Winter Quarters is a large and important part of the History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Winter Quarters is where the Pioneers stopped, and made a community to prepare for the long journey to the Rocky Mountains. Now when you stop in Omaha Nebraska to see Winter Quarters the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has built a lovely Museum, and across the street from the Museum is the Winter Quarters Temple, and the Pioneer Cemetery right next to the temple.
Winter Quarters Visitors Center, Temple and Cemetery in Omaha Nebraska are a great place to learn about your personal pioneer history, along with the history of the Saints of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If you are interested in Church History and the Pioneers this is a great place for you! The grounds of the Winter Quarters Temple and the attached cemetery are beautiful, sacred, and a peaceful places to visit. Winter Quarters is a lovely place to visit, with so much to learn.
Winter Quarters Visitors Center
The missionaries at the Winter Quarters Visitors Center were so welcoming and knowledgeable. They seemed to love their assignment to teach about Winter Quarters. The missionaries shared their love of Church History with all who were willing to listen, they were engaging and fun our kids loved it.
When we visited Winter Quarter we arrived just before closing time and the missionaries still took time with us, showing us the artifacts, and teaching us accounts of the pioneers. The love the missionaries had for their topic got our kids excited to learn more about Winter Quarters.
When you first enter the Winter Quarters Visitors Center the missionaries give you a QR Code to link your Family Search with the Winter Quarters Cemetery and you can see if you have any ancestors buried in the cemetery across the street. Everyone should take time to scan the code, even if you are pretty sure you do not have relatives, because you could be surprised. It makes the experience more real for you.
Winter Quarters Cemetery
Winter Quarters Cemetery is a very sacred place. The Winter Quarter Cemetery is on a hill right next to the Winter Quarters Temple. The Cemetery Grounds and the temple grounds are very quiet and reverent. It all feels like a sacred place.
The Winter Quarters Cemetery is not like the cemeteries today. Most of the people buried at Winter Quarters were not buried with headstones, or any kind of marker, so it is difficult to see the exact place where people are buried. They do have maps of the cemetery, they will give you in the Winter QUarters Visitors Center. Even with the map it is still a bit difficult to find exact locations. For example, the ancestor our family had buried at winter quarters was under the sidewalk running through the cemetery. There are some makers, but for the most part, the graves are not marked.
In the Winter Quarters Cemetery, there is a beautiful, large statue of a mother and father walking away from the grave of their child. Around this monument there are quotes and scriptures of the fortitude of the Saints who gave everything to follow the Savior Jesus Christ. The monument is done very well and is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made for their posterity.
The Winter Quarters Temple is right up against the cemetery. The windows of the Temple that look out at the cemetery are the Celestial Room, the windows are beautiful and the symbolism is perfect.
Know Before You Go, Winter Quarters
One of the things that surprised us the most about the Winter Quarters area was how quiet it is. There is a special feeling in the area as soon as you get out of the car. The pioneers sacrifices made Winter Quarters a very special place to visit.
We are also surprised by the hours of the Winter Quarters Temple. The Temple has different hours than many of the temples we are use to. If you are interested in going inside the temple, make sure you call ahead and look at the hours. The Winter Quarters Cemetery closes at dusk and the Winter Quarters Visitors Center closes at 8:00.
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