Trip to Palmyra, New York

Last Thursday we had the chance to go with Sister Neff to Palmyra. The drive was beautiful – through Northern PA with rolling green hills, meandering streams, and acres of farmland with perfect red barns and silver silos. Once we got into upstate NY, we traveled along the Finger Lakes which were amazing. The water came almost to the highway because of all the rain we have been having. It was over three hours of driving, but it didn’t seem to take that long because there was so much to see. The Palmyra Temple is pretty – small and stately, made of gray colored granite. It sits on a big piece of property outside of the small town of Palmyra. The most spectacular thing about the temple is the many stained glass windows that depict the sacred grove. There is a large clear glass window at the back of the temple that looks onto the Sacred Grove. President Hinckley wanted it that way, and it is very beautiful. The day was cold and dreary in Palmyra, but the grove looked wonderful. I imagine it changes with the seasons, making that viewpoint a very special place. The session was nice. Dad and I were the witness couple, and I am happy to say my knees held out pretty well.

After the temple, we had a quick lunch at Subway and then headed to the E.B. Grandin Print Shop to take the tour where the first 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed. The sister missionaries showed us around and we saw a first edition Book of Mormon that someone found recently in a relatives garage and donated it to the site. The sisters told us it was worth $300,000. Mr. Grandin was not a member of the Church and he was hesitant to print a book that might lead to controversy, but Joseph Smith paid him cash and he agreed. It is remarkable that Mr. Grandin soon went out of business and on to another career, but he was there at the right time to print the Book of Mormon. We drove over to the Smith Farm next. As we walked in the door, a sister missionary was answering the question of another visitor who asked her where she is from. She said, “Yorba Linda” and Dad and I couldn’t believe it. We said we were from Yorba Linda and when she saw our tags she asked us if we knew Tyler Abbott. She and Ty went to Esperanza Prom together – her name is Maddie Larson and she was in seminary with Ty, Rick, Drew and the rest. She’s in the YL Ward and has been out for five months. She became our tour guide and she did a good job.

Our last visit was to the Sacred Grove where the sun came out and filtered through the trees right on cue!! It was beautiful – and that word isn’t adequate enough at all. We were the only ones there, except for Mr. Parrott, the caretaker who was lovingly grooming the trees. There was a recent talk about the grove and its symbolism given by Elder Jensen of the Seventy (click here), and Mr. Parrott was introduced as having been responsible for helping the grove come back to life after some hard years. The talk also spoke of “witness trees” that are old enough to have been witness to Joseph Smith’s First Vision. We introduced ourselves to Mr. Parrott (not a member of the church) and asked him if he could show us the three witness trees. He said he could but then he would have to kill us (joke), but he did say they would be bigger around and taller than most and he pointed us in the general direction where we should look. He said the Church wants to protect these three special trees, so the info is not given to visitors. We had fun looking and guessing, but I don’t think we found them. We really felt blessed to visit all these areas and meet Sister Larson and Mr. Parrott – the timing was perfect to meet these two, and we feel it was a specific and special event for us. We are sending some pictures for all to enjoy – wish you all had been there with us. Love, Mom and Dad