We went to church at the Palmyra Ward. It had so many visitors they had a second sacrament table in the back. Lex made friends in YW who had cute umbrellas. We wished we had any old umbrellas. We had bought some in DC, but couldn't find them. We changed and ate lunch in the car, to stay out of the rain. Lex got her last birthday present - an elephant t-shirt.
We went to the Smith Farm, starting at the log cabin, the family built first. This was a replica made with wood from the Grove. We were able to see where Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith to tell him where the golden plates were hidden. It was such a small home for such a large family.
The Smith's later built this frame home and the church has restored it to the way it looked when the family lived there, much different from when I visited 20 years ago. We saw in the home and in the out buildings several places where the plates were hidden to protect them from being stolen by mobs.
Behind the house was a path leading to the Sacred Grove. It rained the whole time we were at the Smith Farm, but the trees of the Grove kept us fairly protected. We walked along the paths and just enjoyed the peacefulness of the woods.
Lex and I fell behind, but saw this cute little guy. We caught up with the rest of the family back at the car.
In town, we were able to visit the E. B. Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was 1st published in 1830. The downstairs served as a bookstore (where you could buy a Book of Mormon for $1.25) and an office. The flooring was original, so we were able to walk where many great leaders of our church walked.
Upstairs, this cute sister missionary tried to explain the translation process, but Lex going on about how she looked like Nancy Drew and was a little distracting.
We were able to see how and where the original 5, 000 copies were printed and bound and saw two 1st edition books.
Our final stop of the day was the Hill Cumorah. We watched a video about the restoration at the visitor's center, then Lex, Seth, and I walked up the path to the top of the hill, while Cam and Dave met us up there with the car. I had told the kids how I had rolled down the hill as a teenager and Seth decided to give it a try. It was awesome to see all these sites where the Gospel was Restored.
Lex spent a good part of the day trying to get the perfect birthday picture. It was probably not the funnest birthday, but I tried to make a dinner she would like and have a few special treats. She got many birthday messages and calls throughout the day.
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