This is my story of leaving Utah (as an ancestor of pioneer settlers) and moving to Independence, Missouri (where they were driven from 200 years ago). It’s not a logical story; it’s a God story.
I can’t tell you how many times I had this same conversation:
“You’re leaving Utah? Where are you going?”
“Independence, Missouri, baby.”
“Why? Do you know something?” (Some Utah Latter-day Saints would get a gleam in their eye, wondering if I had secret news of Jesus Christ’s return.)
“Not anything that’s not in the scriptures.”
“Oh, did your husband get a job?”
“Nah… he actually had to ask to keep his job and go remote to move here.”
“Do you have family out there?”
“Not really.”
“Do you just love the area?”
“Haha… Not really. Let’s just say it’s less family-friendly than Utah.“ I would usually follow this one up with a disdainful comment about the ticks.
Insert baffled silence.
“So why are you moving there?!”
An unlikely candidate
If you had asked me 5 years ago if I would ever move to Independence, Missouri, I probably would have laughed at you.
I don’t buy into the widely-held cultural belief that all of the Latter-day Saints will be called back to Independence, Missouri. I think it’s folklore that ignores what Church leaders have taught for decades: that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are to build up Zion wherever they are. The Church is meant to fill the whole earth, not just the Center Place.
Plus, I’ve never held personal aspirations to “be in the room where it happens,” you know. I’ve felt content to roll with my role.
I thought for years that someday I would leave Utah and go live somewhere else, perhaps a couple states away. Maybe somewhere closer to a beach. (Missouri did not check that box.)
How it started
It was a weird time to start thinking about moving. Matt and I had been working on our Utah Foster Care certification for several months and were almost ready to welcome a placement. Matt had been at his current job for over a year and really enjoyed the work. We didn’t love the exact location we were at, but we were within a few hours’ driving distance of both of our families.
Still, that spring, we both had the gentle but repetitive impression that we were supposed to start looking for somewhere to move. It came especially strong at the temple, so we took it seriously.
Even as we took our first foster placement, we were looking to move. I didn’t know how it was going to work out, but we kept thinking and praying about it.
Missouri as an option
My father- and mother-in-law had taken us to Branson, Missouri early in our marriage. They had vacationed there and loved it so much they bought a vacation home there to stay in when they came and rent out when they weren’t there. I, on the other hand, was not a big fan; the roads were nuts, the food made me sick, and the entertainment was for audiences who loved music from decades before I was born. They later purchased property near Adam-ondi-Ahman based on personal promptings.
For years, my parents-in-law suggested we consider moving to Missouri, where home prices were lower.
We were consistently deeply unconvinced.
However, the spring we began getting these promptings, we took the idea more seriously. Matt and I prayed and fasted. In a priesthood blessing, the Lord counseled me to spend time in the scriptures, especially in the Doctrine and Covenants, and to focus on what the Lord taught the people then about the special places in Missouri. As we read, we felt the Spirit speak to our hearts that, like the Saints of old, we were called to return to Jackson County, Missouri.
That spring, Matt’s extended family were all going to Kansas City for a wedding and to visit the property. We made plans to go and for me to take a couple extra days to begin preliminary house hunting.
On that trip, I went househunting with a most accommodating realtor (I can hook you up if you need one btw) all over Kansas City. I got acquainted with the area, the common risks of the cheaper homes in the region, and a sense for what to expect there. I knew Independence was not my preferred area; the farther a house was from Independence, the more likely I would like it.
I thanked my realtor for his time and came home. I said we’d be in touch but probably not for another year.
In Matt’s and my minds, we wouldn’t move for another 1-2 years; in the meantime, we would save up some extra money, finish foster care, and time our lease closure properly.
Back again: the last house hunting trip
We swiftly felt the Spirit urge us to accelerate our timeline. Our foster placement came to an unexpected end, and we felt that our chapter in Utah was about to close. I planned a roadtrip to Missouri for a week that summer with an old high school friend; she got a mostly-free trip while I got some company and security in numbers.
We arrived on a Sunday. We couldn’t check into our AirBnb for a couple hours, so we went straight to a local ward. It was fast and testimony meeting. I was praying for peace and forgiveness, and for clarity in this search. Was I really on the right track?
This is straight from my journal that day:
One sweet woman… came to the front. I instantly liked her. Then, she said something that seemed to spear its way into my soul: “I didn’t know why I came here. I knew God sent me here, but I didn’t know why. But I know He had a plan, and I was here for the people here, for you all.” I felt the message for me loud and clear: I am supposed to be here, in the Independence area, and in this ward.
Throughout that day, in the testimonies I heard and the conversations I had, I heard over and over:
“I didn’t know why God sent me here, but the Spirit called me to move here to Independence, Missouri.“
“We gave up everything. We gave up riches. We gave up comfort. We chose to come here and to serve with all our hearts. God has used us in this area.“
I left in tears, convicted that I was in the right place. I needed to look for a home here.
