Pumpkin trip part 2/Palmyra New York

For the second half of our trip we went to Palmyra New York.  We had not seen the church history sights there.  I was worried about going while it was so cold but it turned out to be really neat.  I think it made our experience more personal.  There were not many people visiting.  We go a lot of attention from the missionaries and got to spend more time (quiet time too) than if it were the busy season.  We did a session in the Temple.  It was beautiful.  Some of the windows look out over the sacred grove.

This is in the up-stairs of the Joseph Smith cabin.  It was cool to think about sacred things that took place there.

This is in the Joseph Smith cabin.  Key Events at the Smith Family Log Home

- The Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr. three times in the night of September 21-22, 1823 in the upper room of the home.

- While the Smith family was still living here, Joseph's older brother Alvin died.

- The exact location of the home was discovered in 1982 and a replica was constructed in 1997-1998. It was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley on March 27, 1998.

The front of the Smith Cabin.

The view of the temple walking from the Smith cabin to the frame house.

The frame house.  The Joseph Smith Sr. family moved into a new frame home in late 1825. Alvin Smith, Joseph's older brother, started construction on the house on the Smith farm in 1822. After Alvin's death in 1823, the family completed it.

Joseph brought his new wife, Emma, to live here in January 1827. Eight months later, he and Emma drove a carriage to the Hill Cumorah, where Joseph received the golden plates from the angel Moroni. The Prophet often kept the plates hidden inside and around the frame home. Persecution forced him to leave Manchester in late 1827, and Joseph and Emma went to live with her family in Harmony, Pennsylvania.

In this home, Joseph learned that his scribe Martin Harris had lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon translation. Later that year, a schoolteacher named Oliver Cowdery came to board here with the Smith family. Oliver learned of Joseph's work, and in the spring of 1829 he went to Harmony and became the Prophet's new scribe.

Elder George Albert Smith purchased the frame home and farm in 1907 and later conveyed ownership to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The home was renovated and restored to its original condition in 2000.

The master bedroom inside the frame house.

In the Sacred Grove.

The Apostle tree inside the Sacred Grove.

The Book of Mormon was first printed and sold in the Grandin Building located in downtown Palmyra, New York. After translating the golden plates, Joseph Smith "agreed with Mr. Egbert B. Grandin to print five thousand copies"1 of the Book of Mormon. Publication of the book was financed by Martin Harris, a family friend who mortgaged part of his farm to guarantee the $3,000 printing cost. In mid-August 1829, the Prophet Joseph, with Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith Sr., and several others gathered around Grandin's press to print and inspect a proof sheet. Joseph declared the work was "excellent," and printing of the book began.2 The Book of Mormon was first offered for sale in Grandin's bookstore on March 26, 1830, as another witness of the divinity and mission of Jesus Christ. It also provides tangible evidence of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith. The Church purchased the Grandin Building in 1978 and opened it as a historic site several years later. At the conclusion of extensive restoration in 1998, the building was dedicated as the Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site.

The printing press was so cool.  I wished I could have hoped over the ropes and got my hands on some of the type.  Okay, not really, but I did think it was really cool!

Alvin Smith's grave.

Whitmer home.

Inside the the Whitmer home.  on 6 April 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized.

The Hill Cumorah and the plaques on the memorial sight.

The golden plates containing the Book of Mormon were buried in the Hill Cumorah, about three miles southeast of the Smith family farm. In the early hours of September 22, 1823, the angel Moroni showed Joseph Smith in vision exactly where the ancient record was hidden. Later that day, Joseph went to the place shown him by the angel.

"On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box,"1 wrote Joseph. He was not permitted to remove the plates on his first visit, but was instructed by the angel to return to this place every year "until the time should come for obtaining the plates."2 Exactly four years later, the angel delivered the plates to the Prophet Joseph for the purpose of translation and publication.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acquired the Hill Cumorah in 1928. A granite monument topped by a nine-foot statue of Moroni was erected at the highest point of the hill in 1935. Today, the Church operates a modern visitors' center at the base of the hill. A dramatic pageant featuring events from the Book of Mormon is held here every summer.

I loved all of the sights!  There was such a amazing spirit there.  I am so grateful we got to go.  I have always felt my testimony of Joseph to be strong but this strengthened it even more!