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Sister Mendoza latches onto me. A missionary from Mexico with a thick accent that makes her difficult to understand at times, Sister Mendoza is one of the 50,000 Mormons serving on missions across the world. Young Mormons pay their own way to serve Jesus Christ for up to two years. The men must be between the ages of 19 and 25, and the women older than 21. They are paired with a missionary of the same sex (unless they are married) and taught to street-preach and make house calls teaching the basic tenets of Mormonism.

"I'm looking for the Garden of Eden," I say.

Sister Mendoza escorts me to the reception area and pulls out The Book of Mormon, a text as sacred to the church as the Bible. She marks a couple of passages, scribbles her contact information on the front cover, and writes down journal passages by church apostles and presidents.

Sister Mendoza bursts with enthusiasm and keeps thanking the Heavenly Father for sending me to her. She leads me to the basement, where she implores me to keep my heart open and feel the spirit of the Holy Ghost. "Pay attention to the spirit," she repeats.

Before I know it, I'm in a dark room watching a video about Joseph Smith's life.

Life in Missouri was never paradisiacal for the first Mormons. Early Missouri settlers felt threatened by the growing Mormon population and its opposition to slavery, so they raided Mormon settlements and drove the Mormons from Jackson County.

By 1838, the Mormons were at war with Missouri, and Missouri Gov. Lilburn Boggs issued an extermination order in October of that year. "The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace — their outrages are beyond all description," it read.

At Haun's Mill, northeast of Independence, 18 Mormons were massacred. (The extermination order wasn't formally repealed until 1976, implying that it was legal to kill a Mormon in Missouri until then.) In 1844, Smith was murdered by a mob in Illinois and became a martyr.

The video ends (without mentioning the Garden of Eden), and another missionary pops into the room. Sister Carroll (I think that was her name), an equally enthusiastic blonde, begins her sentences with "I know," such as "I know that Joseph Smith Jr. is a prophet" and "I know that there are living prophets on Earth." Her eyes bulge as she testifies to me. She carries a massive combination Bible and The Book of Mormon and reads passages I can't quite remember (possibly from Michael and Galatians).

"What did the apostles come to Earth to teach us?" she asks me.

I feel a little on the spot. "They came to show us God's will," I stammer.

"They're here to teach us what God wants us to do," she half-concurs.

She asks me to read a couple of chapters in The Book of Mormon tonight.

I agree. One is about asking God if what's taught in The Book of Mormon is true. The other concerns God not being able to perform miracles unless his children believe.

So I decide to become, at least for the purpose of this story, a believer. I will believe as long as God provides me answers.

The actual Garden of Eden could be anywhere. Maybe it's on the grassy hill where Joseph Smith Jr. envisioned Jesus' temple or underneath the surrounding churches. Or maybe the Garden is somewhere else in town, buried under a housing development or apartment complex, biding its time beneath the Bass Pro Shops, scheduled to open in late January, or pro golfer Greg Norman's course. Maybe it's the entire city. Elders and sisters at the Liberty Jail (where Joseph Smith was imprisoned) explained to me that the Garden could have been the entire world at the time. As one sister said, "It had to be somewhere, right? Why not?"

Or maybe Joseph Smith got it wrong.

So I return to the visitor's center, where I eyeball a giant map of Missouri with Sister Mendoza. The map highlights Mormon historical sites: the Liberty Jail; Adam-ondi-Ahman, where Adam was exiled; Far West, where the stones were laid for a future temple. The map doesn't show the Garden of Eden.

I ask Sister Mendoza if there is a specific site for it.

"No, I don't think so," she tells me. "You should ask Elder Poll."

But the well-studied Elder Poll is unavailable, so I leave.

The next day, while I'm at an Old 97's concert, a pair of college-age missionaries, Sister Morris and Sister Hackett, leave a message on my cell phone.

I return their call a day later.

"What church do you go to?" Sister Hackett asks.

"I don't go to church," I say.

"Oh, you don't? I'm sorry."

"It's OK."

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" she asks.

"I'm trying to figure out my beliefs in Jesus Christ," I say. "To be honest with you, I've always fluctuated between believing and being agnostic."

She tells me to keep praying, to keep reading The Book of Mormon.

