Palmyra Experiences

We got to go to Palmyra, NY as a family a week ago.  It is one of those trips we talked about taking for so long, and now we have actually done it!  It went very well, and I had some beautiful learning moments I wasn’t expecting.  I originally wrote about them in my journal, but feel like it's a good thing to share them here.

First, the Sacred Grove was beautiful and I loved being there.  The message from the Spirit wasn’t quite what I expected though.  Rather than focusing on what happened there with Joseph Smith, I felt the message for me was that the lesson of the Sacred Grove is that God lives and answers our prayers, and that same lesson needs to continue to be taught in our home.  

Our kids need to learn to commune with God and to discern between good and evil just like Joseph did in that grove.  It doesn't detract at all from the miraculous event that took place there.  It makes it live on.  The message of the Sacred Grove—make your home a Sacred Grove!

The second learning moment was in the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was published.  We went on a fabulous interactive tour that took us through each stepof the printing and binding process.  It was amazing.  Definitely worth the visit. 

At the end we gathered in front of some pictures of Mormon, Moroni, and Jesus Christ so the Sister missionary could share her testimony about the message of the Book of Mormon.  It was touching, and I loved seeing the large, original work of the picture of Christ appearing to the Nephites at the temple in America after his resurrection.  The guide pointed out to our children that the person closest to the Savior was a child.  The Spirit then pointed out to me that the person closest to the child was the mother.  She also was directly in the Light of the Savior’s countenance.  Motherhood is so important.  I felt the divine witness of that truth in that moment.  No other pursuit can compare in eternal significance to that of nurturing and preparing others so we can stand together at the feet of the Savior.  Satan may try to discourage and entice women away in other paths, but that picture was a witness again of the powerful role of mothers in God’s plan!  And, the Book of Mormon is a gift and a powerful tool for me as a mother.

   The third meaningful message was in the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center.While we sat in front of the Christus statue, we listened to a beautiful narrative of scripture.  I have listened to the same presentation in three other visitor’s centers, but this time was different.  It was late in the day, and the setting sun behind us cast a Christus-shaped shadow on the mural painted on the back wall of the room.  It was a picture of the Palmyra area—perhaps of the Sacred Grove.  I watched the shadow of the Savior’s hand slowly move across the landscape as the sun lowered outside.  I was touched by my own reality that I have not been blessed to see the full presence of the Savior standing in majesty before me, but I have seen the shadow of His hand moving across my life.  That shadow is a testament that He exists, just as the shadow on the wall was a witness of the statue that stood between the Light and the landscape.  Todd lifted Brett up so that the shadow of his fingertips connected with the shadow of the Christus.  That image warms my heart as I think of it and what it represents to me.  He lives.  Every day there are witnesses of that in my life if I have eyes to see.
  

The fourth special moment was at the Hill Cumorah.  We hiked up the front and saw it and then took the natural trail down the back side.  On that walk down I was really touched by the Spirit there.  Sometimes with a big family (whose members are chasing after frogs) it’s hard to experience the sacredness, but I really felt it there.  The strong message to my heart was that of preparation.  Joseph went to Cumorah to see what was in the future for him, and then he went home to prepare—for years—to be able to step forward and DO what he knew God needed him to do.  I can just imagine what it meant for him to see that Hill or travel by it and be reminded of what he needed to do in his life, and thus, what he needed to be doing each day to become a man God could depend on.  I feel like I am in a Cumorah stage of my life.  I know God lives.  I have felt that reality in my life.  I know he has a plan and a purpose for my life.  I know I have a lot of growing up to do and many more things to learn so I can become one that God can depend on to do His work in preparing the earth for the Savior to return.  I want to be a part of that.  It makes my heart happy to think of that day.  And, today I can remember Cumorah and strive to make the most of these daily experiences the Lord is giving me to prepare myself and my children for what is to come.