book of mormon

Day One.

After a brief stop in Niagara Falls, we marched further east to the heart of the restored church of Jesus Christ in Palmyra, New York.  We popped into the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center, where we were directed to walk up to the top of the hill before 1:00 pm, when rehearsal for the annual pageant would begin.

So we did.  We snagged a picture, then chatted it up with one of the Sister missionaries, who informed us that you can save seats for the pageant in the side sections of the audience.

So we grabbed our “Maid of the Mist” ponchos, slapped them on seven seats and piled into the car to visit the Sacred Grove.  After arriving at the parking lot, we saw that Grandma and Grandpa were just beginning a tour of the Smith Family Farm, so we joined their tour group.

A few things I want to remember about our experience there:

1.  The Lord’s hand is in the details.  That the Smith family ended up purchasing property in the Finger Lakes region of New York was no accident.  Their farm was mere miles away from the buried ancient record that would become the Book of Mormon.  The circumstances that surrounded their coming here was nothing short of miraculous, timed perfectly to pave the way for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. The homes they lived in were extremely simple.  In their first home, a small log cabin, Joseph read the passage of scripture that prompted him to pray to God.  (James 1:5).  After his miraculous vision in the grove of trees, he received visits in the log cabin from angel Moroni, who instructed him on where to find the gold plates.  What hallowed ground it is. In their second home, Joseph hid the gold plates from his enemies, as well as in the cooper’s shed, the plates were hidden in various places and undiscovered by those who would steal them, despite occasionally being in plain sight.  They were preserved at a great cost, and against all odds.
3. The Sacred Grove was as beautiful as expected. There is a reverence to that place like no other.  The church took care to provide many paths and dozens of benches so people could spend time in quiet reflection of the events that took place there.  I spent most of my time following Jack around.  He delighted in exploring the area – we might have spent 2 hours there.
4. We returned to our saved seats at the pageant, after a long nap and dinner.  Our kids were riveted.  The show even held Jack’s interest for the first half, thanks to special effects and awesome music.  It was a great production containing some of the best stories in the Book of Mormon and how we came to acquire them.

Day Two:

We took a drive down to Fayette, NY, where the first church meeting of the restored church of Jesus Christ took place.  We watched a video in the Visitor’s Center that depicted the events that occurred there.  A few things I want to remember:

1.  David Whitmer’s parents, though humble and faithful people, were not inclined to invite Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery into their home during the growing season.  There was too much work to be done.  While plowing the fields to prepare for planting, David offered a prayer that if this be the work of God, please let the farm work be accomplished.  He retired that night, after a hard day of plowing, wondering how on earth it would be.  The next morning, he and his father discovered a miracle-all the fields had been plowed overnight.  Needless to say, they invited Joseph and Oliver to come to their home to work on the translation of the Book of Mormon.
2. David Whitmer said he knew Joseph was a prophet because he knew exactly where and when to meet him, because he knew David’s exact route and itinerary despite not having discussed it before.
3. Fayette was also the location of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon’s experience viewing the gold plates.  It was a lonely burden for Joseph to bear, being the only person authorized to see the plates for a time.  It created doubt in some, and possibly strained relationships in others.  Even Emma noticed the lifted weight that occurred when others were able to bear witness of the existence of the plates.
4. And finally, the first official meeting of the church occurred in Peter Whitmer’s cabin in Fayette, NY.  They crammed 55 people into the log cabin, six of them baptized members of the church.  From its humble beginnings in New York on April 6, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ numbers have swelled to over 16 million throughout the world.

We stopped in on the Book of Mormon publication site (Egbert B. Grandin building).  A few things I want to remember about our tour here:

1.  The blurb in the newspaper to advertise the sale of copies of the Book of Mormon comes directly from its title page, written by none other than Moroni.  Who knew that Moroni’s words would be used to market the book 1400 years after he penned them?
2. It took 65 days to translate the Book of Mormon, 7 months to print the pages, and 17 months to bind them into books.
3. The order of 5000 copies of ANY book was unusual, but even more so in an obscure town in Western New York.  2-3 months before Joseph requested the printing of the book, Egbert Grandin had ordered the latest and greatest printing press, capable of printing 16 pages at a time(compared to his more-than-adequate press that could print 8 at a time).  People scoffed at the lack of necessity for such a machine in a small town.  Sure enough, though, the Lord’s promises were fulfilled in half the time because of Grandin’s seemingly imprudent purchase.
4. The typical profit margin for books in this period was about 12%.  The profit margin for the Book of Mormon was closer to 30%.  E.B. Grandin at first declined Joseph’s request to print it, then reconsidered but certainly seemed to require a good chunk of the profits in doing so.

After a break to do laundry and take a nap (some of us), we went back to take a stab at the Sacred Grove.  Since it was just before the Hill Cumorah pageant that night, the grove had mostly cleared out and we were able to have a bit more solitude than the first time around.

Once again, we traveled at Jack’s pace(and wherever he led us).  Tim and I were able to share a brief testimony of the feelings we had there.

It’s interesting to me that the Sacred Grove is no more or less beautiful than other places we’ve visited.  We’ve been all across the West to various National Parks and other remote and stunning locations.  America the Beautiful is replete with gorgeous views.  But the feeling in the Sacred Grove is unmistakable.  It is a hallowed place where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to a young boy in response to his humble prayer.  It was an event that changed the course of history.  Although I don’t have to go there to know that, it was a truly special experience to have shared with my family.