"Do you pray?" Sister Hackett asks.

"It's very flexible," I say.

"Do you ever feel that you get answers to your prayers?"

"Sometimes," I say.

The truth is, I pray most during Iowa State University football and basketball games. The answer I usually get is that God hates the Cyclones.

I tell her that I'm a writer with the Pitch.

"We don't read the newspapers, but that's cool," she says.

We set up a meeting for the following Monday, but when Monday comes, the sisters cancel. They're chasing souls at an apartment complex at the east side of town at 23rd Street and Wheeling. I convince them to meet me there.

In the parking lot, on a suffocating Kansas City afternoon, Sister Hackett, a longhaired brunette from Utah, and Sister Morris, a mountain-loving blonde from Nevada, ask me the same questions posed during that phone call. They want to know if I believe in God.

"Some days," I tell them.

They seem innocent and incorruptible. Sister Hackett is a year into her mission. Sister Morris still has 15 months to go.

I explain my own mission: to find the Garden of Eden.

They say the Garden is definitely in Independence, but each echoes Sister Mendoza's suggestion that I speak with Elder Poll. My hopes for the Garden now lie with him.

Write Your Comment show comments (20)

  1. Great article. I've never been to Eden. It was hilarious to read how your experience with Mormon missionaries left you feeling bombarded. I was a missionary in the '90s (in England), and I often thought people felt that way. I'm glad you took the time to try to visit these places. I don't know how much confidence I'd put in 'Nephite altars' or other such things. Joseph Smith was a great man. But, it must be emphasized, he was a man. His actual writings confirm that he had no education (much as the Greek of the New Testament shouted that its authors were Semitic laborers). Much of what is attributed to him has been taken from notes left by others. However, I think that my church is very serious about your state being special. So, keep an eye out for that temple.

    Deseretian

    Comment by Deseretian — September 6, 2007 @ 02:09PM

  2. The important thing is you felt at peace with the place. That is a good place to start your real search.

    Comment by Larry Ogan — September 6, 2007 @ 04:33PM

  3. Well... I'd always assumed that the Garden of Eden was taken up into Heaven just like Enoch's City was... so you can't walk to where it used to be. (Besides, there's that whole angel with a flaming sword business, so I think you ought to be happy you didn't find your way to the garden).

    One way in which Independence does fit the Garden of Eden topography is that the Bible describes 3 large rivers, that flow into one river at the Garden site.

    Typical assumptions that this is in the Middle East runs into the problem that there are no such rivers.

    There were however such rivers at Independence. (Although the Mississippi has shifted away since the Mormons were there).

    Most Mormons assume that it was during the Flood that men shifted from the Old world to the New.

    Comment by Daniel — September 6, 2007 @ 11:08PM

  4. I've never been to the Independence area before. Maybe some day I'll get the chance.
    I just wanted to add a little perspective to your consideration (and others) of the G of E being in Independence. From the Bible we learn that the continents of the earth were one until about 4 generations after the flood. From Genesis 10:25 and reiterated again in 1 Chronicles 1:19, "And two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided."

    Also, after Peleg, there is no record of Biblical prophets saying anything related to the G of E being in the old world.

    So, the Garden existed on the single land mass that became divided into numerous parts of which any one could be considered the correct general location--including the American Continent.

    Comment by Jon H — September 6, 2007 @ 11:31PM

  5. The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) is often misunderstood . . Some accuse the Church of not believing in Christ and, therefore, not being a Christian religion . . http://mormonsarechristian.blogspot.com/ helps to clarify such misconceptions by examining early (First Century) Christianity's understanding of baptism, the Godhead, the deity of Jesus Christ and His Atonement. The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) adheres to Early Christian theology more closely than other Christian denominations.

    Comment by Bot — September 7, 2007 @ 05:06AM

  6. I wonder why you are searching for the G of E? Are you hoping to find this altar? Think it's worth a lot of money? Maybe real estate speculation? If found, I guess a lot of people and "Christian" churches would want to locate there immediately? It doesn't sound like you really want to find it to be closer to God by finding the place. Maybe you're an archaeologist or an antique treasure hunter? Or, maybe you just like playing with people? What if the G of E was originally there? Maybe you'll find out someday. Maybe this will be one surprise for you among many? I've never met a live Mormon who really thought or cared anything about this.

