UGANDA: LAST DAY IN KAMPALA

 July 26, 2025

Our last day in Uganda was spent on a walking tour in Kampala, the capital city. Let me say up front that it was very hot, that we walked and walked and walked until we were completely worn out, and that our guide was not the best at listening to us and/or discerning our needs. In fact, he ranks among our Top Ten Worst Guides.

That said, we still had a very interesting (in spite of being exhausting) experience in the city that rounded out our other experiences in the rural areas of the country.

Just walking to our first destination was educational. This shop, for example sells fresh flowers packaged to be placed on graves during funerals. I've never seen arrangements quite like these before! 

 

Our first stop was a craft market, and unfortunately I did not take any pictures, but Ella and I both bought several items--woven bracelets, a cloth bag, etc.

Just outside the market there were several artists selling their work. Much of it was too dramatic for me, but then, Uganda is a dramatic country!

I looked for Frida, but I couldn't find her. Uganda is one of the few countries we've traveled in where I didn't see her.

I kinda love this one and wish I'd bought it.

INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI: THE TEMPLE LOT, THE AUDITORIUM, AND THE STONE CHURCH

Independence, Missouri, could be considered the site of a modern-day "Holy War" between three very different churches with one common origin: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka LDS Church, or Mormons), the Community of Christ (aka the Reformed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints [no hyphen, capital D], or RLDS), and the Church of Christ (aka Temple Lot, or Hedrickites). With over 15 million members, the LDS Church eclipses the Community of Christ (about 250,000 members) and the Church of Christ (about 7,300 members). Each church claims to be the true successor church to the one established by Joseph Smith in 1830.

In Independence, the three churches each vie for a attention around what is known as the "Temple Lot." 

#1a: LDS Church Visitors Center and #1b: LDS Stake Center
 #2: Community of Christ Temple
#3a Church of Christ Headquarters and #3b Temple Lot (owned by the Church of Christ)
#4: Community of Christ Auditorium
#5: Community of Christ Stone Church

The Church of Christ's main claim to fame is its ownership of the property in Independence, Missouri, that was dedicated by Joseph Smith for the building of a temple (#3b above). Today that property is bordered on three sides by significant Community of Christ properties (#2, #4, and #5 above) and is kitty-corner from the LDS Visitors' Center (#1a above). 

The Church of Christ headquarters are located in a white wooden building built in 1990 next to the Temple Lot:

These two acres of grass have been the source of some contention among the three churches named above, including a lawsuit in the 1890s and two acts of arson, one in 1898 and one in 1990:

INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI: COMMUNITY OF CHRIST TEMPLE

The Community of Christ Church, which was known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1872 to 2001, is an offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly referred to as the LDS or "Mormon" Church. The two groups split after the death of the man considered the founder of both churches, Joseph Smith, Jr. The LDS church chose Brigham Young as their next leader, and those who did not support that choice eventually chose Joseph Smith III, who was 12 years old at the time of his father's death, to be their next leader. For years there was some animosity between the two groups, but recently their relationship has greatly improved.

Since Joseph Smith, Jr.'s death in 1844, the doctrine of the two churches has diverged greatly, and one of the places where this can be seen is in their concept of temples. While LDS Temples are closed to the general public and used for ordinances for the living that can be performed nowhere else, as well as for vicarious ordinances for the dead, the Community of Christ Temple located in Independence, Missouri, serves as the headquarters of the church and as a place of public worship "dedicated to the pursuit of peace." I was very curious about it and excited to visit.

Plans to build the temple were announced in 1984,groundbreaking took place on April 6, 1990, and the edifice was dedicated April 17, 1994. The cost was approximately $35 million.

I had seen photos of the building, and its strange twisting spire reminded me of some futuristic structure, perhaps a building out of The Jetsons or Star Wars. However, in person I found it quite striking. The twisting-turning steel and glass steeple looks like an ever-narrowing pathway that leads to heaven. The building was designed by an award-winning architect from Missouri named Gyo Obata, who also designed the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

Different angles provide changing views:

As this temple is dedicated to promoting peace, this primitive-style bronze statue on the grounds is especially appropriate. A plaque at the base quotes Isaiah 2:2-4: ". . . they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI: TRUMAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

On this trip to the Midwest, Bob and I visited three Presidential Library and Museum (PLM) sites, bringing our total to eleven of the thirteen official sites. (We still need to visit Gerald Ford's in Michigan and Teddy Roosevelt's in New York.)

The Truman PLM was the first library created under the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act, which established a system of privately built but federally maintained libraries. The dedication in 1957 was attended by previous President Herbert Hoover, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1972, funeral services for President Truman were held here before he was interred in the back courtyard, and ten years later his wife was buried by his side.

A mural by Thomas Hart Benton covers 495 square feet of the lobby walls, its swirling clouds, rolling landscape, and busy figures almost jumping off the surface:

Detail of area above the door

Detail of left panel below main painting

Detail of right panel below main painting

Truman and Benton became good friends during the painting of Independence and the Opening of the West. Truman himself even applied a few brushstrokes to this mural.