Church History Tour Talk May 22 2016

Church History Tour  - March 31 to April 10, 2016 

The first real stop on our trip was Winter Quarters, Nebraska.  We actually stayed in Laramie the first night because we had made hotel reservations there so we could watch the boys play with the Jazz Band and Choir at the UW Jazz Festival.  But PHS cancelled the trip because the I 80 had been closed the day before because of nasty weather and the forecast didn’t look good.  We said a prayer for good weather and safety and we went anyway!  (Just a little foreshadowing of what the weather would be for the majority of our trip!)   

Back to Winter Quarters!  We really only planned to see the temple, spend the night then head onward early the next morning. But when we were in Laramie I saw a Facebook post from Shawn's cousin, who is serving a mission in Omaha Mission Office.  So I messaged her and we were able to meet her at the Winter Quarters Visitor Center. She introduced us to the sister missionaries there and they took us on a tour of the Pioneer Cemetery, the Temple Grounds and the displays at the visitor center. Winter Quarters was the headquarters of the church for a short time between 1846 & 1847.  Many of the saints that had made the trek to this point suffered from exposure, poor nutrition and bad sanitation and 100's died that winter. The cemetery is unmarked, no headstones.  But church leaders at the time kept such meticulous records they know exactly where every person was buried.  It was a beautiful peaceful place. Such a reminder of the sacrifice so many made for what they knew was true. 

The next stop on our trip was Genoa, Ohio a town in the Cleveland, OH mission where Shawn served twenty some odd years ago. We had 10 hours of driving to do that day which just happened to be the Saturday of General Conference.  So we were able to get a Internet connection and listened to General Conference while we traveled! I just love technology!! We made it to Genoa in time for the guys to watch the Priesthood session with Brother Kebker, the father of the family Shawn was able to baptized on his mission.  We were able to visit with their family learn all about the people in the mission since Shawn had left. 

The next day we traveled 7.5 hours to Susquehanna, Pennsylvania – formerly know as Harmony, PA. - home of the Priesthood Restoration Site Visitor center.  Once again we were blessed with the technology to be able to listen to General Conference as we traveled.  We made it to the Priesthood Restoration Site Visitor Center just before they were getting ready to close.  We were greeted by Brother and Sister Walker.  It was so fun to see them! Their mission as the Site directors spurred our decision to take this trip to Shawn's mission and the church Historical Sites.  We stayed at the Walkers house that night.  They shared some of their wonderful experiences with us.  The next day Bro and Sis Walker gave us a personal tour of the Priesthood restoration site.  How lucky were we! Other than the fact that cold weather was everywhere we went!  It actually snowed that night we made it to Susquehanna, something it hadn't done recently. So we woke up to snow on the ground.  I actually think it was a blessing in disguise.  The cold and snow gave us the opportunity to have private tours almost everywhere we went because no one wanted to go out in the cold, wintery weather!  Brother and Sister Walker took us to  Emma's parents home, where Joseph and Emma lived for a short time and where Joseph translated part of the Book of Mormon.  They also took us to the cabin where Joseph and Emma lived and where Joseph continued to translate the Book of Mormon with help from Emma and Oliver Cowdery acting as scribes. After we saw the homes and looked around the Visitors Center we were able to walk up the path to the wooded area where the Aaronic Priesthood was restored by John the Baptist to Joseph and Oliver. Once again it was so peaceful.  Then as we were leaving we were able to drive to the nearby Susquehanna river  and walk down to the place where Joseph and Oliver were baptized. Such an amazing experience to stand in that place and see the same river and mountain and probably even some of the trees that were there when Prophet Joseph was there. 

Next we headed to Palmyra, New York.  Once again the weather was a blessing to us.  There was actually a named winter storm(that tells you how bad it was) brewing all around us, but we seemed to miss it wherever we went.  We had a few stormy drives but when we made it to the places we wanted to visit the storms cleared.  As we neared Palmyra we left the interstate and were driving along the country road when we saw it, the Hill Cummorah covered in a blanket of snow. Really beautiful!  We went into the visitor center and they told us we could drive up to the monument on the hill.  Normally people walk up, but the cold weather convinced us to drive.  We were the only people on the hill.  It was easy to imagine a young man coming to that place because "a vision was opened to (his) mind that (he) could see the place where the plates were deposited," and "owing to the distinctness of the vision which (he) had had concerning it, (he) knew the place the instant that (he) arrived there." JSH 1:42, 50  What an amazing gift from our Heavenly Father for Joseph to be given this vision and led directly to the exact spot he would find the buried plates. It really was a miracle! 