    We do have members of some cults (religious practice, not the occult) who believe that the wine and wafer of their sacrament actually convert to blood and flesh after swallowed. I believe it is called "transubstantiation". Perhaps a surgeon should investigate the truth. That might be an easier find for you, and then you could go about the entire planet asking members about this. Most live Mormons seem more concerned about more significant issues today.

    Comment by Steve Sampson — September 7, 2007 @ 06:43AM

  7. I like your article. I think you were pretty fair in about everything you say and describe and I appreciate it.

    President Brigham Young

    “I have never been in Jackson County, now it is a pleasant thing to think of and to know where the garden of Eden was. Did you ever think of it? I do not think many do, for in Jackson County was the garden of Eden. Joseph has declared this and I am as much bound to believe that as to believe that Joseph was a prophet of God” (Journal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 15 Mar. 1857, 1).

    Comment by Ryan — September 7, 2007 @ 08:46AM

  8. Mr. Justin:

    Enjoyed your article. I couldn't tell how much your quest for the GofE was tounge-in-check. Good luck trying to find it.

    As a life long and still-practicing Mormon, I really don't spend much time thinking about Independence or the GofE, and I haven't met any Mormons who do. I guess I have more immediate and important issues to worry about -- like getting the young men in my ward (congregation) to mutual (youth activities) on Tuesday nights. Try this -- survey 1000 Mormons, with 500 of those being outside the U.S. (since half of all Mormons live outside the US anyway) and see how many have even heard of Independence, of Brother Joseph's prophecy about a temple at that location, or of the GofE having been near there.

    BTW -- One aspect of the South Park episode that so many non-LDS writers refer to -- in the end the South Park regulars are depicted as losers who have meaningless and shallow lives. The Mormon kid comes off as the only one who has his head on straight, any ambition, and any semblence of a productive family. Maybe the SP writers and producers are on to something . . . maybe.

    Mark

    Comment by Mark — September 7, 2007 @ 10:35AM

  9. This story was hillarious. I served a mission a few years back, and laugh in retrospect sometimes at how clueless I was in regards to not coming across as creepy and robotic. That being said, I'm very active in the LDS church, and have tried my best to get to the bottom ot the Garden of Eden idea. My concusion: basically, there are no doctrinally binding first hand sources documenting that Adam-Ondi-Ahman was divinely identified as the location of the garden of eden, thus I see no merit in it being an official doctrine. (And, I don't think the church teaches that as an official doctrine). What the Doctrine and Covenants does teach is that Adam-Ondi-Ahman is where Adam will return to the earth as a part of Christ's millenial reign. That is explicitly stated, but nowhere does Mormon scripture unambiguously state that the garden of eden was located in Jackson County, Missouri. Other Mormons will debate this with me, and that's healthy and good. What it comes down to is this: Does everything Joseph Smith taught become official, binding, church doctrine? The answer is no, so Joseph asserting in sermons of the day that Independence is the Garden of Eden is not a doctrinally binding statement. Additionally, no living general authority has made any statements on the topic, which leaves it sort of undefined and awaiting clarification. In all reality though, the location of the GofE is a rather esoteric and unimportant piece in the story of Mormonism. At least to us Mormons. Again, great piece.

    Comment by W — September 7, 2007 @ 04:37PM

  10. Justin,

    I thought about it a little more today, why you're in search of the G of E. I figure it could be you're a herpetologist. Or, you could be a produce wholesaler interested in setting up Forbidden Fruit stands all over K.C. Strange what some folks think of these money-grubbing Mormons that they haven't done this yet themselves. Some would think, by now, they would have set up a restored G of E, with a well-worn looking stone altar set therein, and they should be selling tickets to get in to see the whole place.

