KIRTLAND COUSINS

Susan Jackson shares her story of growing up in Utah, raising a large family, and volunteering extensively, including teaching seminary and serving in various Church roles while living across the U.S. and internationally. She also details her unique experience volunteering at the Kirtland Temple with Community of Christ, the deep relationships she built there, and her emotional response to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchasing the site.

What’s the general overview of your story?
I grew up in Pleasant Grove, Utah, one of ten kids. I met my husband while he was at BYU and I was at Utah Valley University. We have six children, 5 in-law kiddos, and five grandchildren. The majority of my time has been spent in volunteer work and raising my family. I’ve served in many different positions in the Church. Currently, I teach early morning seminary, which I’ve done for four years in this ward. I also taught seminary two other times, in Texas and overseas. We’ve lived all over the US and overseas because of my husband’s job—he’s in technology and installs large software packages for companies. We moved to Ohio, 45 minutes from Kirtland, in 2002. We were sent on assignment to China 2014 to 2016, and Germany 2017 to 2019. We returned to our home in Ohio just in time for Covid.

Where were you in China and what was the Church experience there?
We were in Shenzhen, the first city in mainland China across the border from Hong Kong. I loved our time there. I learned a little Mandarin. We were there for two years, and it took me a year just to isolate sounds and understand some words. I still can’t speak it but I can understand a little bit.

I absolutely loved church in China! In a tiny branch, you become family. Our youngest two children went with us and had a close-knit youth group, and we treasure those friendships. To attend our branch, you had to have a foreign passport – we could not allow Chinese nationals to come. It’s hard to turn people away and not talk about the gospel – it’s the opposite of what I was taught growing up. My husband was in the branch presidency and once a month, they read a letter over the pulpit to remind us of no proselytizing to Chinese nationals, not even in private conversations. If someone did have a foreign passport and wanted to learn about the Church, we could teach them. I was a set-apart missionary in Shenzhen, China to teach women who came from Africa. They wanted to learn! I had a companion and every day, we taught them the gospel. It was one of my callings, and you have a lot of callings in a tiny branch.

During our time there, most missionaries in Hong Kong spoke Cantonese. Some were assigned to learn Mandarin to teach Chinese nationals who had been introduced to the Church in other countries. They could go from China to Hong Kong, be taught and baptized, and go back. There was an LDS branch in Shenzhen of Chinese nationals who had joined the Church elsewhere in the world, but because of the agreement the Church has with the Chinese government we could not interact with them at all. We didn’t meet any of those members unless we were outside of China. I met one of those sweet sisters serving in the Hong Kong Temple. Just before we moved there, there was a change that if a person who was a Chinese national joined the Church outside of China and went back, they could teach the gospel to specific family members – parents and grandparents, children and grandchildren, aunts and uncles and cousins, and they could be baptized in China. Prior to that change, they couldn’t teach the gospel to any family at all.

What was Church like in Germany? Similarities or differences?
Church in Germany was wonderful! Part of my heart is still there and will always be. We were there for two years and attended a German ward. Missionaries translated for us, so we wore headphones to sacrament meeting. After a year, I was called to be the stake Young Women president. It was a scary and fantastic experience. I was a fish out of water, but started to learn German. I visited each of the units and gave a presentation on President Nelson and Sister Nelson’s Hope of Israel worldwide youth devotional. I translated my message through Google Translate, back and forth from English to German and German to English several times because Google Translate is great, but it isn’t always right the first time. I got a stamp of approval from German speakers, “Oh, this makes sense. It’s good.” It was wonderful to speak in meetings that didn’t have a translator – the miracles of the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues are real. It is the Spirit that carries. Even when you’re speaking the same language, there can still be an understanding barrier. The Spirit can break through all of that. It was my privilege to witness that.

Our experience was living in a more reserved community, but we were blessed with deeper connections. In the US, when people ask how you’re doing, we usually reply, “I’m fine,” almost without thinking. In Germany, if I asked how people are doing, I would get a genuine response: “Well, my mother is in a nursing home and she’s not doing well. I had a really hard week. My son just left on his mission and (with tears welling up in her eyes) this is my first missionary and I don’t know how to handle that.” I realized I need to be more committed when asking someone how they are. Their openness was humbling and we developed trusting friendships.

