Everything about Adam-ondi-ahman totally explained
» This article is about a geographical location. For the article about the Latter Day Saint hymn, see Adam-ondi-Ahman (hymn).
Adam-ondi-Ahman (sometimes clipped to
Diahman) is a historic site along the east bluffs above the
Grand River in
Daviess County,
Missouri. According to
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), it's the site to where
Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the
Garden of Eden and will be a gathering spot for a meeting of the priesthood leadership, including prophets of all ages and other righteous men, prior to the
Second Coming of
Jesus Christ.
It was the proposed site for a
Latter Day Saint temple (which was never built) and a flash point in the
Mormon War to evict the
Mormons from Missouri.
After the Mormons were evicted, the site was renamed
Cravensville and was the site of a skirmish on
August 4,
1862, in the
American Civil War in which six
Confederate soliders were killed with 10 Confederates wounded and five
Union soldiers wounded when Union troops attempted to stop Confederate reinforcements in the
First Battle of Independence.
Most of the site is now owned by the LDS Church and it remains predominantly farmland.
Doctrine and Covenants reference
Adam-ondi-Ahman is the subject of a
revelation recorded in the
Doctrine and Covenants, a book of
scripture in some churches of the
Latter Day Saint movement: "Spring Hill is named by the Lord Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, said he, it's the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet."
History
In the 1830s, Mormons being forced out of
Jackson County, Missouri settled just south of Daviess County in
Caldwell County, Missouri in the settlement of
Far West.
Lyman Wight built a home in February 1838 and established a ferry on the Grand River at a spot known as "Wight's Ferry." Wight and other settlers were never to actually own the land but thought they'd be able to buy when the federal government sold it because they'd settled and improved it.
In the Spring of 1838,
Joseph Smith, Jr. visited the site. He proclaimed there were either two or three (depending on subsequent interpretations) altars built by Adam at the site. One altar called the "altar of prayer" was by Lyman's house on Tower Hill. It was described as "sixteen feet long, by nine or ten feet wide, having its greatest extent north and south. The height of the altar at each end was some two and a half feet, gradually rising higher to the center, which was between four and five feet high — the whole surface being crowning." The other altar — called the "altar of sacrifice" — was said to be a mile to the north on top of Spring Hill.
On
May 19,
1838, Smith formally revealed his belief that Adam-ondi-Ahman was indeed the exiled Garden of Eden. On
June 25,
1838, at a conference in Wight's orchard, a Mormon settlement at Adam-ondi-Ahman was formally established. Within a few months its population grew to 1500.
Non-Mormon settlers grew concerned that the Latter Day Saints would seize political control of Daviess County. On
August 6,
1838, a group of non-Mormons tried to prevent Latter Day Saint settlers from voting in the local elections at
Gallatin, Missouri. The Mormons fought back and defeated the mob in a skirmish that came to be called the
Gallatin Election Day Battle. This was the opening skirmish in the
Mormon War.
In the course of the conflict, non-Mormon vigilantes from neighboring counties came to Daviess and burned Mormon homes, which caused Mormon refugees to gather to Adam-ondi-Ahman for protection. Latter Day Saints responded to these attacks by leading their own forces up from Caldwell County. The Mormon militia and
Danite groups marched to the non-Mormon settlements of Gallatin,
Millport, and
Grindstone Forks, where they seized the property found in homes and stores and then burned the settlements to the ground. As a result, most non-Mormon residents fled the county and their stories increased anti-Mormon sentiment throughout northwestern Missouri. Missouri's governor
Lilburn Boggs responded by issuing the
Extermination Order in which he called out 2500 militiamen and threatened to "exterminate" the Mormon settlers.
During the conflict in October 1838, Joseph Smith,
Brigham Young,
Heber C. Kimball and other Latter Day Saints gathered to dedicate the temple square on the highest point on the bluff.
Smith, Wight and others surrendered on
November 1,
1838 on charges of
murder,
arson,
theft,
rebellion, and
treason.. A preliminary court hearing was held
November 12 to
29 in
Richmond, Missouri and Smith and Wight were transferred to the
Liberty Jail in
Liberty, Missouri.
On
November 7,
1838, the Mormons were told they'd 10 days to abandon the settlement and they moved initially to Far West, Missouri.
On
April 9,
1839, Smith was sent to the Daviess County Jail in Gallatin where a
grand jury indicted Smith. On
April 15 following the granting of a
change of venue, Smith was allowed to escape while en route to
Boone County, Missouri a day after getting supplies at Adam-ondi-Ahman
Most of the Latter Day Saints had left Missouri by early 1839; the refugees gathered in
Illinois and later regrouped at the new Mormon center of
Nauvoo. Although many Latter Day Saints were tried for their part in the war, no non-Mormon vigilantes were brought to trial.
Because the Latter Day Saints held their lands in Adam-ondi-Ahman by
preemption, all of their rights and improvements were lost when they were forced to leave their homes. Their losses are recorded in a set of "Mormon Redress Petitions" collected and edited by Clark V. Johnson. Most of the land in Adam-ondi-Ahman was purchased by John Cravens who renamed the town "Cravensville."
Today 3000 acres (12 km²) of the site of Adam-ondi-Ahman is owned and maintained as a historic site by the LDS Church and remains largely undeveloped farmland.
Meaning of the name
According to the belief of some Latter Day Saints, the term
Adam-ondi-Ahman is part of the
Adamic language. The name was first referenced in about
1832, in
Doctrine and Covenants section 78, prior being attached to a specific place. The name was also the title of
a hymn that was popular in the early church.
The term
Adam-ondi-Ahman has been speculatively translated as the "Valley of God, where Adam dwelt" (by
Orson Pratt), "the valley of God in which Adam blessed his children" (by
John Corrill), "Adam's grave" (by
Community of Christ historian Herman C. Smith), or "Adam with God," because elsewhere in the Doctrine and Covenants "Son Ahman" is said to refer to
Jesus.
Religious significance
According to Mormon teachings, the Garden of Eden was located in the vicinity of
Independence, Missouri. After Adam and Eve were banished from the garden, they went to Adam-ondi-Ahman.
According to the Doctrine and Covenants, Adam met his children at the site three years before his death to bestow his blessing. Before the Second Coming, it's said that Adam will convene another meeting there to turn the government of the human family officially to
Jesus Christ.
Further Information
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