Day 9 The Sacred Grove, Palmyra, Hill Cumorah and the mysterious trash bag stalker!

Today was a VERY full day. We started the day by walking the temple grounds at Palmyra. What a beautiful setting and place for a temple. It was very peaceful and nice to walk around and enjoy the grounds.

Then we headed to Smith homes and toured the homes where Joseph Smith lived and had so many amazing experiences. He was visited by angel's here and that makes these places very sacred and special to me. I didn't know that Alvin (Joseph's older brother) had begun building the large frame home in preparation for his family. I didn't know he was engaged when he died. That makes his passing that much sadder to me.

Me and the gang in front of the Smith Frame Home

From the homes we headed over to the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith first prayed and received a visit from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Sacred Grove to me is like a temple. Its so quiet and an instant hush falls over people as they enter. I could just sit in there all day long and enjoy the peace and quiet and the beautiful surroundings. We started with a short devotional in a small amphitheater in the grove and Emma, one of the "young ones" sang a song that she wrote about Joseph Smith accompanying herself on the guitar. It was beautiful. We then had free time in the grove. I brought my Ipod and found a bench to lay on while listening to songs of the restoration. It was awesome to just lay there and listen to the story of the restoration in song while looking up at the sun's rays peering through the canopy of leaves above. Time was up too soon and we gathered again in the amphitheater. Nate (another young one) played Joseph Smith's First Prayer on the violin. It was AWESOME to hear that song there in the grove.

The Sacred Grove Emma Black playing her song in the grove

We visited the EB Grandin Press (where the Book of Mormon was first published) and then went up to Alvin Smith's grave. I love the Joseph Smith Movie on temple square and how Alvin is portrayed in that movie. It makes me think of how special the relationship between those brothers must have been. It was a special place for me and I enjoyed being there.

From here we went to the Hill Cumorah, went to dinner and then back to the hotel for a quick nap before the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
After dinner we started doing bell kicks in the parking lot. I'm the 4th from the right. Look at that air!

We arrived at the pageant with GREAT seats. We were front and center and it was perfect. We had lots of time to wander around and eat yummy food. The atmosphere at the pageants is always fun. Pretty soon it started to rain off and on and we were very unprepared. Some brought umbrellas but those had to be put down once the show started. We had reserved our seats with kitchen trash bags but those barely fit over my muscular physique and left no room to move. It was time to take drastic measures. There were trash cans all over the grounds and I noticed the trash bags would be just the right size for my body. The nice men emptying the trash cans wouldn't give me a bag since others had the same idea. I needed to be dry. I did NOT want to be wet for two hours watching the pageant. My friend Andrea knew someone who worked there and we looked all over for her but never found her. The pageant was about to begin. I noticed the "trash guys" were emptying the cans and putting in big fresh trash bags. So all I had to do was get to one of the "fresh" bags before someone soiled it with their trash. I watched them fill a can with a fresh bag and waited for them to move on. As soon as they did I raced to the can, ripped open the lid, took out the bag and shoved it under my shirt before anyone would notice. Andrea claims I was stalking the trash guys. I say I was just surviving. The bag fit perfectly and the small bag became a great hat to protect my head from getting wet.

The gang with friend Cara in the pageant Before I found the "good bag"

Me....dry as a bone in my trash bag.

Sure enough the pageant started and it began to pour. It poured the entire time. The pageant was good despite the fact that I was cold and wet...oh wait...I wasn't wet. It was comparable to the Mesa pageant. Well done but still pre-recorded and so on. The set was really amazing and it was fun to see the special effects.

We piled on the bus afterwards and went home to dry off. What a great night thanks to the trash guys!