I didn't have to work on Monday so I decided to take a trip up to Palmyra, New York to see the church sites. What an amazing day trip. It took me a while to get up there because it was raining and my GPS took me through all sorts of tiny, random towns. I finally arrived at noon and it was still raining at that point. I drove past the Hill Cumorah, the Palmyra Temple, and started at the Joseph Smith Farm. I was greeted by a lovely missionary, Sister Trang. She showed me around the log cabin where the Smith Family originally lived and where the Angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith and told him where to go at the Hill Cumorah to find the gold plates. It was really cool to be in the room where it happened. Then we walked down to the frame house and we realized that we were EFY counselors together at SLC week 2 last year. Crazy small world. She then showed me the frame house and we continued to discuss EFY. Then she allowed me to walk into the Sacred Grove by myself. Since I had my phone with me, I decided to play the Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD dedicated to the prophet Joseph Smith softly. I started off with Joseph Smith's First Prayer, the On A Golden Springtime, and then This Is My Beloved Son. As I walked it was still raining a little, but not down pouring. It was a peaceful rain and the rain drops looked absolutely beautiful on the leaves and trees. I could feel the Spirit so strongly as I wandered. I could imagine Joseph Smith praying and pictures Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appearing. I stopped to pray for a moment. Then I began to make my way back out, listening to Joseph, A Nashville Tribute songs The Prayer and The Rising. I stopped halfway through to the end and decided to read Joseph Smith History. It was so beautiful. I realized as I read about the visit from the Angel Moroni, that it had occurred 190 years ago, to the week, almost to the day, I was there. It was a tender mercy. Seeing these sites was an amazing experience, especially as I had had an opportunity to study Joseph Smith and the process to bring forth the Book of Mormon all summer at EFY.
I then decided to stop by the Palmyra Temple and the Grandin Bookstore. The Palmyra Temple is small but beautiful with stain glass windows of the sacred grove and a view of the sacred grove. I also was able to attend the temple dedication of this temple so it was really cool to see it in person. On the way to the bookstore I saw the four churches on the corner that caused Joseph so much confusion. The bookstore was really cool as well. It was cool to see how much work went into the printing of the Book of Mormon. The Sister Missionary who took me on the tour there happened to have dated the son of one of my favorite Child Life Professors at Utah. Again it was a super small world. After I went to the Hill Cumorah which was also a really cool experience.
Guys, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is so so true. It's amazing. And I love it.
I love Palmyra. We were there almost a year ago, and I completely understand the strong feelings of the spirit when you visit all that sacred ground. We were hiking around the grove with 5 grumpy kids and 4 tired parents, so it wasn't the most spiritual part of our trip there. I think it's so cool you had that quiet time to listen to the music and read JS-H. I'd love to do something like that some day. However, we started our day at the Hill Cumorah, and while everyone was still in good spirits, I really felt such a spirit of that place and how true the Book of Mormon is. So awesome! I am so happy you are able to be back East and have these amazing experiences.
ReplyDeleteAnother place you have to visit when you have a day off is Sharon, VT. The spirit there is also incredible. Then, find a great place to stop and get some pancakes or waffles with real Vermont maple syrup. It will make for an awesome day, I promise.
Love you and I am so glad you are having such wonderful experiences so far!