Day 7 took us right to the heart of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ as he established it when he lived on the earth. This restoration took place in the Fingerlakes District of western New York state, beginning in the spring of 1820 in a beautiful grove of trees in Palmyra, New York.
Late in our trip planning stage, we decided to change our plans from a jaunt down south to colonial Williamsburg, Virginia to a jaunt up north to Palmyra, NY to visit some of the church sites of the early days of the Church. I am so glad we made the change. Today was really a wonderful experience--one I hope will stay with the kids their entire lives.
{It is late and I am tired, so this won't be a detailed entry. But I wanted to record some thoughts while they were fresh.}
We started out the morning visiting the Palmyra Temple. It was a beautiful sunny morning, perfect weather for the day.
We then made our way to the Sacred Grove {where God, the Father, and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in answer to his humble prayer about which church to join}. We had a lovely tour of the Smith log home and frame house before entering the Sacred Grove to spend some time walking as a family. While there we were able to talk to the kids individually about the importance of the grove. I really felt the Spirit. I hope they did too.
After the Sacred Grove, we visited the Grandin Printing Shop where the first 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed. It was another really great experience, one that really testified to me God's hand in this work. I love the Book of Mormon and know that it is truly God's word to us, his children, to make it through this life. There is a power found in that book not available anywhere else.
Then on to the Hill Cumorah, where Joseph Smith received the Gold Plates that contained the record of the Book of Mormon. As I told my kids, I love the Hill Cumorah mainly because it is a testimony to me of the great plan of the history of this world. Moroni buried those plates in the Hill Cumorah 400 years after Christ; then he waited until the appointed time for the restoration and then personally, as a glorified angel, led Joseph to find them. All part of the plan. Nothing by chance or random. He was directly involved with making sure the plates were used for the purpose of testifying to those in our day of the Savior of the world.
Finally, we visited the Peter Whitmer home, where the church was organized. Yet again the spirit was strong as we learned more about the significance of this home in church history.
All in all, it was a great day. I cried several times, much to the embarrassment of my kids, which meant I felt the Spirit testify to the truth of the work that was begun here. How I love Heavenly Father for watching over us as his children to see that this all worked out. How I love the Savior for his role in the plan. And how I love Joseph Smith for his courage and strength to perform a very difficult, lonely, but important work for the salvation of mankind.
TRIP TIP #11 Not so much a tip this time as a thought. At every site we went to, we were led on a tour by a lovely young sister missionary who testified to the truth of the things she was sharing. And with each sister, I felt the confirmation of the truth of her words. At each site, each sister also challenged us to listen to any impressions we had about sharing this message of the restored gospel with our friends. At the first couple sites, I thought, "yes, that is a good idea, I will keep it in mind. But I don't want to force my beliefs on my friends." But the last sweet sister, who was on her first day at the Whitmer home, changed my perspective with her testimony. She reminded me that the Savior has promised us each happiness as we come to Him. I have felt that sincere happiness in my own life, thanks wholly to his gospel and my knowledge of his plan. I also know that He is at the head of this Church, and it is only by becoming part of it that his plan can be realized. She asked, "If you feel such happiness with the gospel, why not share that great gift with your friends?" All the sudden my thoughts shifted from forcing my beliefs on someone to sharing the thing that makes me the most happy in this world with the people I care so much about. I really is true, I know it is. So why don't I share it freely with everyone I care about? I really should be more willing to share it and not worry about forcing it. That's never my intent. But I should be more eager to share. I hope to do better at that in the future.
{warning, I may not have pics from tomorrow's adventure--our camera battery is dead and I CAN'T find the charger. I hope I didn't leave it in hotel #3, the last place I had it. We'll see tomorrow.}
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