Priesthood Restoration Site

Leann, the owner of our bed and breakfast, made us delicious breakfasts each day.  On Saturday, she made scones and eggs and potatoes.  Everything was delicious, but I especially loved the scones.  She had an enclosed porch where she served us breakfast.  It was really lovely.

On Saturday, we headed to Harmony, Pennsylvania  where much of the translation of the Book of Mormon took place and where the priesthood was restored.

It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive away...it would take Joseph Smith about 5 days to walk there.  This is where Emma Smith lived.  Joseph originally came to the area to work for Joseph Knight.  He met, courted and married Emma.  Emma's father, Isaac Hale was wealthy.  He was a hunter.  Emma had 8 siblings.  Isaac did not approve of Joseph because he was poor...he had no money or property...and he was from far away.  Joseph was a barrel maker and Emma worked also.

This isn't anywhere significant.  I just had Ella take this picture to show how beautiful New York and Pennsylvania are.  There are trees, rivers and lakes everywhere!

This is a barrel like the barrel of beans that Joseph hid the plates inside.

 An interesting story we heard about Emma.  When she was about 7 years old, her religious leader told everyone to go outside and pray.  So she went into the trees near her house and prayed that her dad would go to church.  Her dad heard her prayer.  It changed his heart and he became active in the Methodist Church.

Joseph and Emma's home...reconstructed

This box was the same weight as the gold plates.  We each got a turn to try to lift it.  It was heavy!

Isaac Hale home...reconstructed

While Joseph and Emma's home is totally reconstructed (not original) these walls around the home were part of the original foundation.

This is the translation table.  Much of the translation of the Book of Mormon took place here.

Before the priesthood restoration site (with the Hale home and Joseph and Emma's home as well as the visitor center) was dedicated, this monument was all that was in this location to show the sacred events that happened here.  Another interesting fact was that the highway used to run right through where the homes had been located.  The church actually paid to have the road moved so they could complete the priesthood restoration site.

Isaac Hale and his wife are buried in this cemetary along with an infant son born to Joseph and Emma that died hours after birth.

Somewhere among these trees is where Joseph and Oliver retired to pray to ask about baptism.  They had read in the scriptures about the importance of baptism but knew that no one had the proper authority to baptize.  In response to their sincere prayers, John the Baptist appeared and restored the Aaronic Priesthood.

The Susquehanna River where Joseph and Oliver baptized one another after the Aaronic Priesthood was restored to them.

We had a little mishap while at the Priesthood Restoration Site.  For some reason, my phone completely froze. We couldn't get it to work or shut off or anything.  Since I've had issues with phones the last couple of months, I worried that it might not work the rest of the trip...which would be bad news.  But also, I used Google Maps to guide me around.  I was worried that maybe I'd have trouble getting back to Palmyra.  I did stop at one point because I needed gas and I asked someone, just to be sure, which freeway I needed to take.  I was pretty sure I knew but just wanted to be certain.  And I made it just fine.  Fortunately, during the night, my phone's battery died and it shut off.  In the morning, I plugged it in to charge and it worked just fine. So disaster averted!!