Palmyra

I am used to think about Utah like the place where Mormon culture flourished. Nevertheless, Joseph Smith, the first prophet in this dispensation never went there. In a very remote village 500 Kilometers northwest of Manhattan, a small town, Palmyra, starts taking its place in Mormon history by drawing enthusiastic attention over what is being done there.

 


Palmyra Downtown

A few minutes away from downtown Palmyra, in a place surrounded by fields and a few modern houses, there is a Log Cabin. This place which has being reconstructed to be as close as the original, was the home of the Smith family, composed of parents and eleven children. This is a two-story cute little house.

In the main room, there is a table setup with plates ready to serve dinner. Small windows and a fireplace with utensils that they used to cook are shown. There are two bedrooms in this first floor. It was on the second floor where the young Joseph saw the angel and conversed with him until morning.

Less than 300 meters away from the log cabin, a sign showed me that I arrived to the Sacred Grove. This is a very quiet place with thin wood trees and scarce vegetation. This is the place where Joseph had the first vision when he was only 14 years old.



On the top of a hill nearby, lies a beautiful new structure: The Palmyra Temple. The temple's architecture differs from the others I have seen in different ways. It is a small temple; light can go through it due to windows placed at the front and back of the structure. Inside, everything seems to be at hand. All the rooms and other temple areas are easily accessible and comfortable. The sealing rooms are beautiful; the celestial room is quiet. I could not get lost even if I wanted. I recognized that in spite of not being yet dedicated, the temple suggested me a strong spirituality and meditation.







It only takes a short ride to get to the green Cumorah hill. There is a Moroni statue on the top of the hill and the area around it is protected, nobody can get in.




Palmyra holds so many LDS gems in one place! (and just one guy?)


The Palmyra group... was I looking sharp or what? (I am not that little guy with the Superman shirt:)

2000-April-01