Camping and Palmyra Day 2

On Tuesday July 12, we left our camp site to drive into town - Palmyra.  We stopped off at the Hill Cumorah visitor's center to save us some good seats for the pageant that night.  We found some good ones in the middle section about 6 rows from the front.  From there, we drove over to the Joseph Smith farm house.  One of the senior missionaries there talked about how he had served his mission in the same place as a young man.  When he was a young man, the missionaries put on the pageant.  They flew in some BYU coed's to play the female roles.  I thought it was neat that he got to serve the same mission twice.  We went inside the farm home, and stood in the bedroom where the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith 3 different times.  The kids were quite surprised at how small the room was.  Zabien asked me where angel Moroni was.  That was a common question throughout our tour. 

After seeing the farm house, we had the opportunity to walk through the sacred grove.

I'm not quite sure if the kids truly understood the significance of the sacred grove.  They had a nice time walking through it, but Eliza wanted to know where Heavenly Father and Jesus appeared.  As we were walking around, she choose one spot and said, "that's where it happened.  I want to pray too."  We encouraged her to pray to know for herself if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if he restored the true church on the earth.  She said a sweet and sincere prayer.  Afterwards, she asked why Heavenly Father didn't answer her prayer.  we had to explain to her that Heavenly Father talks to us through the Holy Ghost.  We asked her to think about what she feels in her heart and that was the answer to her prayer.  I honestly think she was expecting to experience the First Vision herself just like Joseph Smith.  She told me afterwards, she was disappointed that she didn't see Joseph smith in the grove because she had a lot of questions for him. 

As we took a turn down the sidewalk, she turned to me and said, "Mom, of course I know that he is a prophet.  He is my favorite prophet, and I know that he brought us the true church on the earth.  I know it's true."  That made my heart extremely happy.  What a special moment in both of our lives - I hope she always remembers the beginnings of her delicate testimony. 

    A family selfie in the sacred grove

We drove back into town and found a local pizza place for some lunch and much needed air conditioning.  The Grandin print shop where the Book of Mormon was printed was right across the street.  We walked right over after lunch and went through the tour.  The kids were fascinated by the tools and the process.  Eliza paid attention so well, that she could have given the tour to the next couple of groups. 

After our visit to the Book of Mormon printing place, the kids (and Bruce) took a nap in the car while I went to the temple.  Afterwards we drove by the Martin Harris farm house and the cemetery where Alvin Smith was buried.

We grilled some hot dogs we had brought with us at the picnic area behind the stake center then headed over to the Hill Cumorah for the pageant.  We got there in plenty of time to walk up to the top of the hill; however, Eliza and Zabien were so fascinated with all the actors walking around in their costumes that by the time our interactions with them were coming to a close, so did the hill.  Bummer!  Next time. 

We knew a couple of people who were acting in the pageant that night.  It was neat to talk with them and get a picture.  Eliza particularly likes the colorful and exotic costumes.  It's too bad they were all wicked.  The righteous people had very plain, boring costumes. 

with the Fergus's - they moved out of our ward after Eliza was born

While seeing the actors, the kids decided they wanted to be in the pageant, and they were already choosing who they wanted to be.  Eliza wanted to be a wicked priestess and Zabien wanted to be John the Baptist. 

We had to search all over the grounds for our favorite BOM characters: Lehi, Alma, and of course Abinadi

And of course, Eliza had to get a picture with her favorite prophet

When it came time for the pageant to start, I was a bit nervous because it begins at 9:00 pm.  I wasn't sure how well the kids would be entertained by it, and I didn't want them to misbehave.  However, that was never a problem.  Their eyes were glued to the stage.

Hazel fell asleep about 25 minutes into the pageant, and the other two sat on our laps and watched intently the entire thing.  They were absolutely fascinated by the special effects (the water spraying, lights, music, etc), and they knew the story line well.  They absolutely loved it and want to go back again and again.  Maybe some day we will be in the pageant, but I think I will wait until the kids are a little bit older. 

I'm so glad we decided to head up to Palmyra to watch the pageant and see the sights.  I hope it is something the kids always remember, especially as it helped strengthen their testimonies.