Travel Log Update

Well, our days on the East Coast are almost over, so we decided to squeeze in a few more outings while we had the chance. Our first outing took us a few hours north to the tiny town of Harmony, Pennsylvania. Harmony is the town where Emma Hale was born and raised, and where she and Joseph Smith Jr. met and fell in love some years later. After living with Joseph's family for a short time, Joseph and Emma then moved to Harmony to live with her family. While there, they lived in a small home, the foundation of which is still visible today. Several revelations were received in Harmony. John the Baptist also appeared to Joseph and Oliver Cowdery there and restored the Aaronic Priesthood. Here is a picture of us at the monument depicting John the Baptist restoring the priesthood.



While we were at the monument, the missionaries happened to see us and stopped by to say hello. They offered to take us down to the river and show us that exact location where the visit took place. They also showed us right where Joseph and Oliver were baptized. It was a very special place and the spirit was very strong. Here we are down at the Susquehanna River.



During the short time that Joseph and Emma lived in Harmony, Emma gave birth to her first baby, a son whom they named Alvin. Alvin died shortly after his birth and was buried close to their little log home. The area has since become a cemetery, also containing the tombstones of both of Emma's parents. Madison was particularly excited to visit baby Alvin's grave. A few weeks before the trip, I found her drawing a very peculiar picture. It was a picture of a big cherry tree. Below the tree was a square with a person inside of it. When I asked her what the drawing was, she told me it was the place where Joseph and Emma had buried their first little baby boy. I later asked her primary teacher if they had discussed this in class, which they hadn't. I thought it was very strange, but Maddi stuck to the story that little Alvin had been buried under a beautiful cherry tree. There was no cherry tree there when we arrived, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised to learn that a tree once stood nearby! Here we are at the tombstone.



Our second outing was actually a stopover on our way home from Minnesota. It too was a well-known church history site: Kirtland, Ohio. The Church has built a lovely Visitor's Center there, and created a little village, much like the town in Old Nauvoo. While there we watched the video and toured the little village. Here we are in front of the Gilbert/Whitney Store. Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared in the upstairs bedroom of the store to the men attending the School of the Prophets. It was a wonderful site to visit.



After touring the LDS Church sites, we went over to the Community of Christ Visitor's Center and toured the beautiful Kirtland Temple. Nick and I both wondered if our church still owned this temple if we could have been doing temple work inside of it instead of passing from room to room in a group walking tour. Here's me and the kids in front of the temple.



I think these two sites officially complete our Church History site seeing. We highly reccomend them to anyone who has yet to visit them.