Still, in the search that week, it was hard to hold onto that belief. Consistently, the cheaper homes were in and near Independence… but they were also almost always in what appeared to me to be a… worse part of town.
(Being from the Utah suburbs, I was somewhat turned off, even alarmed, by common appearances like homeless encampments, active train tracks practically in the backyard, marijuana shops on every other corner, lack of sidewalks, and more.)
Even the locals I met usually encouraged me to choose this suburb, that town… and not Independence.
Still, Matt and I prayed and studied some more…
And both felt strongly that we were meant to live in Independence or as close as we could get.
There was one house that looked really great. It had a few issues, but it was within our price range and in a fairly safe neighborhood. I toured it twice, and we put down an offer as I left town. But we didn’t get the house.
Now, we had a problem.
We had just signed to close our lease at the end of August… just a few weeks away.
Moving to Missouri… without a house.
We didn’t have a house under contract, but we were about to be kicked out of our rental.
But God smiled on us again: our in-laws offered to let us stay at their vacation home in Branson for those few weeks while we waited to be able to move in. We thankfully accepted the generous offer. It was a miracle!
But Branson was still a 3-4 hour drive from Independence; house hunting would still be very difficult to pull off once we’d moved, and we’d be living out of suitcases the whole time in Branson. We couldn’t slow down searching.
In those final weeks living in Utah, our superstar realtor sent us video tours of homes. We kept looking and praying as we packed or sold each of our belongings.
Finally, we found a home! It felt right. It was in budget. It was in the right place. It was exactly what we needed and even some of what we wanted. We made an offer, and it was accepted!
The home wasn’t going to be available to move in for over a month, so we prepared for about a 6-week stay in Branson. With gratitude and unreasonable peace (but yes, some minor panic), we packed up our belongings.
There were just a few loose strings to tie off…
Turning down a blank check
“So, boss, I have something to talk to you about.”
(This is the conversation Matt had with his boss a few weeks before we left. Or rather, this is my dramatization of how it sounds like it went.)
“What is it, Matt?”
“I have loved working here. You guys have been so great to me. I would love to keep working here. But we’re moving to Missouri in a month. I would love to stay on working remotely. I know you don’t really love to do remote work, and I know that might be hard with me being a team lead.”
“Oh dear…. We don’t want to lose you. What would make it worth it to you to stay? What’s your number?”
“There is no number. We’re moving.”
The conversation came up many times in those last few weeks. Matt said he was tempted to entertain the idea of asking for an impressive raise, but he didn’t do it.
We weren’t moving for money. We were moving for God.
The company bent over backwards to make it work. They agreed to let him work remotely and only return on work trips quarterly or as needed.
It was a trial of our faith, and it was a blessing from the Lord.
Leaving a temple
I couldn’t finish this post about my experience moving from Utah to Missouri without including this post from my Instagram:
Yesterday was my last day living in Utah. And for the last couple years, we lived a short 5-10 minutes away from the Saratoga Springs Temple.
We watched and prayed with anticipation for this temple to finally be finished!
I drove there often, especially with my kids in the car, to talk about the temple and sing Primary songs. I also had a special spot nearby that I drove to, could go for a nature walk, and study scriptures/pray/journal in my car while watching the sun rise behind the temple.
I was so grateful to take my kids inside during the open house. And just a couple weeks ago, my husband and I joyfully participated in the temple dedication!
And then the bittersweet culmination of this great anticipation: Last night, in the earliest appointment slot I could reserve for our schedule, we got to attend an endowment session—which was moving, empowering, and peace-giving.
Then this morning, I drove away to move to Missouri.
My pioneer ancestors, as early converts to the Church, experienced a similar but much more acute experience building temples and leaving them behind immediately.
I honor them more deeply than before. And I thank the Lord that there are hundreds of temples around the world, that thousands are accepting those great blessings, and that I will still have access to those blessings through my covenants and continued temple worship, at other temples.
A post shared by Jessica Spackman ✨ Faith, Family, Pro-life (@jessica.spack)
Should you move to Missouri?
Two things are true:
- I don’t think every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should move here. He needs faithful servants in many parts of His vineyard. The Lord also calls people to move to many other places!
- The Lord has called many people to move to Missouri, and I believe more will come!
If the Lord calls you, listen and obey. Don’t put it off, but don’t rush, either.
A warning: I hear of surprisingly frequent cases of Saints who come to Missouri with absolutely no plan, expecting the Lord to make everything work out—then become major burdens to the members in the area when they need a place to stay, help finding a job, and more. While the Lord does work these things out, He also expects us to do our best to put things in their proper place.
And then, yes, He does make miracles happen for those who are following His directions.
I still don’t know all the reasons we’re here, but I can rest peacefully at night knowing I followed when He called and did what was asked of me.
I believe you can have the same peace and joy in following God’s divine plan for you.
Let’s Chat
Have you felt God calling you to move somewhere? What was your experience like?
Spack Chats 
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