Day One: Joseph Smith's Boyhood Home and the Hill Cumorah Pageant

On our first day we traveled to Palmyra, New York. This is a very important place in our church's history. For my friends who are not Mormon here is a link about it. http://www.lds.org/placestovisit/location/0,10634,1828-1-1-1,00.html

In the morning, we went to Joseph Smith's boyhood home. There were actually two homes - the log cabin he grew up in then the house they built later. It was fun to get to see all the history and antiques. They really taught a lot about church history and what life was like for the Smith family back then. It was a wonderful tour but we got rained on half way through. Being the smart mom I am, I brought coats and umbrellas. Unfortunately, it looked fine when we started out so I left them in the car. It was actually miserably hot. It didn't last too long though. It began pouring down on us. We really got drenched. It was still hot enough that we didn't freeze fortunately.

We also went to the Sacred Grove which was behind the home. It was totally raining by this point but we had ran back to the car for our coats by then. In spite of the rotten weather, it was wonderful!

In front of the Smith's log cabin. It was so small! I can't imagine having so many people packed together so tightly. It was wonderful to walk around and see how simply they lived. They were such a close knit family and had so much joy. It made me want to simplify. It was also amazing to go into Joseph Smith' bedroom and see where the angel Moroni spoke with him. It was humbling.

In front of the fields. Living out East and knowing how thick the forest are here, I can't imagine clearing out a field like this! I also love how loving Joe is with Ruth. She is his girl.

Inside the Smith home. This is the fireplace where Joseph Smith hid the golden plates when the mob came into his home. The kids are standing right on the bricks where they were hidden underneath.

The kids are standing in the barn looking out at the cooper workshop. We learned how they worked with the wheat and how the Smiths were master coopers. Listening to how hard work helped the Smith family grow so close has really motivated me to want to help my kids be harder workers!

Sam looked so cute with his hood on!

This was a little stream on the farm. It was a favorite spot for all of the kids.

The kids in the Sacred Grove. It was in the middle of the day but it was so dark and gloomy that my camera wanted to flash. This was a really beautiful, gnarly tree.

Joe back at the stream. He loved it! You can see how rainy it was.

Even though it was so wet and rainy, we all had a wonderful time. The kids especially loved visiting the Sacred Grove and didn't want to leave. I know it is hard to be still for them but I think they did feel the spirit of the place and were drawn to it. There really wasn't much to but just walk around and yet they loved it. I loved it as well. It was beautiful to just walk around and wonder if this is the spot where Joseph Smith received his answer to his prayer. Such a huge responsibility for such a young boy! I know that he saw God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ. My prayers are not so important but I know that God answers them as well. How comforting that is!

In the evening, we went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It was so much better than I thought it would be. The production was so good. They told several stories from the Book of Mormon and then how Joseph Smith received the plates. There was fire and earthquakes and waterfalls and all sorts of other fun stuff! All of the kids were enthralled and sat through it so well.

It of course was still raining on us, so we got really wet. It started to get cold and Joe had to use the bathroom. He actually peed in his pants while sitting on my lap already but I didn't want a repeat performance so we left five minutes early. We saw enough to be thoroughly impressed already. It is really a great pageant!

The girls got a picture with two of the performers from the pageant. JR was way too cool to pose with them.

Ruthie had to get another picture with some girls because she thought they were pretty and was so impressed with them. She is such a funny girl that way!

Joe really wanted a picture with the guy who had the fancy hat. It is hard to tell but he also had a big gold ring. Joe was really impressed with his bling.

As you can tell, the first day was wonderful. We had such a great time! I am so thankful that I could take the kids to experience so much of our history and our heritage. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ so much! It has blessed my life more than I can adequately express. I love getting to watch my kids learn and grow and develop their own understanding of these things.