Travels with Dad: Palmyra

For Father's day 2008 I wrote a fairly long piece for Dad about memories I have of our vacation trips with him as the ultimate boy scout. I will post several of those memories, hoping that others will add their versions of the same events, and flesh out the sketchy parts.

I’m sure that we would have been interested in visiting church history sites no matter where we had grown up, but living so close to Kirtland, and having our trips out west somewhat mirror the pioneers’ trek to Utah probably influenced those visits. All of these locations have been enhanced and refurbished by the church since the time when we first visited them, but the simplicity of the sites did not diminish their significance or impact for us. Even without a replicated Smith family farmhouse or visitor’s center, the Sacred Grove was sacred. It was not hard to imagine that the peaceful and pristine woods, with little more than a footpath to distinguish it from any other forest in the area, was much like it had been when Joseph Smith went there in the spring of 1820. Traveling from there to the Hill Cumorah put Joseph’s trips there in perspective. When I have read since then about the times that Joseph had to move the gold plates for their protection, and how he narrowly escaped capture along the roads of Palmyra, I can picture what it looked like from my recollections of our time there. My memories of the pageant begin with the opportunity we had to see and meet Elder Mark E. Peterson. I remember Dad pointing him out to us as he walked down the aisle between the folding chairs. He seemed so tall and distinguished, but yet approachable. It was my first close up look at an apostle, and I was duly impressed. At my age the pageant seemed epic and awe-inspiring, in its size, complexity and spirit. The climax, of course, was the coming of the Savior and his blessing of the children. Being in the audience almost made me one of them. I remember wondering afterwards who in the audience wasn’t a member of the church, because I couldn’t imagine anyone not knowing it was true after experiencing the spirit and emotion of the event.