It was inspiring to get to work with the youth and watch as they really had each other’s backs. We’ve experienced this in other parts of the world, but this small group was very unified – loving and caring and genuinely concerned about each other.

You live in Ohio near Kirtland – what did you do at the historic sites and how did you become involved?
A few years ago, I took my daughter’s in-laws to visit the temple in Kirtland, built in the 1830s by the early Church members, and has been owned and maintained by the Community of Christ for over 100 years. While we were in the bookstore, I talked to a woman who was working at the register. I learned of a relationship between Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the summer, Community of Christ invited former missionary couples who had served at Historic Kirtland to come back, live in historic homes, and give tours of the temple. I told her that I am local and asked, “Can I volunteer?” She submitted my name and I got a call to interview with the site director, Roger Rose, a Seventy with Community of Christ. After the interview, he said, “You’re in, kid!” He clarified that their team (only members of Community of Christ) would do the tours of the temple, and that was fine with me. I was just happy to be there!
I made the 45-minute drive to Kirtland once a week, and with Nancy Cervi (Evangelist for Community of Christ) I cleaned out flower beds and buildings. Most of my time, Nancy and I volunteered in the bookstore – took care of inventory, paperwork, tagged items, organized, and worked the register. Right at the beginning, I was given a key to the visitor center and codes to access the back offices and library. Just a few months later I was given a key to the temple. I felt so honored that they trusted me in such a short time and I didn’t want to do anything to betray that trust.

On my first day, it was the fall season, which tends to be busy, and I met several volunteers. Most were Community of Christ but two were Latter-day Saints, Lanny and Maxine Waite, who had served a full-time mission in Historic Kirtland during Covid and were invited by Community of Christ to come back. In my conversations with the volunteers, I was called “Cousin” by one of the men volunteering from California. I thought this was great! We may be part of two different churches, but we all have a connection to Kirtland, especially the temple.

After several months, Roger came in with a big stack of papers and asked, “Have I given you this paper before?” He had given me several books and stacks of paper to read, so I wasn’t sure if he had or not. It was the script for the tour of the temple! I was speechless. We sat down together and went over the tour. He told me, “There are not open volunteer tour positions here. You just stepped on the flypaper at the wrong time.” The woman whose place I took was from Community of Christ who had been serving there but had an unexpected event come up and had to leave. It was then that I came to the visitor center with my daughter’s in-laws. Dumb luck is my superpower! But truthfully I know it was a blessing.

Anyway, as I started my tours, I wanted to make sure their trust in me was not misplaced and I stuck to the script. It was beautifully written. There’s so much shared history between our two churches, fun little tidbits that make it more personal and link the generations. Of course I made mistakes, but I was lovingly mentored by Nancy along the way.

Understandably, there were directions I was given about the differences in our beliefs. As a guide, the direction was to “not limit our faith story to one perspective. Diverse viewpoints bring richness to our understanding of God’s movement in our sacred story. Of course, historians will come to different conclusions as they study. Therefore, it is important for us to create and maintain a respectful culture that allows different views on history.” This created an environment for respectful discussion of differences in beliefs. In the Kirtland Temple tour script, there are quotes directly from the Doctrine & Covenants that applied in the various rooms. Beautiful experiences. I talked about the Savior visiting the temple on the first floor, the miracles that happened during the dedication, Joseph Smith seeing his brother Alvin in heaven. The script was specific in that event of it being “heaven.” This is one of those differences in beliefs. If someone asked about the “celestial kingdom,” I could clarify and talk to them after the tour.

What are some of the differences in beliefs?
As I’ve asked that question, the main understanding I have is that we were the same church until Nauvoo and the practice of polygamy. Another point is that women hold the priesthood in Community of Christ. A wonderful woman I worked with, Nancy – we’ve had really good conversations and she said, “One of the big things is polygamy and we didn’t ever believe that Joseph Smith had any wives other than Emma.” Ironically, when I was growing up, that’s all I knew too — that Joseph Smith’s only wife was Emma. I’m sure the information was out there but it wasn’t openly talked about.

I don’t know that I’ve met a more service driven and faith filled person than Nancy – she dedicated eleven years of her life to the temple. After her husband passed away, she was invited to go to Kirtland and do tours for one year. That turned into eleven. Those beautiful Kirtland grounds are her flowers. She knows every flower, every plant, she has little markers, and that has been her life. Every time I got there, she was out working with her wheelbarrow, pulling weeds and trimming things and every bit of it has been a labor of love.

