Another fun adventure - Palmyra this time.

April has already been a busy month here in Ontario.  I can't believe it is already half way through the month.  Mom and dad came to visit from Calgary.  We had been planning this visit since the fall and it was great to have them here.  They came the Sunday before General Conference and we had a great weekend listening to the messages from the leaders of the church, eating lots of yummy conference treats and attending Jack's ordination to the Priesthood.  I can't believe he is 12 and a deacon.  We also had my cousin Todd and his family over for dinner.  They live not far from us here in Ontario but this was the first time we have had them over. We really enjoy hanging out with them.

  On the Monday after Conference we drove 3 hours south to Palmyra NewYork.  What a beautiful, peaceful place.  Upon first impressions it seemed a lot like the small town of Nauvoo.  A lot of fascinating church history, but not a very big community around it.  As we found our way down to Palmyra's main street, a beautiful New England community unfolded with quaint little houses and farms , along with beautiful modern homes and well kept city streets.  On  Main street are four ornate  brick church's that stand as pillars representing the oppressive attitude surrounding the area at the time when the Smith family resided in Palmyra.


The first historic site we sought out was the Smith farm.  Upon arriving at the Welcome center we were greeting by two friendly and knowledgable couple missionaries who took us on a tour of the farm.

The first stop on our tour was the old log house. To think that 12 people occupied this tiny, wooden home is hard to imagine.  It makes me feel grateful for the comfortable home that I have and I realized that I have way more than I need. Standing in the upstairs loft that was used as a bedroom for all the children, I marvelled to think that the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph in that room and began to teach him the beginnings of what he would need to know to prepare his young mind for the work that was ahead of him.  I'm sure that he could have begun to think that the vision of God and His son Jesus Christ was just a dream until Moroni appeared to him to confirm it.
It was fun to imagine being there with the Smith family. Looking out the window of the Smith house  and seeing the fields, the bare forest, the spit rail fences and the small creek tumbling by made me feel closer to that valiant family.

 We then progressed on to the next home the Smith's built on their land after a number of years of living in the log house.  This next house was designed by their eldest son Alvin who was a talented architect.  Unfortunately, Alvin died before the house was complete. I was saddened to learn that they lost the title to this house and had to move back to the log cabin. I hope that they didn't loose it due to disgruntled persons who didn't like what Joseph was preaching.

Alvin's Tree

This is believed to be the tree that the Smith family planted in memory of their beloved Alvin.

The Sacred Grove

My favorite part of the tour was The Sacred Grove.  Most of the pictures we have that depict the First Vision show the Grove alive with leaves and flowers and sunlight.  Our visit to the Grove was in the spring time. The same time of year that the First Vision occurred.  Although the buds were appearing on the branches and there were bundles of Daffodils spotting the path throughout the Grove,  there was not a lot in the way of life. Everything was pretty barren. I imagine that it was more like this scene when Joseph went to pray.  We felt the peace and the tranquility of the sacred place. Walking along the paths and believing that God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph in that place made the event that I had been taught all my life more real.   I was grateful to be able to share that experience with my husband, children and parents.  The Grove is quite large and we  tried to see if there was one particular spot that felt more Holy so that we could pin point the exact spot that God and Jesus appeared, but our experience wasn't like that.  The whole place felt calm.  Like the rest of the world was quiet and far away and we could be  free from cares.  We were told there were 6 restoration trees still  standing in the forest.  We were told that Restoration Trees were trees that were old enough to have been standing when the First Vision happened. We found one that was cut down the day before and left to rot because it was decaying through the  base and they didn't want it to damage any other trees when it fell. 

Learning how to print a copy of the Book of Mormon.

E. B. Grandin Press.

The first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed here.

Front room of the print shop.

One of the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon and an old Bible from that same time period.

Going to the historic site for the first Book of Mormon printing press, helped us to understand the magnitude of the work that went into  printing those first 5,000 copies.  The sister missionaries demonstrated how the printers would have prepared the press and printed each page.  We then were able to assemble the first sixteen pages of the Book of Mormon  through folding and cutting a printed page.  What a task that must have been. I sure am  grateful for  our modern day printers.

The Hill Cumorah      

The last stop was the Visitors Center and The Hill Cumorah.
The boys and Alice loved running up and down the hill.  It was a great way of  getting them tired out for the long drive home.    I loved the Moroni monument for its depiction of the historical events that happened anciently and in these latter days.  To think that this was the place that Moroni first buried the gold plates and where Joseph found them and other sacred artifacts, made me feel as if Heaven was not far away. Its neat to look at the hill itself because it really is just a bump in the landscape with the fields all around. There are no other hills or protrusions around it.  There is just the hill. 

Our visit to Palmyra was very enjoyable and we have plans to go back soon. It is so fun to live close to so many choice historical sites.  We are enjoying our many adventures and we are glad we could share this one with my parents.  Thanks to mom for helping me navigate my way home.  We all know that I am not the greatest at navigating unfamiliar territory and following Matthew home in our van while he was in our car with my father was an adventure all on its own.  It didn't help that there were a lot of huge semi trucks and torrential down pour making the task fairly hazardous.  We did make it home safe and sound even if we did make a few wrong turns.

Happily Ever After !