Palmyra

One day we took some time to drive up to Palmyra, NY to see the home of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the printing house where the Book of Mormon was first printed. We started at the printing house and learned a little about book printing in the 19th Century.

Here the girls hold some of the pieces of type. Alexis was fascinated to learn that on the typesetter's desk were 2 cases. An "upper case" where all the large letters were organized and stored and a "lower case" where all the small letters were organized and stored.

After learning the ins and outs of printing, the girls got to learn how to fold one of the printed sheets, which had 16 pages of the book, to ready it for binding.  They each took home their very own folded copy of those 16 pages.

Then we visited the log cabin where Joseph Smith lived for several years with his family.  It was from this home that he ventured into the woods to pray about which church to join.  It was in this home that he received an angelic visit.  10 people lived in this space.  Which I can actually imagine quite well since we are 5 people living in less space.

It seems to me this bedroom is bigger than ours.  Maybe because their bed is smaller and they have less furnishings, but I really think it is a bit bigger than ours.

Photo of construction detail of the roof rafters and planks.

Palmyra Temple spire peeking through the lush New York woods.

The photo below shows some beehives.

This barn is not original to the property.  It was moved here.  

But it is the barn that belonged to Brigham Young's father.

This is the frame house that the Smith family moved into later.  It might look a little small to some of you, but it seemed quite large to this city family.  I hope to own a home of similar size at some point!

We also took some time to walk through what is known as the Sacred Grove.  It was in this grove of trees somewhere that Joseph Smith prayed about which church to join and subsequently received a vision of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. It was quiet and peaceful and beautiful.  A good place to say a humble and heartfelt prayer.

Our last stop was in Fayette, NY where we visited the Whitmer farm.  This is the place where about 50 people gathered (in that home!) to witness the official organization of the Church of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830.

We were a little short on time, so we only drove past the Hill Cumorah were the Golden Plates were buried by the ancient prophet Moroni and centuries later given to Joseph Smith. (Alexis was able to see the pageant last year with Nanny, Pop-pop & Aunt Barbara).