    I think your real thing is to tell the world in a mocking way how robotic they seem to be with their missionary zeal in their efforts to convert you from the moment you walked in. ATTACK!!! No telling you where the mystery garden is, but just robotic-line memorized one-liner marketing to get you into the tub. Well, think about this. Have you ever heard of Junipero Serra? In 5th grade at Jefferson Junior High School about 50 years ago, one of my favorite teachers (Mrs. Campbell) taught us out of a textbook entitled "Early California", about the history of the state. Now let's preface all this by making sure you know I have a very close friend who is currently president of a RC university, formerly a Provincial in the Philadelphia area. I have had many RC friends, and my own Italian family that migrated around the Cape from Boston to SF in 1851 were RC. So, it's really something I haven't thought about in years. But this Junipero Serra guy was the ultimate RC priest who led a whole cadre of other priests to establish the entire chain of RC missions up & down the state. How did they accomplish this feat? By converting and immediately enslaving countless Indians/Native Americans to do the work. Just think, had you been one of them and your Mormon hosts followers of Serra, they might not have been quite so kind, polite and endearing toward you who didn't enter the building for any other reason but to taunt them enough to carefully craft your article in The Pitch. No marketing ("satisfying consumer needs", Philip Kotler) approach, but they would have chains of bondage waiting for you in the back room. Slightly different approach? These other readers have no idea, apparently, about the objective of your article for the K.C. and Independence audience. They've obviously never lived in Missouri, or they'd know better.

    Comment by Steve Sampson — September 7, 2007 @ 04:38PM

  11. Justin,

    It is very evident by your style that you are a writer by trade. One could even class you as a professional writer, meaning that in the more derogatory sense, at least a little bit anyway.

    Those in your profession actually do have to make a living writing something that well sell and attract readers, any kind of reader. I can respect the drive to put something out.

    To boilerplate writers like yourself, most anything will do, even if it is to ridicule that with is different and of which you know little about. Somewhat like a burley schoolyard bully befriending and then humiliating the new skinny kid while stealing his lunch money so that he and his friends can have their jollies on the little guy’s dime.

    What’s the harm anyway? Everyone in the schoolyard is laughing. Majority rules! Right.

    Oh yes, you are a very good writer, in the way that many are good stand-ups, actors and the like. You do craft a skillful but irreverent “tongue and cheek” that is attractive. If that is your objective, then you have met it.

    Most of all, I am bothered by the dishonesty. Humor is wonderful if there is an actual beneficial purpose to it. Your musings just comes across as a quirky theatrical performance journey using a fictitious Garden of Eden search as a base to build an irreverent humor piece on. All of which seems designed mostly to line your pockets while entertaining a few readers with a bit nonsense. It leaves me wondering, where is the real you in all of this?

    But maybe I have misjudged you. You actually may be that cynical and shallow or just hungry with a mortgage and lifestyle to support. Maybe this is the sum total of your character. How can I tell? I don’t live in your area and only know you from this piece. I hope that is not the truth.

    Maybe one of these days you can re-take a real Garden of Eden tour. One in which you are never going to write about, a journey that you do for yourself. One where you honestly go to find out why the people in the places you visited do what they do, to trying to see though their eyes what they are seeing.

    Perhaps, for an old cynical humor hack as you, that is too much to ask, where every life experience must be looked at with an irreverent writer’s perspective. Maybe it is too hard for you to step out of character. Never the less, if you do you may actually find the real Garden of Eden, where before you were not able to see the forest for the trees.

    Comment by Hoss — September 7, 2007 @ 06:17PM

  12. Your story is an interesting one. There is a subject or word you never used in your story, Danites. Please Google that word. It is important that you do your own research about this subject. Danites were people appointed by the church to shed the blood of those who so foolishly thought they should leave the church. This was a practice which came into being in Missouri. It was not well received by the local law. However, did you notice that it was ommitted from all of the conversations you had with those who could have given you that information? Instead, Mormons try to play it off that they were the victims, they were persecuted? When a militia of people begin killing innocent people for their beliefs, or lack of belief, and the local law begins to retaliate, the original militia (and its sponsoring organization) becomes the victim? I think not.

    As with many organizations and humans in general, some people cannot handle having any power. It corrupts them. It seems that even those wonderful Mormons, as they see themselves) were greedy and wanted to always come off as being "the best", no matter how underhandedly they had to be to "show" themselves that way. Truth is always better than fiction, but truth is not always told.

    Comment by A Gardener — September 8, 2007 @ 07:22AM

  13. Gardener,

    I encourage you to view this web site: http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_Danites.shtml and not just the anti-mormon ones.

