Palmyra, NY

On the first day of our move to Vegas we decided to stop in Palmyra, NY and visit church history sites. We left early and got to Palmyra around 2pm. The boys were so excited to be out of the car! It was cute to see the boys play. We visited the hill cumorah, the sacred grove and the smith farmhouse during our visit.

The Hill Cumorah

The hill was our first stop. It was the most surprising part of the trip because the hill is so much bigger than I was expecting. It was a great place to let the boys run after being in the car. If you know my boys and really all kids, then you know they love rolling down hills. The hill cumorah is super steep and it has cut outs built in for the pageant so I was nervous to have the boys roll down it. It was great when we got to the top of the hill and Dan looked down the hill, looked at me and said "I'm not going to roll down. This is too high. It would be scary". They sure had fun rolling down at the bottom though :)

Liam kept asking what it was. I told him this was where the angel Moroni told Joseph Smith to get the gold plates. I told him about the Jesus book (Book of Mormon) and he was very excited. It was cute to see him look for the Book of Mormon. He thought their was one up there haha

We also visited the visitor center at the hill cumorah and they have a Christus. When we got there Liam saw it and so when the missionaries asked what we wanted to see on our visit Liam just screamed "Jesus!" and then ran to the statue and Daniel followed right behind.

 Next we visited the Sacred Grove. This was the highlight of the trip. Its not often that you can walk somewhere that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have visited. The boys were so excited by the stream at the front of the grove and wanted to throw rocks in the water so I had the chance to walk through the grove on my own. I'm so grateful for that opportunity. It was such a peaceful and uplifting experience.

 Right across from the grove is the Smith family farmhouse. It was amazing to visit! When we walked in it was amazing to realize that 11 people lived in the house because it was tiny. This house is important because the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith in the upstairs bedroom to teach him about the book of Mormon after his vision in the sacred grove. I got to stand where the angel Moroni stood! That was amazing! It was also amazing to see how small the room was and to realize that Joseph and his siblings were sleeping in the room at the time.

James 1:5- "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God"

This is the spot where the angel Moroni stood :) 

Visiting these church history sites was incredible and I'm so happy we made the stop. I've had a testimony of Joseph Smith and the first vision for as long as I can remember and I never had to visit these places to know that Joseph was a prophet or that he saw God the father and Jesus Christ and that he was the prophet of the Restoration but it was amazing to have the opportunity and it was wonderful to feel the spirit confirm what I already know.

I love Joseph Smith and I am so grateful for everything he did to restore the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to the earth. I'm grateful to have the Book of Mormon and to know that I can return to live with My Father in heaven again.