July 12: (10447 steps) Darrel
and I got up early and spent some time in the Sacred Grove. We read Joseph’s account of what happened in
that sacred area. The Spirit confirmed
that it was true. The Spirit of that
place is almost tangible and the peace felt there made me sad to leave. Going into the grove I wasn’t as aware of the
increase of the Spirit the deeper you walk, but I surely noticed the decrease
of Spirit as we neared the edge. It was
a life altering experience for me. I
already knew Joseph was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was true but this
experience offered an onsite, personal witness that I can never deny.
We visited the Smith Farm and visitor’s center next. We had three very sweet experiences there.
First, we met Beverly Power’s great granddaughter who was serving a mission
there. Beverly was the sweet sister with
Alzheimer’s disease that Andrea was called at age 4 to visit once a week to
give Beverly’s husband, Jack Powers some relief time. Her granddaughter had no memories of her
great grandmother and as I shared the stories about Andrea’s association with
her, she was deeply touched. She asked
for a picture with us to send to her mother, Melanie, who is Beverly’s
daughter. Beverly often called me
Melanie when we visited. 2) We also ran
into a couple from Morgan, Utah, who know President Porter very well. President Porter was Jordan and Andrea’s
mission president. 3) Darrel found a wallet with everything important/valuable
a wallet can hold. There was a name and
even photo ID, but no phone number. We
took it to the visitor’s center and suggested that they use the man’s
membership number on his temple recommend to contact him and went on our
way. Near the end of our tour, a thought
of that wallet suddenly returned. I
looked up and there was the man on the driver’s license. His name tag verified his last name of
Tervort. I immediately approached him
and said, “You are the man who lost a wallet.”
He looked puzzled, felt his back pocket and said, “Yes, I guess I
am.” Darrel then told him where to find his
wallet. It turns out he was on a tour
with other seminary and institute teachers.
Darrel and I had lunch at a quaint sandwich ship known only to the locals
that sits on the Eerie Canal. It was
called Muddy Water Café. The Sister
Missionaries told us about it. Then we
checked out a near-by lock on the canal and returned to our hotel for a nap. That evening we attended the final
dress-rehearsal of the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
We had originally planned to go on Friday night, but the thought came to
me that Thursday night would be better if guests were allowed that night. I checked it out at the Hill Cumorah
Visitor’s center and they assured us that would be fine. Based on that, we were able to leave
Rochester a night early and visit the Restoration Site of the Hale Family farm
and the grove where the Aaronic Priesthood was restored. That turned out to be a great blessing to us. The pageant set was incredible. The Spirit of
the 750 cast member production was unforgettable. I was surprised at how small the Hill Cumorah
is. I was also surprised that we ran
into the Ewells from Genola, who were there to be a part of that cast.I wish all our children could have a day like we had today.
THE SACRED GROVE
Jessica, Amy Laura, Anna, Jason, Ethan
and Darrel in the sacred grove.
Andrew and Taylor Abby and Grandpa
Ammon, Janna, Darrel, Sam and Caden, and Scott
at the entrance of the Sacred Grove.
Darrel and I at the Sacred Grove sign.
THE SMITH FAMILY FARM
At the visitor's center.
This Sister missionary is Beverly Power's great-granddaughter.
Scenes from the reconstructed Smith Family farm.
An Era Bible like the one Joseph read (James 1:5)
from before going to the Sacred Grove
A room similar to the one where Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph.
Inside the Smith Home.
Joseph hid the gold plates beneath the brick of the fire place.
This is a replica of what it likely looked like.
A reconstruction of the Smith Family Barn.
The Smith family cooper shop.
Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center
This Christus has the Sacred Grove as the backdrop.
The Mitchells and Smiths
The Sister Missionaries directed us to this
local sandwich shop for lunch.
The menu was limited, but the food very tasty.
The walkway from the sandwich shop led to the Erie Canal.
ERIE CANAL:
Experiencing the Erie Canal was a thrill to me.
We explored Lock 29.
This Herring seemed to be the supervisor.
This is a reconstruction of the many bridges built
for crossing the Erie Canal when it was first completed.
THE HILL CUMORAH PAGEANT
We ended up attending the pageant the night of the final rehearsal.
That was an inspired decision.
The performance was stellar, but the crowd very small.
We meet several Book of Mormon characters.
This is Colleen Laverty Ewell from Goshen.
She and her husband were cast members.
This is Ethan and Amy with Wicked King Noah.
This is a whole family who all participated this year.
The prophet Joseph Smith
Samuel the Lamanite and his kids.
The pageant finale'
This is the mother of a missionary who served in Laura's ward.