Community of Christ opened the temple regularly to the community. Some of my favorite events were the Thanksgiving service, Christmas Eve service, and the Emma Smith Hymn Festival. One of the newest events was to commemorate the March 27, 1836 temple dedication fittingly held on March 27. Nancy invited members of the community and local churches to come and assigned reenactment parts to various individuals. Last year, my husband and I represented Parley and Thankful Pratt. In that first dedication, Sidney Rigdon spoke for two and a half hours! Gratefully, we only had one and a half to two minutes for each person. A senior missionary represented Joseph Smith’s brother Don Carlos, who blessed the sacrament for that dedication. The missionary talked about the heaping loaves of bread on the sacrament table, enough to pass the sacrament to the 1000 people in attendance for that dedication. The original dedication was seven and a half hours long and not everyone who wanted to attend could be inside the temple. So a second dedication was held the following Thursday. That was reported to be about nine hours long and Edward Partridge said it was “longer and better than the first service.” The following Sunday in 1836 was Easter and the temple was again filled with a thousand people. That was when Joseph and Sidney Rigdon went to the Melchizedek priesthood pulpit and the veils were drawn, and the Savior appeared and said He accepted this house.

Last year on my wedding anniversary, I was in Kirtland and my husband was traveling. I asked if I could just sit in the temple and be there at the time that my sealing had taken place many years ago. My sweet friends let me have that private time in the temple alone. I reflected that this is where the keys were restored for eternal marriages. It was a very special experience that I would never have had if not for these wonderful people of Community of Christ giving me the chance to volunteer.

I’ve been in the basement of the temple, I’ve stood up on the bell tower, I have been in every nook and cranny of that building. Nancy and Roger would give “basement to bell tower tours,” starting in the visitor center to get a more in-depth understanding of those treasures in the museum, then over to the basement. As we went up the first flight of stairs, there are cubbies to look in and see the rubble stone construction. We climbed in there and sat on stools. Nancy said, “When I come here, I hear voices. I hear voices of the past. I hear tired, devoted saints sacrificing and giving everything to the building of this temple.” I love Nancy’s tours, I’ve always felt a beautiful spirit.

On March 5, 2024, it was announced that the LDS Church bought the Kirtland Temple and other historic properties from Community of Christ. What was the reaction to the property sale?

I was surprised at how hard it was for me. Before I volunteered there, before I met these dear friends, I would have said, “Yes! It’s about time we get the temple back.” But I felt an immediate loss. The temple and visitor center were typically closed in January and February – Nancy and I had been working to get the bookstore ready to open on March 1 but I got a call saying not to come because it wasn’t going to open until the end of March. This was strange. I asked what was going on. Nancy didn’t know. When I heard the news of the sale, I sat on the stairs in my home and just sobbed. Even though I was there just once a week, these people had become family to me. My sweet friend Nancy didn’t know about the sale until that morning and her home was on the property sold to the LDS Church. I found myself sobbing randomly and felt like I had experienced a death in the family. I’m grateful that it was initiated by Community of Christ, because I think that’s helpful with the transition. But right now, my heart is hurting.

The evening of the sale, my husband and I went to Kirtland and sat on one of the benches outside. It was a very misty night. I took pictures of the temple almost in shadow. We sat on the grounds and cried. I could see the lights inside the temple as structural engineers inspected the building. I could see lights in my friend’s home — she can see the temple from her kitchen. I knew that it was hard for her to see lights going on and off in the temple. She was the main caretaker of that building, and to have somebody she doesn’t know inside … The locks were changed quickly. I still have my key to the temple and visitor center but they don’t work, and I felt an immense loss.

Those first days were really hard and I found myself randomly crying. My kids asked, “What’s wrong, Mom?” To them and to a great many Church members, this was a prayed-for momentous event. I tried to put my feelings into words: “I feel like the prophet just died and a new prophet has been called. I know it’s right. I know he’s called of God, but I am mourning the loss of that prophet that I loved so much.” I was mourning the loss of the relationships that I had made during my time with Community of Christ and friends in Kirtland. It was uncertain. I didn’t know what the days ahead would be.

