Palmyra, NY

On Friday, July 17, we drove Megan to the airport, packed our bags, and waited for Emily to get home from a week at church Girls Camp. She finally arrived, happy but tired, and we quickly washed her clothes and packed her up again. We were headed for Palmyra and NYC! (Emily is on the far left in the picture. She would also like it to be known that it almost killed her to go on this trip so soon after Girls Camp, she was soooo tired!)

On Saturday we spent the day exploring the church history sites in Palmyra. This is a monument on the top of the Hill Cumorah in memory of the miraculous way that Joseph Smith received the golden plates from the angel Moroni.

This is the small log cabin (restored) that Joseph Smith was raised in, along with his 10 siblings.

This is the room that Joseph was sleeping in when he first met Moroni and was told of the ancient record that was buried in the nearby hillside.

The beautiful Palmyra temple overlooking the Sacred Grove.

The Sacred Grove is behind us.

We had a great experience exploring the Sacred Grove. It was raining when we first visited, so we came back later in the afternoon. There truly was a sacred feeling in that grove of trees. To think that this is where God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ appeared to the young Joseph is almost overwhelming. Mark said, "I feel like I am walking where Jesus walked."

Later that night we found our seats for the Cumorah Pageant.

This is the amazing stage.


The opening scene included the entire cast of 600. It was a fantastic pageant about the Book of Mormon with Hollywood special effects! Sadly, a thunderstorm came through right before the finale. We huddled under a blanket during the downpour waiting for it to blow over. They had to cancel the last ten minutes of the show. :( We loved what we saw though!

On Sunday morning we had a family devotional near the Grove. It was a special time for our family as we all expressed our feelings for the Gospel and for the Restoration that came through Joseph Smith. We are so blessed and grateful to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullness! This is why we need to share it with the world. How can we keep this to ourselves?!