On Sunday, May 1st, we attended church at the Palmyra Ward and then went out to see Palmyra Temple. These lovely ladies came with me on this journey and I was so blessed to meet them. None of us knew each other before the trip.
This was a stonewall marking the Smith property line that was made by Joseph and his family.
The Palmyra Temple has a view of the sacred grove. The window viewing out to the sacred grove is clear and the trees blocking the view are cut back just in this area.
Our next stop was the Hill Cumorah. This was an important stop for me because my Mom served in the pageant years ago. She often talked about this experience with fondness and I thought of her a lot as I was there.
Based on the record this is the side of the hill where the Gold Plates were actually found. It was so interesting to me to see this beautiful forest of trees on the opposite side of the well manicured hill. Both were so beautiful!
We next went to the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was published. I was reminded how inspired the Book of Mormon is. It was translated in months, but the printing took almost two years.
The Erie Canal was blocks away from the the print shop, built between 1817-1825, it brought the most up to date printing press of the time. God's hand is truly in all things.
Alvin Smith is buried near the Grandin Store. His headstone has been updated. The back side includes the original headstone.
We then returned to Palmyra, to the homes of Joseph Smith. I did not realize his home and the Sacred Grove were just miles from the Hill Cumorah. It is amazing what you realize when you are in a place. The first house we went to was the log house. This was where the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith. This was not the original house, but they rebuilt it on the same location, so it is the original air space. People from BYU who rebuilt the house studied it in great detail and made it exact, they even did it in the winter when it was originally built.
The frame house is the original that was built mostly by Alvin Smith for his parents.
The fire place in the frame house was used to hide the Golden Plates under the bricks.
The Sacred Grove was very beautiful and very wet. It is interesting that the record states Joseph had the first vision in the spring. Often the pictures and films show the Grove as very green, but as you can see in these pictures it was just starting to get green.
Joseph went out the back door of his home to the Sacred Grove. Here he prayed to know which church was right. Joseph Smith saw God the Father, and Jesus Christ and the restoration began. This first day helped me realize how much I need to more fully study the gospel and turn to God with my questions.
A beautiful day!
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