Road Trip 2015 Palmyra

Tomorrow we travel to Victor New York and Palmyra.

The area around Palmyra is special to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. In this area, Joseph Smith Jr. saw in a vision the Resurrected Jesus Christ and God the Father in a place called the Sacred Grove. Joseph was later visited by a heavenly messenger who directed him to the location of hidden golden plates which contained the writings of ancient American peoples that he would later translate into the Book of Mormon. The Church of Later Day Saints was organized in this area in 1830. This Church changed their name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints in 1838.

Joseph Smith Sr. moved his family to the Palmyra, Ohio area from Vermont following several years of crop failure due to weather.

Around 1818 Joseph Smith Sr. wife Lucy, and their eight children moved from the village of Palmyra to this cabin just north of the 100 acres they planned to buy. They lived in this cabin (cabin is a recreation) for about 7 years.

Mom and Dad Smith's bedroom

Kitchen and living area.

Upstairs was where the children slept, The girls got the bedroom in the background.

The boys got the other room with beds on both sides (same with the girls room).

Alvin, the Smith's oldest son had apprenticed as a builder. He designed and began building a frame house located several 100 yards from the Smith's log cabin. Alvin died suddenly in the fall of 1823. The house remained unfinished for months. The Smith family completed the house and moved in in late 1825.

View of the Smith Farm with the frame house in the background, Cooper shed on the left; and barn on the right.

Smith frame house (original construction - not a recreation).

The kitchen in the frame house. This is really nice for the time period.

These actual bricks were removed and the gold plates hidden beneath them to keep a mob from getting them during the time Joseph Smith Jr. was translating the writings.

Notice that the walls in this room are unfinished.

Dining and living area of frame house.

Shirley liked the sink (she wants one).

Pantry was off limits, look only.

Entry to the cellar. The fire department has not approved occupancy in this area or in the upstairs.

Joseph Smith Sr. was a Cooper (barrel maker) by trade. The shop he used was on the farm near the frame house.

Joseph Smith Sr., Lucy and their younger children moved back to the log cabin in the spring of 1829 leaving the frame house to Joseph Smith Jr,, Emma and their children.

Looking out the back door of the log cabin is the Sacred Grove. The Grove is approximately 200 yards from the back door. It was into this grove of trees which cover a large acreage, Joseph Smith Jr. went to pray after reading in the Book of James that if a man lacked wisdom let him ask of God.

Path from Smith cabin to the grove of trees along the edge of the farm. This grove is very large occupying approximately 15 acres.

The exact location of the Grove in 1820 is not known. Nor is the location where the vision of the Resurrected Jesus Christ and God the Father appeared to Joseph. It is likely somewhere in this location as this area was being cleared at the time for farming by the Smith family who were also using the trees to harvest maple syrup.

There are three paths like this which go through different parts of the Grove. The paths are of different lengths. The shortest path takes about an hour to complete. The entire Grove is a very serene place complete with birds, tiny frogs, and mosquitoes.

The majority of the trees within this Grove are too young to have been present at the time the Smith family lived here. A forestry specialist hired by the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints (LDS) has identified only six trees in the Grove that were alive in 1820; these trees are referred to as the "Witness Trees."

This part of New York is rolling forested grassy hills. It is on one of these hills called Hill Cumorah that Joseph Smith Jr. was directed to recover golden plates containing a history of early American peoples. These plates were translated by Smith and became the Book of Mormon another testament of Jesus Christ.

Hill Cumorah is now owned and maintained as a Church historic site by the LDS Church.

Part of trail switch backing its way to the top. The hill doesn't look steep from the parking lot; but this is not the case. Even this switchback trail is fairly steep and has benches for resting along the way.