The next Sunday, my husband and I attended church with Nancy and Roger at Community of Christ. In their chapel, there’s a window behind the podium that overlooks the temple. The curtains were closed that day. Boxes of tissues were thoughtfully placed on each bench. Everything they do is about service and living a Christ-like life. After the service, we were invited to meet in their kitchen area, have some Joseph Smith rootbeer and make rootbeer floats. The time was to share our experiences with each other about the temple. I met new people from their congregation — a woman who’d been married in the Kirtland Temple, another who would take her little Sunday School class over and have her lesson in the Kirtland Temple. Everyone had so many personal experiences. One of the groundskeepers was sharing his feelings and he said, “Something I know is that is God’s house.” They were so kind to me in this transition even though it was their world turned upside down.

The LDS Church re-opened the temple quickly, in just a couple of weeks, and one reason is because the head of the Church History department heard that Nancy had planned the commemoration of the dedication, and he wanted to make sure it was open for her. The night of the commemoration I spoke with President Scott Barrett, Historic Kirtland Site director now over the temple as well. He said, “If I asked you to come and volunteer here, would you do it?” In a heartbeat! I said I’d be so excited, I’d have to be careful not to get a speeding ticket. (Well … to date I have gotten two!)

I am now a service missionary with Family Services through my stake. I was invited to volunteer at the temple visitor center and wear my missionary name tag. The full-time missionaries do tours of the temple. The number of visitors went up dramatically in those first few weeks, mainly because it was spring break, and we also experienced the path of totality for the April 8 solar eclipse. I was there the Friday before the eclipse and 450 people went through the temple, the same number that visited Historic Kirtland. The next day was over 500 people, and the day of the eclipse, they had 650 people visit the temple in four hours. People said they had always wanted to come to Kirtland and that was a great time because of the eclipse, so they took that opportunity to make that their destination.

My understanding is the Community of Christ has a certain number of events that they can hold for free in the Kirtland Temple, and those will continue to go forward. I don’t know what’s on the calendar, and the sale has changed some things. I am certain they will juggle the schedule and get it figured out.

One of the larger activities was a series of family reunions for the John Johnson family, the Isaac Morley family, and the Whitney family, held in June 2024. They were sponsored by the stakes in Kirtland, Cleveland, Akron, and Youngstown in conjunction with Community of Christ and the City of Kirtland. What an incredible collaboration! I wonder if we could talk to those who lived in the 1830s, could they even imagine an event coming about. It was a great success!

What’s your overall feeling about volunteering in and around the Kirtland Temple?

It has been an absolute privilege to meet and have friendships with members of the Community of Christ. I have what I call my “Snotty Self-righteous Side.” Before, it was this side that saw our two churches as “us versus them.” I am embarrassed to admit that. Being in this place that means so much to both of our churches, those that had the charge and care for the Kirtland Temple opened their doors and arms to me – an outsider, not a member of their church. They took a chance on me, saying that they needed my help, but I am the one that truly needed theirs. I’m so grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to grow.

Because of them, I learned that I have ancestors buried in the Kirtland Cemetery in the shadow of the temple. Because of them, I learned that I am a 5th great granddaughter of John Tanner. Because of them, I have been blessed to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors, feel a closeness to them, and find my roots.

In seminary, I’ve taught the doctrinal mastery scriptures that we “judge not that ye be not judged,” and “all are like unto God.” Do I really believe that? Am I really practicing that? Or am I putting exceptions on it? Not once did they treat me like anything other than friends. I reflect back to that first day that Community of Christ volunteer said, “Well, you know, we’re cousins.” These wonderful people scooped me up and made me part of their family, and I am eternally grateful.

“These were days never to be forgotten” – Oliver Cowdery

INTERVIEW PRODUCED BY TRINA CAUDLE

NAME: Susan Jackson
AGE: 56
LOCATION: Medina, Ohio
MARITAL HISTORY: Married
CHILDREN: 6
CONVERT TO THE CHURCH: No
EDUCATION: Attended UVU, Dixie, and BYU studying Elementary Education
OCCUPATION: Homemaker
LANGUAGES SPOKEN AT HOME: English
FAVORITE HYMN: Where can I turn for peace

At A Glance

Produced by Trina Caudle