Our family vacation earlier this month took us to the East Coast. It was blissful. It was surreal. It was emotional. It was inspirational. It was a blessing in all its opportunities. I never imagined I would be able to enjoy such visions as the ones we found through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Our first two stops took us to LDS Church History sites in Kirtland, OH and Palmyra, NY. Kirtland offered more than I had expected. It offered the original buildings and detailed histories of the early Saints there, as well as, a picturesque landscape to rest our eyes on. On our way from Kirtland to Palmyra, we stopped a short time in Erie, Pennsylvania to visit my first lighthouse. It was a beauty!!
While in Palmyra we visited the Hill Cumorah, the Book of Mormon Publication site, the Sacred Grove and the Smith Farm. Oh, and Mark's Pizzaria!! And they gave us shirts 'cause are kids were so good, well... and our son is named Mark... teehee.)
There were so many beautiful sites, visions, people, and emotions meeting us with each new day. I am not exactly sure how to organize my thoughts and feelings from all that we saw. And even while we were there, I told Paul that it hadn't hit me yet that I was actually in these places, on these hallowed grounds. Even as we came home... it hadn't sunk in. Only now does the weight, beauty, and vision of these places hit me with such awe, gratitude and inspiration.
I have always known that what I believe is true. Only now... I have visions of places and people, sounds and feelings from those sacred places, and memories that will continue to inspire my faith in Jesus Christ. It isn't easy to put into words what makes our faith so powerful, and its vision so beautiful. But I will endeavor to try as I share these mere snapshots of our trip.
More soon...
Kirtland Temple. The first LDS temple.
The Newl K Whitney store was the first store in the Kirtland area. Joseph and Emma Smith lived in rooms of the store while the Saints lived in Ohio and built a temple here. Many early revelations received for the church were received here.
The sites of the Sawmill and Ashery used in building the Kirtland Temple. (If you can see the distant treeline through the foreground trees, as you follow this treeline to the left, it leads up a hill where the Kirtland Temple stands.)
Erie, Pennsylvania
Sacred Grove, Palmyra, NY
Sacred Grove
Sacred Grove
Smith Farm and Sacred Grove
