East Coast Trip - Church History

Day 4 - Friday, May 26

After leaving the NYC area, we ventured north and made a point to drive through the Flanders, NJ (Mount Olive Township) area where I lived a short time (ages 10-12).  I jumped out of the car at my old elementary school for a picture and quickly recalled my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. May, and my 6th grade teacher, Mr. Ottavinia.  They were both excellent teachers.  I have fond memories of Tinc Road Elementary, the short bus we road to school, the two-choice options for hot lunch, having a specific instructor for art, choir, P.E., a school nurse, etc.  The education was a significant improvement over what I received on the west coast - even as a child I noticed the difference.

The school looked the same but several portables have been added.

Tinc Road Elementary School

We drove through my old Bennington Woods neighborhood.  Aaron was impressed I still remembered the address of 6 Kevin Drive.  The GPS took us through the newer section of the neighborhood first.  The gray-siding boxy style house looked like I remembered it - only 32 years older!  The kids were not thrilled when I asked them to get out for a picture but most obliged.

A childhood home in NJ - 6 Kevin Drive

After my literal drive down memory lane, we headed towards Oakland Township, PA.  In church history, this area is referred to as Harmony, PA and several significant events took place here.  The new visitor's center at the Priesthood Restoration site is impressive.  We stayed longer than expected and were able to change our Palmyra Temple appointment to the following morning so everything worked out well.  The kids loved the displays, we watched a movie about this time period and the translation work on the Book of Mormon, walked through the Sugar Maple Bush area where John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John appeared to the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery to restore the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, visited the homes of Emma Smith's parents and Joseph and Emma's first log home where the translation work commenced.

John the Baptist conferring the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith & Oliver Cowdery

Kitchen of Emma Smith's parents - Isaac & Elizabeth Hales

Anna 'hefting' the gold plates replica.

First home for Joseph & Emma Smith

Sugar Maple Bush - the area where priesthood was restored in 1829.

13-mile strip of land given to Joseph and Emma by her parents.

Susquehanna River - Joseph & Oliver were baptized near this area.

Headstone for Joseph & Emma's first son - died at birth (unnamed).

After spending some time at the Priesthood Restoration site, we continued on to Fayette, NY to the Peter Whitmer, Sr. farm and visitor's center where we watched the second half of the movie depicting the translation work of the Book of Mormon and the 116 pages of lost manuscript.  We were the only visitors at this location and received the full attention of the sister missionary tour guide.  I was impressed by the faithfulness of these early Church members and their dedication to assisting in the work of sharing the gospel.  Peter Whitmer Sr. could not have imagined what the future would hold for his family when he agreed to house Joseph and Oliver and provide a respite from persecution so they could complete the work of translation.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was officially organized in the kitchen of the Whitmer home on April 6, 1830.

Peter Whitmer Sr. home

kitchen of the Whitmer home

Snack time in the parking lot of the visitor's center.

We packed a suitcase of snacks to last the duration...

Our first day of Church History sites ended as we pulled into the Palmyra Inn that evening.  It was nice that all seven of us could sleep in the suite of this hotel - they know their clientele.

Day 5 - Saturday, May 27

Aaron took Brinley, Jantzen and Anna to perform baptisms for the dead at the Palmyra Temple early the next morning.  We brought a stack of family names with us and they completed all we brought. Having a continental breakfast was a lovely change of pace for us.  Quinn, Elsie and I enjoyed a more leisure breakfast and helped get things packed up so we were ready to check out when Aaron and the others returned from the temple.

Jantzen, Brinley, Anna - Palmyra Temple

Aaron

The Palmyra Temple (behind me) and Sacred Grove (in front of me).

Joseph Smith Sr. log home near Palmyra, NY

We listened and learned much while touring the church history sites located in the Palmyra, NY area. The Smith family owned a 100-acre farm that was situated between two counties.  The log home where the Smith family lived when Joseph Smith was a 14-year old boy was located in Wayne county and we were able to go upstairs to the bedroom area where the angel Moroni appeared to the boy prophet and first told him about the gold plates buried in the Hill Cumorah.

kitchen of the Smith Sr. family in log home

upstairs sleeping quarters where Moroni appeared to Joseph

Smith Sr. family log home

The frame home where the Smith family later moved to is located on their half of property in Manchester county.  As such, Manchester county has regulations that prevented us from going upstairs.  We learned about the various hiding places and efforts the entire Smith family employed in protecting the gold plates while Joseph had them in his possession.  The persecutions became so intense he and Emma eventually had to leave for Harmony, PA for a time.

Jantzen & Quinn - the plates were hidden under this hearth

Joseph's oldest brother, Alvin, was a craftsman and responsible for much of the work in building the lovely frame home for his parents, Lucy Mack & Joseph Smith Sr.  He passed away during the process and the family later had to complete the work themselves.  This wall shows the marked detail of Alvin's quality work (on right) and the rushed efforts of his family (on left) to complete the home.

Brigham Young's original barn - later moved to the Smith farm site.

Walking to the Sacred Grove

We spent quite a while in the Sacred Grove.  We encouraged each of the children to have some alone time to think and pray about the experiences that took place in this grove of trees in the spring of 1820.  This marks the location where Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to young Joseph and revealed once again the true nature of the Godhead to men on earth.  After visiting the Smith homes and the Sacred Grove, we ate a picnic lunch nearby then hiked the Hill Cumorah, drove by Martin Harris' Farm and spent time at the E.B. Grandin building in Palmyra where the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed.

Palmyra New York Temple

Christus at the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center

Top of Hill Cumorah

There was much to learn about the painstaking process of getting the Book of Mormon to print in March 1830.  It's been many years since I've been to this site and much has changed and improved.  Because we were anxious to continue our journey to Allentown, PA, we did the 'shorter version' tour of the E.B. Grandin building where this printing took place.  Once again, we marveled at the time and effort and prophetic vision of this enormous undertaking to get this book into the hands of any and all who would read it.  The Book of Mormon continues to bless our family and we are grateful every day for this tremendous gift of guidance in our lives.