    God Bless,

    RJ

    Comment by RJ — September 8, 2007 @ 03:51PM

  14. Funny, my husband and I discovered Adam-Ondi-Ahman a few weeks ago on a trip to the Amish community of Jamesport. I had seen something about it in the recent PBS special on the Mormons. It is beautiful with obviously fertile farm land up there, but I have to say I expected something more. It pretty much just looked like Missouri to me. I mean, after all, these are the folks who wear curious underwear and knock on doors almost as much as the JW's. I will say I am indebted to them, though, for their genealogy sites. I just didn't see that it was any more special than the surrounding Amish farm country, however.

    Comment by Julie Hines — September 8, 2007 @ 05:42PM

  15. Justin,

    In about the last paragraph of your article, you said you couldn't find Adam. Most people begin reading the Bible, and never get past Genesis. I would finally suggest that you at least read Genesis up to Chapter 5, Verse 5. It says that Adam died.

    Comment by Steve Sampson — September 9, 2007 @ 09:15AM

  16. Justin,

    May you be at peace with the religious crackpots, for they will never leave you alone until the glorious day Lord Jebus descends in his spaceship and uses one of your ribs to produce a underage cousin for which to marry and molest under the Lord's glowing stare. Please, take these pamphlets -- they will be your sheild from the devil's words. Be blessed, fair Justin! Be motherfuckin' blessed 4eva!!!

    Comment by Jebus4eva — September 12, 2007 @ 04:12PM

  17. Justin,

    May you be at peace with the religious crackpots, for they will never leave you alone until the glorious day Lord Jebus descends in his spaceship and uses one of your ribs to produce a underage cousin which you can marry and molest under the eye-bugging gaze of HIM. Please, take these pamphlets -- as they will be your sheild to secular sit-coms and newspapers. Be blessed, dear Justin! Be blessed by motherfuckin' Jebus 4eva!!!

    Comment by jebus4eva — September 12, 2007 @ 04:17PM

  18. It was Joseph Smith along with the other leaders of the LDS faith that introduced the rhetoric of 'war of extermination'.

    On July 4th 1838, in a speech co-written by Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon (who founded Mormonism along with Smith) declared,
    'And that mob that comes on us to disturb us, it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them until the last drop of their blood is spilled; or else they will have to exterminate us, for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed.'

    This is a direct quote from the Mormon's official 'Comprehensive History of the Church'. It appears in vo1umn one on page 441.

    A good review of the 'Mormon Wars' can be found here: http://www.lds-mormon.com/tmpc.shtml

    Comment by FactChecker — September 23, 2007 @ 04:13PM

  19. Hey RJ,

    Debunking Lindsay is a lot like plunking fish in a barrel.

    Why not recommend the work of the official Mormon Educator Grant Palmer?
    >Grant H. Palmer (a fourth-generation Mormon, Brigham Young University graduate: M.A. American History) provides a helpful summary of the enormous amount of research that has been done over the last 25 years concerning the origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church — the Mormons). The word “Insider” in the title reflects his thirty-four years of experience as an Institute Director for the Church Educational System (CES)...

    http://www.irr.org/mit/Insiders-View-of-Mormon-Origins.html
    http://www.lds-mormon.com/insiders_view.shtml

    A lot of the best 'anit-Mormon' stuff out there comes directly from the the offical Mormon histories.

    For example, Joseph Smith published at least four very different versions of the story of how God choose him as his prophet...

    "The 8th and final chapter consist of Joseph Smith’s four First Vision accounts recorded during 1832, 1835, 1838 and 1842. The foundational importance of the First Vision for the LDS Church cannot be over emphasized. Current LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley declares:

    Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred or it did not. If it did not, then this work is a fraud. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 7, 2002)"

    Some how Plamer has remained a Mormon. The power of double-think is never to be underestimated.

    Comment by FactChecker — September 23, 2007 @ 05:06PM

  20. Okay, first of all, i have lived in blue springs for 20 years and so far, i haven't come across any Garden of Eden. I have been a christian for 15 years, and i have never heard anything as rediculous as someone saying that the Garden of Eden is in Independence. The Only garden coming out of independence is Marijuana gardens. Hence the name. #1 drug city in the nation.

    Comment by chris — April 23, 2008 @ 12:33PM

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