Days 5 & 6 - Palmyra

All of Wednesday and part of Thursday, we visited the Palmyra church sites. Becca was the perfect tour guide and knew so many interesting facts about those special places.  And since the Pageant was over, the crowds weren't as bad any more either - so it was the perfect time to see those places. 

Wednesday morning we woke up early and walked through the Sacred Grove.  There is such a special spirit there and it was pretty neat to walk among those trees.  There weren't many others in the Sacred Grove early in the morning so it was pretty awesome to have so much peace and quiet in there.  

We then walked around the Smith farm again and we were able to learn more about those homes and buildings there.  After the Smith farm, we headed to the Hill Cumorah.  We took a little hike up to the top of the hill to see the monument there and look out across Palmyra.  Then we went inside the Visitor's Center and watched a couple short videos, saw a Christus statue, and had fun looking at the many languages the Book of Mormon has been translated in.  There was even one written in Guarani!  There wasn't a Guarani Book of Mormon when Nate was there in 2004 so it's cool to see that there is one now.

 After the Hill Cumorah, we went and experienced "New York Pizza" where the slices are bigger than your head and super delicious! Aiden looked so funny eating such a huge piece of pizza.

 Then we headed to the Grandin Printing Press.  It was amazing to learn how so many things came together for the printing of the Book of Mormon to take place.  Like the fact the E.B. Grandin only came to Palmyra a few months before the Book of Mormon needed to be printed.  And the fact that the Grandin Printing Press was the only press in the U.S. that could do 16 pages at a time.  I know that the Lord had a hand in helping everything line up in time for the Book of Mormon to be printed and for His church to be organized.

 That night, Becca, my mom, my dad, and I did initiatories at the Palmyra temple.  It is a beautiful temple with stained glass windows of the First Vision and unique architecture.  Initiatories are my favorite temple ordinance because they are so beautifully worded.  I am so glad we got to go to that special temple.

 The next morning, we headed to the Peter Whitmer farm and went to the Visitor Center and walked through the Whitmer's house.  There is a special feeling there as well because in that tiny house the first church meeting of this dispensation took place.  There is a great video at the visitor center that shows the progression of the church - from only 6 members to over 15 million.  It is pretty amazing how fast our church is filling the earth - just like it was promised so many years ago.

After the Whitmer farm, we headed to Sauders - a Mennonite store and restaurant (which was delicious!) - and then we drove to Boston for more fun! Boston post coming soon...