Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess County, Missouri

The area known as Adam-ondi-Ahman is located in Daviess County, 70 miles northeast of Independence, Missouri. It is a place of beginnings, departures and returns. This is where Adam and Eve first dwelt when they left the Garden of Eden. Three years before his death, Adam called his posterity together, blessed them, and the Lord appeared unto them.¹ Also, “it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet.”²

Wilford Woodruff gave an account of President Brigham Young saying that “Joseph, the Prophet, told me that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri. When Adam was driven out he went to the place we now call Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess County, Missouri. There he built an altar and offered sacrifices.”³

Orson Pratt defined the words Adam-ondi-Ahman from the Adamic language as, “valley of God, where Adam dwelt.”⁴

At the time the Saints began moving into Daviess County the land was not yet available for sale, but individuals could lay claim to land through preemption rights. It allowed someone to move onto a property, improve it, and then they would have the first claim to purchase the property from the government when it became available.

Lyman Wight was the first person to construct a home at Adam-ondi-Ahman and built a ferry which became known as Wight’s ferry.⁵ It was near this ferry that Joseph identified Adam-ondi-Ahman. In a conference held on June 28, 1838, a stake at Adam-ondi-Ahman was organized with John Smith, the Prophet’s uncle, as the president of the stake, Reynolds Cahoon as first counselor and Lyman Wight as the second counselor.⁶

While here, the Saints laid out a city and placed stakes for the cornerstones of a temple block which was dedicated by Brigham Young.⁷ Persecution from the Missourians forced the the Saints to flee to Illinois and abandon their land. The preemption rights did not protect them from losing their land and so they lost all claim to it.

In 1944, Wilford C. Wood purchased 38 acres of land at Adam-ondi-Ahman and additional land was later puchased.⁸

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SOURCES

¹ Doctrine & Covenants 107:53-54.

² Doctrine & Covenants 116:1.

³ Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff, His Life and Labors, comp. Matthias F. Cowley (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1916), 481.

⁴ Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854-1886), 18:343.

⁵ Robert J. Matthews, “Adam-ondi-Ahman,” BYU Studies, Volume 13, No. 1, (Autumn 1972), 32.

⁶ Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951), 3: 38.

⁷ Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball (Salt Lake City: Kimball Family, 1888), 209.

⁸ Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 1:20.

Ownership Status

The site known as Adam-ondi-Ahman is owned and maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is open to the public with no fee. Access to the site is gated and locked after dark.

Map & Directions

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Address: Koala Road, Jameson, Missouri 64647

Hours of Operation: Daylight to dark

Admission: Free

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