Read about the Sacred Grove.
July 14, 2010
Only three pictures today and more updates later. Once again, it is late.
I forgot to mention yesterday about something that was impressive to me. We heard the history of the story of young Joseph who was stricken with typhoid as others of his family had been. Sophronia had suffered for 3 months and was healed through the fervent prayer of her family. In that part of the country it was rampant and there had been over 3000 deaths. The Smiths fortunately did not lose anyone to the typhoid fever.
Because Hyrum was a talented student, if I am remembering right, he was sent to higher education. (It was confusing to me whether he was sent to Dartmouth.) I’ll have to research that detail or ask the people who gave the presentation yesterday. The founder teacher, and local Dr of Dartmouth lived in the area as well. And he was the ONLY Dr in the country who could have performed the surgery on Joseph and saved his leg. He had 17 years of previous experience. I believe the reason he came to the Smith household was because perhaps he knew Hyrum.
The presentation went on to describe some of the 10 miracles around this event. I don’t know why it was important for Joseph’s leg to be saved. Perhaps he would have never knelt in a grove years later and received the First Vision. I only know, that it must have been important, because Heavenly Father moved heaven and earth for his leg to be saved. I'm going to read this article when I get home.
http://byustudies.byu.edu/PDFLibrary/21.2Wirthlin.pdf
We are on our way to the Sacred Grove. I appreciated one of the presentations this morning from the wife of our tour guide, who shared a simple testimony from a missionary in their mission who was from Bolivia? La Paz, I think she said. Her husband, the mission President, (in Cochabamba) had just testified to the missionaries about the Sacred Grove. He had been there and shared those experiences. Then he called on this simple elder from a simple home to share his testimony. This elder stood and told of how he had come from this humble home and flown twice to get to his mission, (Somewhere is South America) and how he would go home, and likely never leave his country again. He would never go to the Sacred Grove somewhere in America. But then he testified that he knew just as well as his mission president, that the First Vision, which happened in the Sacred Grove was true. Something to think about, that millions all over the world are discovering that truth, without ever traveling to see it. But, I am grateful we get to see it.
Peter Whitmer cabin
April 6, 1830, church organized
We just came from our first visit of the day to the Whitmer farm. The Whitmer farm is where much of the Book of Mormon was translated. Many of the Whitmer family members were witnesses to the Book of Mormon. We heard some wonderful thoughts and testimony from a Sister Ward from Mission Viejo, California. She shared some simple powerful things in testimony. Two that touched me deeply. Scripture from 1 Ne 8: 12.
And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. (When our own salvation is assured, we want to share with those we love.)
And also the thoughts from Joseph Smith about the gospel going forth.
"the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
To think that it was spoken in the early 1830's after 6 people got together in a small cabin with around 40 other people and organized the Lord’s Church. Bold statements for such small, humble beginnings that have come to pass but are not completed.
Around 11:30 we went to the Sacred Grove. Traveler’s note: if you go to the Sacred Grove and Smith Farm homes and visitor center, allow at least half a day. We had two hours there. For about 45 minutes we waited and then heard from President Christiansen, who is the Rochester, NY Mission President. He bore his testimony. One thing he mentioned was the anti’s outside the Pageant who will be there both before and after the pageant and who will likely be yelling and accusing and handing out their literature. He mentioned that they don’t even know they are fulfilling prophecy, not only in the Book of Mormon, but also from the Bible. He called them accusers and shared a scripture from Revelation (12: 10)
President Christiansen
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."
Two of the elders bore their simple testimonies that moved me profoundly because we have two young elders doing the same thing in other parts of the country.
We then heard from a man named Bob Parrot? He is the “caretaker of the grove.” He has worked most of his life with the Forest Department. He’s an arbor specialist. He grew up in this area and said he has been familiar with the grove for 48 years. He first went to the grove ironically when he was 14 years old and said he felt the spirit. He said every time he is in the grove he feels the spirit. He is not a member of the church and said it aggravates him when he sees members of the church go through, who obviously don’t feel the spirit. When he became the caretaker in 1997? He said the grove looked like a park. No natural materials on the ground, all branches and fallen trees were removed. People walked wherever smashing down the ground and crushing the delicate roots in the top layers. He said this made the grove quite unhealthy and seemed to imply had it continued, that the Grove may have eventually been in trouble.
