When I learned that Peter would be getting off of work at noon last Friday for Good Friday, I knew we needed to take advantage of it. We decided to head to Palmyra - the first time in our 5 1/2 years of living here that we've visited any Church history sites. I was utterly overwhelmed at times by the power of the Spirit that I felt in these places. Kaia threatened once that, "You'll have to leave if you keep crying, Mommy!" But I couldn't help it. The events of the
Restoration were made real to me in a way that had never happened before. I can't describe in words how amazing it was to be standing in the very
place where Joseph Smith saw God, the Eternal Father, and His son Jesus Christ; or the
place where he received the golden plates containing the
Book of Mormon from the Angel Moroni; and even the
place where the Book of Mormon was first published. I was struck time and time again by how amazingly blessed I am to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Outside the Palmyra temple:
One of the great things about kids is that they can find entertaining kid things to do no matter where we are. Asher was compelled to throw rocks into every "river" he saw in the Sacred Grove.
You never know when you might need a whole bunch of sticks??
Dropping the little gravel rocks into the cone:
The kids were so excited to see this cat. Asher was surprisingly brave around it and kept saying, "Here's your toy, cat. Here's your stick!"
11 comments:
Loved this post. Thanks for sharing your testimony! We are planning on heading up there this summer. We stopped at Nauvoo on the way back from Colorado, and then spent the night at Aunt Delt's. We were going to visit Kirtland, but it was raining so we drove home instead.
I am so glad you guys got to go. It is such an amazing place. I was in the hill cumorah pageant and John and I were married in the palmyra temple so it definitely holds an extra special place in my heart.
So glad you guys went - I love that place! That actually used to be our temple when we were up at Cornell. It's always a neat experience to go there.
I'm so glad you guys went! So worth it. I think I like spontaneous trips rather than trips that are planned out.
Cool to see that the kids had fun! And that cat...it looks like my Yogi. hehehe!
I am so glad that you got to go! We went once right before Samantha was born and I was so glad we got to go. Cute pictures!
I can't believe that you guys hadn't been yet! So glad you got to go and see everything. We love Palmyra especially the sacred grove and the printing press. Looks like you had a great time.
It is an amazing experience isn't it! I've been 3 times since we've been here and each time is special.
Sounds like a neat trip. We need to visit some Church history sites, but I'm thinking we'll wait a couple years - at least until my kids can ride in the car without fussing if the drive lasts longer than 15 minutes...
Wow!! What an awesome experience!!!
I am so glad you got to go there! I love and miss that part of our life living there in New York.
Glad you finally got to go. That is how I felt a couple of years ago when I went the first time, and I got to see my former bishop who was serving a mission at the Smith Family Farm visitor's center. Quite a treat!
Post a Comment