New York, New York!!

With Cameron anticipating a mission in the near future we thought this would be a great year to go on an extra special family vacation. We flew to Cleveland, Ohio and then drove to see the sites in Kirland, Niagara Falls, Palmyra, Fayette, and the Big Apple. What an incredible contrast from the lush green country side in upstate New York to Manhattan where you can only see the sky if you look straight up because the buildings are so massive and tall. We had a fabulous time and I think everyone still loves each other.

Kirtland, Ohio




First stop Kirtland, Ohio. We went to the Kirtland Visitors Center and saw the Newel K. Whitney Store. If you remember, Newel Whitney had been searching for a church and at a certain point Joseph Smith came to his store and said something to the effect of, "Thou art the Man. You prayed me here; now what would you have me do?" The prophet and his family actually lived in the upper level of the store for a time. This is also where the "School of the Prophets" was held. The missionaries liked it to a now a day MTC where they learned to be leaders and share the gospel. It was a very small room, maybe 10' x 15', with 12-15 men who smoked continually and chewed tobacco and spit on the floor. The prophet's wife Emma, was troubled by this (no wonder. . . . .she was the one cleaning it up), so Joseph took the matter to the Lord and as a result received the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. The spirit was almost tangible in the room. Extra bonus, our cute neighbor and now sister missionary, Andrea Hymas, was able to give us a guided tour not only of the store but the ashery, the sawmill, and the Whitney Home. We learned alot. For instance, did you realize that 65 sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were received while in Kirtland.

We also toured the Kirtland Temple which is now of course owned by the Community of Christ Church (previously the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.) We all noticed the obvious lack of spirit as the guide talked about their church. However, when the tour guide stopped talking and I had a chance to think about the things that took place in that sacred building so many years ago, I did feel the spirit and it was an awesome experience

Niagara Falls, Canada

Next stop was Niagara Falls, Canada. We took a boat ride on the "Maid of the Mist" right up next to the falls. We were all literally drenched in spite of the rain ponchos they gave us. It was a pretty incredible sight though. The falls were especially beautiful at night.Amber's husband Levi loved seeing all the candy bars and especially Tim Horton's doughnut shop that are only in Canada. (Levi grew up in Canada). Yeah, the doughnuts were good but I'll still take a hot Krispy Kreme over Tim Horton's any day. (Sorry Levi!)

Maid of the Mist Voyage

Palmyra, New York

Hill Cumorah

This is Amber and Levi at the top of Hill Cumorah by the monument. At first we were disappointed that because of the timing of our trip, we missed the Hill Cumorah Pageant. However, the missionaries told us that other than missing the pageant, we should be glad to visit the sites in Palmyra with fewer people. There are literally thousands of people that descend on the small town every year for the pageant. I had such a good experience in the Sacred Grove and wonder if it would have been different with tons of people there.

This is an actual Book of Mormon from the first printing now displayed at the E.B. Grandin Printing Office.

First small Joseph Smith Home. The family later built a larger home.

Heidi and Derek in front of the Palmyra Temple.

The Sacred Grove

This picture doesn't do justice to the beauty of the Sacred Grove. This was definitely a highlight of the entire trip. It was absolutely overwhelming to think that we were standing near the place that Joseph saw God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and that it was the beginning of the Restoration of the Gospel. The peace, serenity, and calmness, are indescribable.

Fayette, New York

Next stop, Fayette, New York and the Peter Whitmer Farm. This is where on April 6, 1830, the Church was formally organized. We heard the story of why Joseph ended up so far from Harmony where he had gone to get away from the persecution and continue translation of the Book of Mormon. Peter Whitmer's son David met Oliver Cowdery on his way to see Joseph Smith in Harmony and received a witness that the work is true. However, his father was harder to convince. Peter tells his son that if he can finish the spring planting in a certain time frame he will allow Joseph and Oliver to come to the farm to continue work on the translation of the Book of Mormon. Through miraculous assistance in the planting, (it was completed but nobody could explain who did it), Joseph and Oliver came to the farm. Peter was converted as well as many other family members. This is also the location where later on, the three witness see Moroni and the gold plates. Pretty awesome!!

THE BIG APPLE!!!!!

The first night we were in New York City we ate at a famous deli called Carnegie's deli. And yes, this picture is of ONE sandwich that Matthew ordered. It is a pastrami on rye and as you can tell they don't skimp on the pastrami. Matthew ate about a third of it. Also of interest is the fact that the gentlemen sitting next to him in the picture flew in from Toronto just for the evening to have dinner at this place. What would it be like to have that much money? We'll probably never know.

Sunday Morning we took the subway to church. It was a little intimidating to me and I was glad Scott was there to figure it out for us. Interestingly enough, we ran into the missionaries and they led us right where we needed to go. Also interesting how many Utahn's were in the ward. There were students doing internships and lots of families vacationing like us. There were lots of regular ward members who had Utah ties as well.

Stay tuned for more New York when I have time.