One thing he said I really liked. He said he supposed that the spirit was in the grove before the first vision. He assumed that Joseph would have been familiar with the grove, and perhaps it was the spirit he had felt there on other occasions that drew him to it in the first place. :-) Other "Bobisms." "Basically what I do is a lot of work to make it look like I'm not doing anything." And, "I try to open a channel when I come into the grove and He teaches me how to care for the grove." Bob wishes he had known it would change so quickly so he would have documented it! :-0
Bob was great!
Brother Terry Calton shared before we left to go through the grove, he shared the verse in Joseph Smith history, where Joseph says: "When the light rested upon me I saw....and wanted us to put a period there. Then this phrase, "When the light had departed, I had no strength..." He made the point that when we are in light, we see, and whenever that light departs, we lose strength. Something to consider. Am I living in light?
President Hinckley was the one who somehow realized it needed to be properly cared for and returned to a natural forest. In the last 12 years, it has become that. We spent a good 30 minutes in the grove. Though there were many people walking through it, we really did not hear them often, nor see them. We were able to sit quietly on a bench and read Joseph’s account of that Spring morning that changed the world. I felt a simple, quiet, peaceful joy as we sat there and listened to the “sweet birds singing, music ringing through the grove.” I felt great gratitude to be able to experience it.
We came out around 1:15 and unfortunately only had 15 minutes to see everything else. Needless to say, we did not really see everything else. We took quick peeks at the farmhouse and the cabin. We did not even get to go upstairs and see where Moroni appeared to Joseph. But, that’s ok. We felt the spirit of the grove. We felt time whisper with the trees, “preparation, revelation, consecration, inspiration, translation.” Those whispers perhaps were passed on to other trees throughout the area and on throughout the world. I paused to wonder if nature itself began proclaiming the gospel on that day, preparing the hearts of people everywhere to receive. It’s a lovely thought. My heart was touched. There are 6 "witness trees" left in the grove. In other words, they are old enough to have been there, when the First Vision occurred. He would not point them out to us lest, in President Hinckley's words, "everyone would love them to death."
Smith family log home
Smith family frame home.
We briefly drove by the Martin Harris farm. The farm he lost because he financed the printing of the Book of Mormon. We were able to go by the Grandin publishing house where the Book of Mormon was printed. 5000 copies of a book being printed in that day and age was unheard of. A large order would have been 300 copies. The $1.75 originally charged for the Book of Mormon, was 2 days wages = today to something like $170. Would I have paid two days wages to read? Gone without food and comforts to read the truthfulness of the gospel? I hope. We also went up to see Alvin’s grave.
Original copy of the Book of Mormon
We briefly went up to the top of the Hill Cumorah and took pictures of the monument there. As I turned away from the monument to look down the sides of the hill and the surrounding terrain, I was sobered by the thought of what it would have taken to heft the plates down the very steep thickly wooded hill. (but saw a picture later of the hill taken long ago with no trees on it. Hmmm) Even though Joseph originally took the plates down without anyone knowing, it would have been daunting to run through those woods with fiends in pursuit, trying to protect the record he had been given.
Palmyra temple.
Hill Cumorah.
We ended the day at the Hill Cumorah pageant. I have to say, that was pretty cool. We ran into Brother Toma who used to be in Tucson but is now in DC, and his family. He played the part of Abinadai. And the Done family, who used to also be in Tucson but is now in Pennsylvania. And, I looked around for Leslie Householder, author of Jackrabbit Factor, that I have enjoyed and found her and talked to her. It would be a really neat experience to take our family and do that. Next year won’t work if we’re going to Israel. And I plan on going to Israel. Sooo, maybe when Chris comes home.
Abinadai. Brother Toma.
Joseph and Moroni.
The Done family.
Leslie and some of her children.
Tree of life.
Sailing to the promised land
The downer of the day, was the accusers with their signs and bullhorns and accusations. That’s all I’ll say about it, but they could not dampen the music, the production, or the feeling that we took away from it. Fortunately, we did not have to come through that exit, but I felt for the little children who did, and probably would have been not only confused but frightened. We were the first bus out, so we were able to save sitting for an hour in traffic. Whew! Because we got back to the hotel after 11 as it was. It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful day!
