Palmyra Day volume 1

Ok here is the first round of pics. I am in LOVE with these homes. They are so cute and quaint. Add some plumbing and a modern kitchen and I think I could live in one. Ok, maybe not, but I love, the decor. Not much explanation needed for these... Sorry if this is boring to you, I have some fun 'people' shots too, those will come later!

This is the first Smith Family home. The one that Joseph Smith grew up in.

I loved this picture. This is up in the Joseph's bedroom. It was in this room that Moroni came and visited Joseph.

Later, the Smith Family build this beautiful frame home. This was Lucy's pride and joy.. She loved this home so much. They eventually had to sell it and move back into their small home.

Here's a few I took of the Grandin Building. This is where the Book of Mormon was printed. There's not very many good pics of here, because the lighting was very bad.. but here's just a couple.

I wanted to get pictures of the Sacred Grove so bad. This is what I was so excited for.. I can't even tell you how many pictures I looked at to try and find the shot that I wanted. I had exactly in mind what I wanted, before we even left for NY. Although, I didn't get the exact pic.. I'm still pretty happy with the few I got. I've been wanting a picture of the sacred grove in our home, and so I think this will be the one that I get printed big, to put up..

I can't even tell you how amazing these historical sites are. When we were taking the tour of the Smith Family Farm, the missionary that took us, shared a part of President Hinckley's dedicatory prayer (of the Palmyra Stake Center). President Hinckley said that these surrounding areas (which includes the Smith Family Farm, Sacred Grove and Hill Cumorah) is the most sacred grounds on earth, save the Palestine area where Jesus Christ actually walked.

I believe that with all my heart. I don't usually talk about religion on my blog, but I'm going to today. I can't post these pictures with out expressing my sincere gratitude for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The spirit of Christ and our Heavenly Father lingers in these places. Sacred things happened in there, and I could feel the sacredness of those places. I could feel that when we pulled into the parking lot. There is a special warmth about everything I saw, heard and touched that day. I love hearing the stories of Joseph and his family. What a wonderful family. I love hearing about their strength and perseverance. It made me want to be stronger. I hated hearing about the horrible trials they had. It made me want to cry. I loved feeling the spirit that came when the missionaries testified of the truth... YES the Truth! The TRUTH of all that happened on those sacred grounds. It made me want to testify. So that's what I'm doing. I'm telling you, it's true. What happened to Joseph Smith in that grove, is the truth. You can choose to believe it or not, but it's real and true.. and I, myself, choose to never deny that.

I'm sure most of you that read this blog are friends of mine, and so if you have any questions you can ask. But if your not, and you want to learn more, here's link that you might find helpful.