I Love Palmyra!

The breakfast at the Palmyra Inn isn't as good as some of the others, but it fulfilled what it was set up to do and we were ready to go at 8. We started the day by driving up to Cumorah's Hill and visiting the monument dedicated to Moroni and the receiving of the gold plates. It was a little cloudy and it sprinkled a little, but it always seems like the weather cooperates very well with our schedule. For example, two or three nights it has rained all night then in the morning when we start our sight-seeing and we never have any problems. After the monument and the devotional at the top of the hill, the three buses split and stopped at three different sites around Palmyra. The first one we went to was the printing place of the first copies of the Book of Mormon in the town of Palmyra. They had the original building and they showed us how they printed back then. Then we drove to the Sacred Grove, which was probably the highlight of the day. It is so cool to be in the same place where both the Father and the Son appeared to start the church that we live today. The night before when I walked through, I had a feeling of where I should go the next day, so today I went to the place which I had previously designed to go, which I just barely realized the significance and irony. I read Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision, then pulled out my Patriarchal Blessing and really pondered on that, then read a chapter in Alma, where I am reading. Just outside the grove entrance, there is a visitors center, where the third destination of the day was. We started the tour there, then went to the log cabin, he place where the Smith's lived for a short while. It is only a replica, but it is in the original spot where the original home was. We went upstairs, where Moroni visited Joseph and told him about the gold plates. Then we walked down the road to Alvin's home. Alvin, Joseph's oldest brother and idol, was building the home for him, but he died before he finished it, so the Smith family finished it and moved in. Today, 85% is original, which is really cool. (FYI, I have been taking a lot of pictures, so I will either figure out how to post them or bring them home and let you see them.) The Palmyra temple's steeple and Moroni can just be seen from the home, just over the trees. That is a cool picture. After we finished our three-part tour, we went back to the town of Palmyra, did our laundry, and found a place for lunch. Mitch Kunzler and I did our laundry together, then Weston, Tori, Brianna and I walked down to a quaint sandwich shop, which got overwhelmed with the number of people that came and took FOREVER to get our paninis. There were about eight people behind us that got our order before we did! I was kinda upset, but I have developed a patience from working at Pizza Hut that prevents me from getting too mad. We went and threw our clothes into the dryer and Mitch and I walked up to Alvin's grave, which was only a few blocks away. That was really cool: it was the original headstone encased by a modern headstone. Mitch says that was his favorite part of the whole trip. Just down the road from the grave is the corner with four churches. Its not the same churches that were in Joseph Smith's youth, but it symbolizes the great fervor of religion that occurred in that same town. I visited the LDS discount bookstore and got some gifts:) Then we got back to the hotel and were left the rest of the night. We had dinner, messed around, and I got in a great nap. I was awaken by the sounds of people playing outside my window, so I put on my shoes to see what was going on, and they started a game of football right then and there. It was fun, even though I had originally gone out to play ultimate frisbee. I played with some North Sevier kids and it was a good time. Then we had to go in for an information meeting, which was great as always. After the meeting, Ashley Harris, Emily Nash, a cool kid from Arizona named Brennon, and I walked to the temple and got some night pics. Only one of them turned out good, which was sad, but we found some fireflies and had a good time. Emily then broke off and the three of us walked down to the Sacred Grove again. We didn't go very far in because it was dark and almost spooky, but it was still good. Brennon likes music too and sings very well, so we sang Praise to the Man together. We barely made it back before curfew, and my good friends and roommates got my tour shirt that we were supposed to pick up. I ironed my shirt for tomorrow, and after I finish blogging, I am going to pack so I don't have to do that tomorrow and maybe get an extra visit to the grove.