Adventure to the East: The last two days.

OK, the house is quiet for a minute! I really need to finish my vacation entries before I forget everything! It was a month ago now! 

 

We left NYC on Friday morning. Jeremy took the subway to JFK airport to pick up our rental van. Then we checked out of our apartment, and headed out of the big city!

It poured rain for the first few hours of our drive.



The New Jersey Turnpike. Goodbye NYC!

Time to head upstate for our mini-LDS Church history tour!

 

After driving a couple of hours, we took a little detour to a tiny township, near the Susquehanna River, that at one time was known as Harmony, Pennsylvania. Now, it's called Oakland Township. This site is important to Latter-day Saints because it's the place where Joseph Smith received the Aaronic Priesthood at the hands of John the Baptist and, in a nearby location, received the Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James and John in 1829. These men appeared as angels to restore to the earth the same authority they had received from Jesus Christ.

 

The site is also where Joseph Smith translated much of the Book of Mormon. These events laid the foundation for the restoration of the original Church established by Christ Himself when he was living on the earth.

We couldn't get over the charm of this area! All the cute farm houses...ahh we were gasping every few minutes, dreaming of living in such a lush, beautiful place. We hear the winters are nasty though. I guess that's the price you pay!

 

After driving for a good 5-6 hours, we ended up in Ithaca, NY, where I had reserved a room at a Super 8 hotel. To save money, we all crammed in one hotel room. Max and Bennett had to share a roll-away bed. They didn't like that a bit. Oh well!

 

This is probably the most beautiful place we have ever seen in the U.S. Seriously!

From what we hear, this was the perfect time to visit upstate NY because it was warm, but still the rainy season--not too hot. We LOVED the Cornell University campus and just driving around and looking at all of the waterfalls! There are some amazing gorges around the city, too. But we didn't take the time to drive into any of them.

Just breathtaking. Everywhere!

 

Sure wish we had our good camera for this part of the trip.

The smartphone camera just doesn't do this place justice!

 

Saturday morning, we headed north, driving all along one of the finger lakes called Cayuga lake. Ithaca sits right at the bottom of the long, skinny lake, and we had to get to the top. It took us over an hour to drive up the west side of the lake.

But oh, what a drive! SOOOO gorgeous!

As we drove into Palmyra, we immediately saw the Hill Cummorah Visitors Center.

For those of you who don't know what this hill is all about, I'll tell you! It's a place I've learned about my whole life, so being here was surreal!

 

In 421 B.C, the last battle recorded in The Book of Mormon took place on this hill. This battle was HUGE. It wiped out an entire civilization, known as The Nephites.  A  prophet named Moroni was the last Nephite left. The sacred records had been handed down from one generation to the next, written upon by prophets along the way, similar the way prophets kept records that are now in the Bible. Moroni hid the sacred record in this very hill, in a stone box.

Fast-forward 1400 years.  In the late 1820's, in the perfect timing of God, an angel appeared to young man who had also been called as a prophet, and told him where these plates were hidden.

 

 This is where Joseph Smith found the gold plates that are now known as the Book of Mormon.  The Angel Moroni told him the exact spot where the plates were hidden in this hill. They had been there since 421 A.D.

It was so exciting for us to be here! It was our first time ever.

 

The monument on top of the Hill Cumorah

Coming back down.



The Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center

 I love the Book of Mormon! I know that it's truly the word of God, preserved for our day because this is when the human race NEEDS it!

 

I love the Bible, as well, and know that it is the word of God. I'm so grateful that Our Heavenly Father hasn't just left us here to fend for ourselves! We have the scriptures to use as our manuals for all of life's challenges.

 

The Book of Mormon supports everything that the Bible teaches. You will not find a single thing that contradicts it. It only helps answer more questions and brings greater meaning to the teachings of the Bible. It has brought me closer to my Savior than any other book!
When I read the Book of Mormon, a power comes into my life that is unlike anything else. It gives me a new perspective and helps me through the toughest times. I know it's the word of God! If you're interested in reading it, please let me know. I would love to send you a free copy! I would be honored! It's truly a priceless gem in my life.

Our next stop was at the place where the first $5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed. We got to learn all about the painstaking process of printing during the early 1800's.



A missionary inside took us on a tour and explained everything. Each and every letter had to be set into a little box, then they would use these black things to put the ink on the letters, making a stamp of sorts.

 

I don't remember how long she said it took to put it all together, but it was a long time.

We saved our favorite part for last that day. Our visit to the Joseph Smith Sr. farm.

This is where Joseph Smith Jr. was raised as a boy.

Our favorite part was taking a walk through "The Sacred Grove." It was in this grove of trees that Joseph knelt down and did as James 1:5 told him to do: "ask God." He wanted to know which of all the churches was the one that was completely true. This is when God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph. They told him that none of the churches were completely true. They all had parts of the truth, but not all of it.

Joseph Smith had been chosen and prepared by God to restore Jesus Christ's original church to the earth.
 

 

I know this happened, friends. I know this happened.

And how would I know such a thing if I wasn't there?

Because God doesn't expect us to figure things like this out on our own. He sends us the Holy Spirit to teach us what is true. (Galatians 5:22) I have asked Him if it's true, and the Spirit has testified to me that it is. I feel at peace. I feel happy. I feel grateful. I feel close with God. These are fruits of the Spirit. The things you feel when you hear undefiled, pure truth.

Anyone in the world can know this as well. All you have to do is ask. Just like Joseph Smith did. Of course, your prayer needs to be sincere, and you need to really want to know. But you can know! Usually the answers to questions like this don't come all at once. Like any answer, it can come in little bits and pieces. One step at a time as you show Him your faith and desire to know.

When our family walked through this beautiful grove, we were the only ones there. (One advantage of going before school lets out for most people!) We asked the kids to walk without talking, and to pay attention to all the sounds...the chirping birds, the moving leaves, the animals. And mostly to pay attention to way that they felt. We had a family prayer while we were there. The Spirit there was sweet and real.
There is no doubt it's a holy place.
 

OK, back to the fun stuff.
By the time we had finished our touring that day, the kids were ready to let loose and have some fun! As soon as we checked into our hotel, they went for a dip in the pool.

I can't look at this picture without smiling.:)

One of my friends on instagram said my boys were ripped.:)
 I've never thought of them as ripped, but hey, if she says so!



Our very last day there was a Sunday. Our flight didn't leave until 7:00 pm, so we had all day to figure out what to do...and no car because we had to return it at 10 am!

Luckily, I had an adoption friend who lived in the area. She so kindly offered to have us hang out with them for the day. So we took her up on it.
We killed a little time by attending a local ward first, then her husband came and picked us up and brought us to their house. They fed us lunch and we just chilled in their back yard all afternoon. The weather was perfect. The relaxation was just what we needed after a busy week of traveling.

They adopted this cute little muffin not long after we brought Anya home.
Sadie sure enjoyed her.
 

Bennett hit it off with their oldest boy. They played all afternoon.
 

We enjoyed getting to know this family so much. We were envious of their simple country life. It reminded us how much we would love to live in the country.
 

Well, that's the end of this fabulous trip! We enjoyed the whole 9 days, and will never forget how generous and kind our friend, Dawn was for taking care of our three little ones all those days. We couldn't have ever done this without her! It would have been impossible with the littles. We owe her so much!

We arrived home really late that night. It was so fun having the kids wake up in the morning and be surprised to see us there. They held no hard feelings at all for being left all that time. Dawn and G&G Fillmore made it so fun, they didn't miss us a bit!