Before I share some pictures and memories of the next portion of our summer tour, I want to say that this trip to see early church history sites was life changing for me. It was incredible to be in the very places where events happened which are integral to my religious beliefs about the restoration of the true gospel. I can picture things better now. I feel like I can identify more with the emotions of the early members of the church as they struggled and believed and were given great blessings. We stood in the very places where angels and the Lord visited Joseph Smith and other of the early Saints. We stood in the rooms where almost all of the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants were revealed, and in the places where the Book of Mormon was translated. After returning from our trip I started studying the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants again, and I they are so much more meaningful to me now that I can picture the places and the context in which they were given. We have always wanted to take this trip, and it was well worth it!
Now, back to the trip . . . the next stop of the Porter Fun Bus was Palmyra, NY. On our way there from Canada we stopped in Rochester for a special meal at Olive Garden - Bailey and Aubrey's favorite restaurant. This was our traditional "back to school" dinner. We decided to enjoy this annual tradition on our trip, as school would start just a few days after we returned.
Next we drove to Palmyra and checked into our hotel, which was located right next to the church historical sites we wanted to see - the Palmyra Temple, the Smith family farm,the Sacred Grove, and the Hill Cumorah.
After a bit we drove over to the welcome center at the Smith Farm. I think we made the day of the sister missionaries there who were anxious to talk to someone, anyone. We had purposely missed the busy season in Palmyra (summer, especially July). Most of the country was back in school by the time we visited, so we had all the sites pretty much to ourselves.
The tour starts in the accurately reconstructed
Smith Log House. Lucy and Joseph Smith Sr. and their eight children all lived in this tiny house. By all accounts, the Smith family were very close and loving. They studied the Bible and had family prayer daily. This is where young Joseph learned that he could talk to God, and God would answer his prayers. I marvel frequently that a 14 year old boy had the introspection and presence of mind to question which religion he should join, and then to take his question to God in a grove of trees, expecting an answer.
Below, the main room in the small cabin.
The upstairs room where Joseph and five of his brothers would have been sleeping on the night when the Angel Moroni visited him, three years after Joseph's vision in the grove behind his house. It is remarkable how small and humble the room is, and that Moroni shared his messages three times during the night, concluding as the sun was rising, and none of Joseph's brothers awakened.
Pic of our family in front of the log house.
Walking through the farm toward the Smith family frame home and farm buildings. Everyone was looking off to the side, where there is an awesome view of the nearby Palmyra Temple. It looks like it is floating in the trees!
The
Smith Frame House, which was a vast improvement over the small log home. Alvin Smith worked hard on this home until he died, and then the other older boys finished it. Because of dishonesty by some of their neighbors, the Smiths were only able to live here for four years. They were forced to move back to the log home for a short time and then had to leave Palmyra forever due to persecution.
The inside of the frame house. Below, the hearth where Joseph hid the plates from the mobs. He removed the stones and fit the plates down in hole, then replaced the stones.
In the frame house Lucy Mack Smith finally had a sink in the house (but no running water). Imagine the luxury!
This tree in front of the frame house was planted by the Smiths when Alvin died.
Right behind the houses is the grove of trees now known as the
Sacred Grove. It is a hallowed spot. Most of the larger trees were there when God and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. We loved our time in the Sacred Grove. And the mosquitoes loved sucking our blood in the grove. In fact, we all sported many bright red bites for the rest of the trip!
This is the spot in the Smith's apple orchard where 17-year-old Joseph Smith collapsed after being visited by Moroni three times during the night. After he collapsed, he was visited one more time by the angel, and was told to share the information with his father, which he did.
One day when we were driving near Fayette, New York, we saw this sign.
And right after that we shared the road with this vehicle (there are many Amish and Mennonite families living around New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.)
These pictures are from our visit to the
Hill Cumorah Visitors Center.
The kids checked out the Ukrainian and Russian Books of Mormon, both which Brandon is using to teach the gospel on his mission in Ukraine.
The immense statue of the Angel Moroni on the Hill Cumorah.
The view from the top of the hill.
When we walked down the hill through the wooded path, I could just imagine Joseph Smith returning to the hill every year, wondering if he had been righteous enough to be entrusted with the sacred plates. Four years he waited. It's an interesting lesson for me, that sometimes the self-reflection that comes from waiting for things is what refines us and prepares us for better things.
Below, we visited Martin Harris' farm, which was mortgaged (and part of it eventually sold) to fund the initial printing of the Book of Mormon.
Next we drove through historic downtown Palmyra (with the famous intersection of Church and Main Streets with a different church denomination on each of the four corners). We visited the E.B. Grandin Printing Press Building, where the Book of Mormon was printed. It was a great tour, and we learned a lot about the many tender mercies and miracles which made the printing of the Book of Mormon at that time and in that place possible. It was also interesting to learn how books were printed and bound in the 1800s. What a laborious process!
E.B. Grandin also printed a small local newspaper, and below is the ad he put in the paper to advertise the Book of Mormon, for sale at his bookstore. Grandin was not a member of the church, but he was a great friend to the early Saints.
Joseph tried his best to be patient with our intensive tour of everything around Palmyra, but it was hard for him at times. He said, "why do we have to learn about Joseph Smith? We already learned about him a thousands and millions of times."
The typesetters had such a boring and arduous task - setting each tiny letter backwards and upside down, so that it could be read after the type was inked and printed.
The splattered wall here in the printing press shows what a mess the ink made.
After the sheets were printed, it was time for another painstaking task - binding the book and putting a sheepskin cover on it.
Bailey checks out one of the tools used to "brand" the spine of the book to add a decorative touch.
E.B. Grandin's bookstore, on the lower level below the printing press.
On to the
Whitmer Farm. Wow - this was a great stop. We learned some fascinating stories about the miracles which happened which allowed Joseph, Emma, and Oliver Cowdery to move into the tiny house and complete the translation of the Book of Mormon. This is the room where the translation took place.
While in Fayette at the Whitmer home, the church was officially organized, the plates were shown to the three witnesses, and 20 revelations were received, which are now part of the D&C. It is particularly remarkable to contrast the significant of these events with the "humbleness" of the tiny Whitmer home.
Finally, on Sunday morning we attended church at the Palmyra Ward and then took some pictures across the street at the Palmyra Temple. Hurricane Irene was moving steadily up the coast, and the wide swath of storminess was even affecting us in the western part of New York. The storm started early Sunday and got steadily worse, creating historic flooding in eastern upstate New York and Vermont. Lucky for us, we were done touring New York sites, so we hopped in our car and drove to Ohio, where the skies were clear and blue.
From Bailey's records, here are some of the funny moments from these days:
Joseph: "mmmm.... I love the smell of New York cars!"
Mom: "today is Friday! Nobody sing the song."
Joseph: you guys all have iPod touches, and all I have is 3 mosquito bites!
