Day 8 Harmony, the Susquehanna, and Fayette

Today we traveled down to Harmony, PA where Joseph Smith and Emma lived for quite some time. A lot of amazing things happened here. One of the first being that this is where Joseph Smith received the priesthood from John the Baptist. The church has a site just off the side of the road dedicated to the restoration of the priesthood. It was very cool to be there.

All of the priesthood holders gathered in front of the priesthood restoration monument.

In the cemetary near the site are the graves of Emma Smith's parents and one of Joseph and Emma's children who passed away as a baby. Everyone was gathered around the graves so I decided to back up and take a picture of the whole scene. Well as I was backing up, I backed right into a tombstone and fell flat on my back with my legs flipping into the air and over my head. I looked up quickly to see if anyone noticed and saw Micah turning away and trying not to laugh. We made eye contact and we chuckled about the whole event. Anyway, this is the picture I got right after I fell. If you click on the picture you can see a guy on the left next to the lady in pink with his back to me. This is Micah turned around after he saw me fall trying to keep from completely losing control with laughter.

What I wasn't prepared for was our walk down to the Susquehanna River. It was beautiful and so peaceful. This is the river where Joseph Smith was baptized after receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. We had a cool devotional on the banks of the Susquehanna River about the blessings of the priesthood. Then each person had the opportunity to share about the many blessings they've received through the priesthood. It was a very emotional time as each person shared countless ways that the priesthood has blessed their lives. I couldn't help but think of the many blessings Shannon and Lindy have received as well as the blessings I've received so that I could be comforted as well during times when their health was failing. Many people shared and I think it took more time than was planned but it was well worth it. The setting was so beautiful and peaceful and the Spirit was so strong...as we ended and had a prayer I didn't want to leave. I lagged behind, tried to dry my tears and just enjoyed the solace of the river flowing by. The Susquehanna will always hold a special place in my heart.

The banks of the Susquehanna

We left the Susquehanna and traveled to Fayette, NY where the church was restored. We toured the Peter Whitmer Farm and the visitors center there. It was very cool to be in the place where those first few members of the church went to participate in the very first meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ.

We had dinner at the "Dutchman" restaurant and then went to our hotel which was another favorite. We had a guys versus girls football game at the field in front of the hotel and also had some fun games going on in the pool including a cannon ball contest which I won. Well....kind of. I made it to the final 3. I was warming up for my final jump.....went running......and....SLIP....I slipped on the side of the pool and did a stunning back flop into the pool and was told I'm very lucky my head missed the edge. This one is going down in history. What a great day!!!!