Sacred Church History Events

 Harmony, PA * Joseph Smith Home * Sacred Grove * Grandin Printing Press * Hill Cumorah

Today we started the long drive to Niagara Falls. We had a slow start getting out of NY since our rental car wasn’t ready for us until 10:00. It’s good to be leaving the big city. Big Cities are fun for a bit, but they are exhausting.

We had a solid 2-hour drive to our first stop - the sight of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood and the baptisms of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry. The church has a beautiful visitors center here as well as recreations of the Hale home and the first home that Joseph and Emma Smith owned. Emma and Joseph moved here after they had been married for some time. It was in this home that about 70% of the Book of Mormon was translated. The sister missionaries did an amazing job sharing the history of the church with us during this time. We were amazed how close the Susquehanna River was to the Smith Home, literally out the back door. And we reflected that in the nearby trees would be where Heavenly visitors would have visited Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to confer the Aaronic Priesthood.

We couldn’t stick around too long as we had another 2 1/2 hour drive to get to Palmyra and were worried about the sights closing. Our first stop in Palmyra was the Smith Farm and the log home they lived in before building the mainframe. The log home was a reconstruction. It was tiny - it would have been in this tiny home where Joseph Smith received all night instructions from the Angel Moroni on the location of the plates. There could have been many people sleeping in the cabin when this happened.

At the frame home we heard stories of how the local mobs targeted Joseph Smith and his family to obtain the plates, but each time the plates were spared. Joseph Smith and the plates had to leave this area in order to remain safe. Our next stop was the Grandin Printing Press in town.

The church has purchased several of the adjoining structures to the press so they can preserve the building and have created a visitors' center. The Senior missionary did an excellent job recounting the events and miracles around the printing of the Book of Mormon. We didn’t realize that the manuscript was protected around the clock at the printing press. Regardless, there were those who got their hand on the manuscript and unlawfully published it. Gratefully Joseph had obtained a copyright to protect the book.

We hurried back to the Hill Cumorah to catch the last 10 minutes in the Visitors Center before it closed and were reminded of the purpose of the Book of Mormon to bring others to Christ. We were able to hike to the top of the Hill and enjoy the monument.

Our final stop for the day was the Sacred Grove. On our way to the Sacred Grove we stopped by the Palmyra temple which has clear windows that looks right into the Sacred Grove as a reminder of that most important event. We had the Sacred Grove to ourselves. It was about 7:30 and the missionaries had gone home and there was not another soul around. We enjoyed the peace of the forest and reflected on the event that changed the course of human history and ushered in the Restoration of the Gospel. It was moving to be in the area where that amazing event took place.