Palmyra

The Hill Cumorah Pageant happens every year, in Palmyra, New York.  That is about 650 miles from our mission here in Indiana.  The younger missionaries are not allowed to leave their mission boundaries.  But sometimes leeway is given to senior couples.  We asked President Woodbury for permission to go.  I said that I felt it would be good for Craig, who has not studied a lot of Church history to go; that I've ALWAYS wanted to see the Pageant; and that we would probably never have this opportunity to go again.  I told him we would NOT go without his permission and that if he said, No, we would understand.  But he said YES.  He would prefer, however, that it be a missionary experience.  So we invited everyone we know to go with us.  It would be a short three day trip.  We ended up going with our Branch President and his wife, (President and Sister Portwood) and John and Peggy Luzer (pronounced Lose - yer).  John is a non-member.

We rented a van.  We drove straight there and got to our hotel about 11:30 Monday night.  All day Tuesday, we visited various sites.  We started at the Pageant grounds.  We found excellent seats and tied yarn all over them to hold them for the evening performance.

If you look at the chairs on the right, about 1/2 way back, you can see Craig standing up behind a row that has towels over the seat backs.  We were told not to sit too close, that back is better.  There is seating for 8,000 people.  Most of the seats were full by the time the performance began.

This is what the stage looks like.

Right next to this area is the visitor's center.  We thought it would be helpful for John to have some background as to what we were doing there.  A lot of LDS visitor's centers have a statue of Christ.

The city of Palmyra was the scene of many important events in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The art work on the walls was really beautiful.  I love this picture of the Savior.

There were also some commissioned paintings that depict the early days of the Church.

We went to see the Joseph Smith Farm.  The original property owned by the Smith Family has been purchased and restored by the church.  There are two log homes on the site.  And the Palmyra temple is also on the property.

Smith Family Home

This is a view of the temple from the path that connects the two homes.

Behind the Smith farm is a grove of trees.

This is referred to as the Sacred Grove.  It is where Joseph went to be alone and ask God which of all the churches he should join.  A sacred vision was open to him and he was told that the true church, as established by Jesus Christ, was not at that time upon the earth.  This is my favorite picture.

It is so beautiful and peaceful there.

We decided to go up to the temple.

We could see that the main entrance to the temple had beautiful trees painted on the glass.  We went inside so that we could look at the painting against the light of the outside.  It was gorgeous.  It was the same color as the picture above.  WOW.

We also went to the Peter Whitmer house.  I can't believe this is the only picture I took.  It was here, about 30 miles from Palmyra, that the Church was officially organized on April 6, 1830.  From that humble beginning of 6 members, there are now over 15,000,000 members all around the world.

We got back to the Pageant area with two hours to spare.  There were facilities to eat near the seating area, so we stood in line and got dinner.  Then, the cast came out and mingled with the visitors for over an hour.

Here I am with two of the Stripling Warriors.

I thought the beard was cool.

Sorry that it is dark, but it was getting close to start time (9:15 PM).  These are the three kings that are depicted in the nativity.

More cast pictures:

Many of these kids have been in the pageant for years.  There are thousands of applications received.  650 are chosen.  Many are complete families.  One cast member was carrying an infant only three weeks old!!!

These two boys are friends.  One of them depicts Joseph Smith as a boy, and the other is Moroni getting ready for battle.  They are both 17.

Couldn't resist one selfie.

This was the opening procession.  We were not supposed to take pictures during the show so this is the only one I snapped.

The pageant told the story of the Book of Mormon.  There were about 10 scenes, each depicting a different period of time.  It was so well done.  Really amazing and the bugs were not too bad.  I can see why people come from all over the country to see it.  It only plays for 7 performances.  It is free.  Parking is free.  Totally worth the trip.

I had to chuckle at the protesters.  They stood across the street with megaphones and shouted insults and lies.  Why do they do that?  Don't we live in a country that allows freedom of religion?  What is wrong with a religion that brings you closer to Christ, celebrates families, and encourages honesty and integrity?  We certainly don't protest their worship services or practices.  I can't believe they don't have anything better to do.  I don't get it. 

On the way home, we detoured about 15 miles to see Niagra Falls.  It was unplanned but I'm so glad we went.

When you pull into the parking lot, you see this building.

If you go inside, they try to sell you everything from T-shirts to boat rides.  We did buy a photo of the falls to frame as a memento.  

Craig and I at the falls.  I'm glad I wore my coat.  It was misty and chilly.

This is a picture of all of us.

Left to right:  Peggy and John Luzer, Roxanne and Tim Portwood, Craig and I.

And in the background, you can see Canada.

After the falls, we stopped at Kirtland, Ohio.  When the Saints were driven out of New York because of mob violence, they gathered in Ohio.  We didn't have time for much but were able to see three important sites.

First was the Kirtland Temple.  This temple was abandoned when the Saints left Ohio for Nauvoo, Illinois.  It is now owned by the Community of Christ Church.  They have tried to maintain the temple and give very nice tours through it.

Please disregard the group having their picture taken.  You can see how big the temple is.  It was the largest structure around in 1836.  They asked us NOT to take pictures inside.

We went from there across the street to the visitor's center.  This is on a piece of property where there are several restored buildings.  

It is so lush and green there.  Very much like Palmyra, New York.  

We most wanted to see the Newel K. Whitney store.

They have a record book that lists what items were sold in the store for the first year after it was opened.  They used this list in stocking the shelves so that it would be authentic.    Upstairs, they have Joseph Smith's original table.

Just before we got on the freeway, we stopped at the Isaac Morley Farm.  Isaac Morley is Sister Portwood's great-great-great grandfather on her mother's side and her great-great-great-great grandfather on her father's side.  Her grandmother and grandfather were cousins.  

The farm building that was probably located on his property is now on an adjacent piece of land, so the church cannot excavate there.  There is, however, a very beautiful walk that leads up and into a grove of trees.  There are benches for quiet contemplation.  We decided we didn't have time for contemplating anything.  We still had 6 hours to drive and it was already 6 PM.

I drove from Toledo, Ohio to Rensselaer, Indiana.  I plugged in my iphone and listened to Faith Hill and Garth Brooks.  Singing kept me alert.  Craig and I dropped everyone else off and finally got home about 1:30.  

This was an exhausting three days.  But the company was fabulous, the sites memorable, and the pageant phenomenal!!!  I'm so grateful to President Woodbury for allowing us to go.