Following a tip about a van covered in apocalyptic prophecy, I traveled to Independence in search of some good crazy. I wasn't able to find the mind behind the mystic van of prophecy, but I was able to find the vehicle itself. And, as promised, it's pretty wacky.
The van covered with dire warnings of God's wrath has been parked at the corner of Lexington and River in Independence for months now. To actually quote it would be to assault the reader, so let's just leave it at this: The world's going to end in 2010, and you're fucked, sinner.
William Sheldon, of the Church of Christ occupying space across from the van's current parking spot, assumes the driver is leaving it there because of the area's religious significance.
"They're doing it because of this spot's importance to Mormonism and Joseph Smith," Sheldon says. Smith predicted that the new Jerusalem would be located in Independence.
Besides Sheldon's church, the intersection is surrounded by houses of worship.
Sheldon sadly had no idea who owns the van, or how to reach him or her. "I've never see them," he says. "The police can't do anything about it because it's public space, and they must move it at night when no one's around because I don't know that anyone's seen whoever it is."
He also doubted anyone was taking the van's messages to heart, and said most people just try to ignore it.
For more on the religious significance of Independence, check out Justin Kendall's 2007 feature, "The Search for the Garden of Eden." It's one of my favorite Pitch stories in the last few years, and like the spiritual journeys of many a man, ends in horrible frustration and the pervading sense of a waiting, avaricious, void.
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In fact, he was given the ability to translate the engravings
Really now? Well, if it's a fact, you shouldn't have any problem proving it, should you?
Unless you're just another liar.
Just sayin'.
Joseph Smith didn't "discover" gold plates.. he knew exactly where they were.
The scriptures were not "a gospel" specifically for America.. but are for the entire world.
In fact, he was given the ability to translate the engravings and the end result is known as the "Book of Mormon.. another testament of Jesus Christ"
Smith predicted that the new Jerusalem would be located in Independence
Smith also claimed that he discovered golden plates buried in New York which were engraved with new scriptures - a gospel specifically for America.
He further claimed that God gave him the ability to translate the scriptures engraved onto these plates, and even sent an angel to pick them up when he was finished.
So you might want to take any Smith claims or predictions with a giant-sized grain of salt. Just sayin'.
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