Friday morning we left fairly early in the morning to drive to Palmyra, NY to see the various church historical sites which included the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith, Jr. experienced the First Vision, the Joseph Smith, Sr farmhouses and the upstairs room where Joseph was visited by the Angel Moroni , the Hill Cumorah where Joseph received the plates, the Palmyra Temple and the Whitmer farm where the church was organized. The spirit bore a powerful witness of the events that occurred at these sites.
Our first stop was the visitor's center at the Hill Cumorah where we were fortunate enough to see a traveling display of sculptures depicting different events in the Savior's life. It had just recently arrived and would be moved to another location in March of 2010. A brief description and New Testament verse was on a placard explaining each sculpture.
The Smith's first home was a log cabin with two rooms downstairs and two rooms in the attic where all the children slept. Several years later they moved to a much larger wood framed home which included a root cellar. From the house we walked to the Sacred Grove. It was so peaceful and serene. The only sounds were the wind blowing through the trees and the chirping of birds. Marlyce and I slowly walked along one of the designated paths in total solitude. There was not another person around.
After we finished our explorations of the historical sites we continued our journey to Philadelphia. We arrived at our hotel late Friday night. Saturday morning we drove 15 minutes to the historically significant sites in the founding of the United States. The highlight was the two narrated tours of the Independence Hall and the Congress Hall and a bus tour of Philadelphia.
