light by that time, but I waited and waited and prayed. The photo here was taken during the first 30 seconds of burst of sunrise that hit the scene below me. I just kept snapping away. I love this picture because it so represents the process of my own heart. By Scot Facer Proctor, 1990.

George Edward's Photographs:

This is near the Battle of Crooked River in northern Missouri. David Patten, the president and senior member of the Twelve apostles, was killed here as were two other members of the Church and a Missourian. George Edward has placed two men in the foreground and two men in the background of this carefully composed picture. The river acts as a boundary between the Church and the enemies of the Church. Here my own great great grandfather, Joseph Holbrook, participated in the battle and received a sword wound he would carry all of his life. The battle that took place here on October 25, 1838, would lead to the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri. By George Edward Anderson, 1907.

Rare view of the original 63.27 acres of the Temple site in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Characteristic of George Edward, he has placed a man in the mid foreground reading some item of literature. More than today, one can see here the raw nature of the land where the great complex of temples will be built for the New Jerusalem. I love this picture. I could study it for hours. By George Edward Anderson, 1907.

A gathering of the Saints in Missouri at the Temple Lot at Independence. This photo was taken 94 years ago, just three years before President Gordon B. Hinckley would be born. Likely all the people in this picture, including the little girl on her father's knee are dead and gone. "Carpe' Diem" I seem to hear blowing in the wind: Seize the day. I think George Edward, in a symbolic way, was reminding us of the great gathering of Saints that will someday be in the land of Missouri. By George Edward Anderson, 1907.

Here a man and his dog stand pointing their faces toward the old cabin site of where Joseph and Emma Smith were living in Far West. This is a classic picture of Far West-looks about the same in George Edward's day as it does in our day--barren, stark, beautiful, and empty-except for the feelings that linger here. By George Edward Anderson, 1907.

Click here to sign up for Meridian's FREE email updates.