The next day we visited the Grandin Building, the site of the 1st Publication of the Book of Mormon, the Smith Family Farm and the Sacred Grove.  At the Smith farm it was a bright, sunny day but the wind was cold and harsh!  So once again we had our own personal tour.  The missionaries at the visitor center told us that during the Summer months , especially during the Hill Cumorah Pageant, the can be hundreds of people there, so we were blessed to have chosen this specific time to see these sites. Our Senior missionary tour guide took us to the Smith's Log Home then the Frame Home that was built later and we saw the barn and cooper shop.  Then we were allowed to walk into the Sacred Grove on our own.  Like I said before the wind was pretty harsh but once we walked into the Sacred Grove we were protected from it.  We each took a separate path through the grove of trees giving us the opportunity to feel the spirit there for ourselves.  It was so quiet, I could hear the squirrels running through the trees. It brought to mind Joseph's recounting of his experience there. "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the Sun which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound.  When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son.Hear Him!" JSH 1 16-17 Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ came to Joseph in that grove of trees!  They were there and Joseph's prayer was answered and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ began! 

After Palmyra, we took a little detour from the church historical sites and  visited Niagara Falls. Then we traveled to Kirtland, Ohio. We were able to see the Newel K Whitney store and home and were able to go upstairs to the room where the brethren met for the School of the Prophets.  It was in this tiny room that Doctrine and Covenants Section 89, otherwise known as the Word of Wisdom, was presented in response to Emma's pleadings after trying unsuccessfully to clean the room when chewing tobacco had been spit all over the floor. The next day we visited the Kirtland Temple.  We were able to walk through the temple and see the place where the Savior appeared to Joseph and Oliver. Doctrine and Covenants 110:2-4 decribes this amazing event, "2 We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. 3 His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:  4 I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father."  Moses, Elias, and Elijah also appeared at this same time and place to restore the priesthood Keys of their dispensation.  At the end of our tour our tour guide invited us all to sing The Spirit of God.  He asked if anyone in our group could play the piano and a young woman volunteered. Then he asked for someone to lead the singing.  I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!  So I was able to lead the singing of The Spirit of God in the Kirtland Temple!  It was a special moment, imagining myself at the Kirtland Temple Dedication singing and leading this stirring hymn. 150  temples later, we all will have this opportunity in October when the Star Valley Temple is dedicated! 

After Kirtland we took another little detour from the Church Historical Sites and went to Chicago to see a Broadway show. Then we headed for Carthage, Illinois and Carthage Jail - the place where Joseph and  his brother Hyrum sealed their testimony of Jesus Christ with their blood.  Joseph and Hyrum had been captured and jailed before, but as they left their families this time, something was different.  William W. Phelps reported Joseph as saying, "“I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer’s morning: I have a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward all men: I shall die innocent.”“The Murder,” Times and Seasons, vol. 5, no. 13 (July 15, 1844), 585. & D&C 15:4 Doctrine and Covenants 135: 4-5 says that before the men lef,t Hyrum had been reading in the Book of Mormon and marked Ether 12:37, "If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father." The men then presented themselves at Carthage to answer charges of civil Disturbance.  As we toured the site, our missionary tour guide showed us the dark jail cell where the men were initially kept then he took us upstairs to the bedroom where the compassionate jailer took them to provide them some comfort, and where they were ultimately martyred.  It amazes me how anyone can question the validity of Joseph's claims.  Why would a 14 year old boy submit himself to so much ridicule if he hadn't actually seen what he had seen? Then to hold to that testimony as well as testifying of the truthfullness of all of the other amazing experiences he enjoyed while being constantly mocked and persecuted throughout the remainder of his life.  The Restored Gospel is true! 

During the Final stop of our trip we were able enjoy some of the blessings of the Restored Priesthood Keys as we all participated in ordinances in the Nauvoo Temple.  The boys were able to do Baptisms and Confirmations for the Dead while Shawn and I participated in an Endowment Session.  The Nauvoo temple is beautiful and its history, compelling. As we were travelling in the car we had been listening to a book written and recorded by John Bytheway titled, How Do I Know I Know (we kinda like John Bytheway's stuff in our family!). He quoted Elder John H Groberg when he responded to someone who was just leaving the temple that said, "Well, back to the real world.". Elder Groberg said, "I understand what you are feeling but actually it’s the other way around. You are not leaving the temple and going back to the real world your are leaving the real world, the temple, and going back to the unreal or temporary world... that which is done in the temple lasts forever..therefore, the temple is the real world..."  What a blessing we have been given by having the Temple so readily available to us!  

This trip was a wonderful  way to remember all those who sacrificed so much so that we can have the gospel so easily today.  It is way too easy for us to take for granted the convenience of the closeness and comfort of the beautiful temples and buildings we meet in; the amazing technology that allows us to hear the prophet live in general conference no matter where we are (and to be able to communicate with our missionary children weekly); and all of the scriptures and the Gospel library that are available at our fingertips in printed as well as digital form.  I am so thankful for those who went before preparing the way for us .