I'm in New York!

I am at Katie's. This has been such a great experience. We decided to go see the sights yesterday, because it seemed the weather would be the best that day. It turned out to be perfect. I rained on our way to Palmyra and on our way to Fayette, but other than that it was just right, not too hot or cold. I felt like we had the very best tour guides or missionaries at every sight. I learned so much. In fact I was feeling like I should have known so many of these things-so I want to study Church History when I get home.


Here we are in front of the little log home Joseph and his family lived in. The lady that was giving us the tour said that the Smith family had family Home Evening every night around the kitchen table as they read from the Bible. When we went upstairs to the rooms where the children slept I realized that Joseph was by no means alone when the Angel visited him in the night. There were six brothers in that room and the two girls in the next room. It is a great testimony to me that not one of those brothers or sisters doubted what Joseph told them. They could have questioned why none of them woke up or noticed, but they knew Joseph was honest and they knew he was telling them the truth.
Another story I liked about this house is that when they were researching where this house would have stood when Joseph lived there, they found some gold beads from a necklace of Mother Smiths that had been broken by her baby, and they never found all the beads, they had fallen down through the floor boards. Then many, many years later they helped the renovators know exactly where that special home would have stood.

This is the Grandin Press where the first 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon were published. It was an amazing and meticulous process. It makes you thankful for computers. I love that Joseph wanted these books bound in hard cover and leather because he knew how special they would be to individuals and families and that they would need to last through lifetimes and generations. We had the best tour guide. She and her family had met the missionaries 30 years ago, and since that time all thee of her boys had served missions and she and her husband were now serving their 8th full time mission. She told us how even before she met the missionaries she knew that there had to be a way to continue the love and relationships she had with her family for ever. We are so lucky to know that we can be an eternal family.

This is the Whitmore farm in Fayette. This house is where the church was first organized on April 6, 1830. This is also where the Book of Mormon translation was finished. Did you know that Mary Whitmore was shown the golden plates by the angel Moroni. I had never herd that story, and it touched me deeply. She was tired from all the extra work she was doing from having extra people staying in her home, but she didn't complain. One night when she went out to milk the cows, the Angel Moroni came to her and showed her the gold plates. He said it was to give her strength and give her joy be able to get through these times. The missionary Sister said we each have the Book of Mormon to give us strength and joy to get through the hard and tiring times in our lives.

Oliver Cowdery said of the time he spent as scribe for Joseph, "These days never to be forgotten." I say of yesterday, "This is a day never to be forgotten."