The next morning we headed into Palmyra, NY and we dropped Chris off at the Palmyra temple. The boys and I went over to the visitor's center and tried to keep busy while we waited for Chris. Luckily there was a lot to do in the visitor's center that the boys and I enjoyed.
It was really cool to see all the Books of Mormon in different languages.
Matthew was looking specifically for the Spanish Book of Mormon.
There were videos to watch and all sorts of things to read.
Matthew's hives were pretty bad by this point and I had given him an adult dose of Benadryl. He was so exhausted. We eventually went to grab lunch and then we met Chris back at the temple. I went in to do some initiatories and then met the boys back outside. A lady told me about the tree in the window, so I took a picture of it. It's supposed to represent the tree of life. There are 12 apples to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Also, this temple is the only temple that has an open window in it. The window overlooks the Sacred Grove.
We went back in to the Visitor's Center for a bit so Chris could see some of the stuff that we saw earlier.
And then we headed to the Sacred Grove. There were lots of mosquitoes and it was a bit rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves. I wouldn't say that we had some incredible experience there, but I wasn't expecting that. I just wanted my boys to see it and I wanted to see it myself. It was beautiful and felt very peaceful.
Here are a few pictures of Matthew's hives. He was so tired the entire time. Poor kid! They were a lot more red in real life than it shows in the pictures.
After we walked a path through the grove, we came out and walked around the farm.
We saw a couple of frogs! Chris pointed them out to the boys so they could see them.
The homestead/farm is pretty cool. There is a working garden with lots of vegetables and plants growing inside.
Aaron was trying to collect rocks.
And of course, the boys needed a picture with their own cameras.
The next few things are places that the Smith family actually used. Some of them have been rebuilt, but I think some of the floors or foundations were original. I can't quite remember.
This isn't an original copy of the Holy Bible that Joseph Smith read, but it is a period copy. So it's from the same era. Matthew read, out loud, James 1:5 which reads.. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." This scripture is what led him to go out into the grove of trees behind his house and pray.
After the Smith farm/Sacred Grove, we went over the E.B. Grandin building, which is the location of the first printing of the Book of Mormon. We took about 1/2 of a tour before the kids got very antsy and we sort of did a guided walking tour on our own.
This is an original copy of the Book of Mormon!
This sign made me laugh. "Do NOT use this door! Thank you :) **A lion will eat you.
This is a facsimile of the manuscript of the Book of Mormon.
And here Matthew and Aaron got to fold a page of the Book of Mormon.
Here's another first edition Book of Mormon. These are so extremely rare.
This is a really unique corner/intersection in Palmyra. There are 4 very large churches, each a different denomination, on each corner of this intersection. It was very symbolic to see. And also really architecturally cool!
We went over to where the pageant is to save seats for our friends and then went up to the monument that's on the top of the hill.
Here's a view of the pageant. It was really awesome!
Aaron had a lot of fun with his little friend, Lydia. They colored and played before the pageant started.
We had a pretty tasty dinner and then go to watch the Hill Cumorah Pageant. This was, by far, the best pageant I've ever seen. I've seen the Mesa Easter Pageant and the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant, and the Hill Cumorah Pageant is my favorite by far!
No comments:
Post a Comment