As we drove past Hill Cumorah on our way to church in Cortland NY on Sunday, I pondered this sleeping hill and the feelings that Joseph Smith was experiencing "this week, in 1827". On the 22nd of September in 1827 Joseph would finally receive the plates. But this week...the week before, he was unsure if he would be found ready. The Angel Moroni had visited with him, on this very hill, three different years and had denied him the plates. He no longer was a teenager, he had the support of his parents, and had taken Emma Hale as his wife. His older brother, Alvin, had passed away in 1823 counseling his younger brother, "I want you to be a good boy, and do everything that lies in your power to obtain the Record. Be faithful in receiving instruction, and in keeping every commandment that is given you." (Joseph learned by revelation years later that Alvin was an heir to the celestial kingdom. see D & C 137:1-6) Angels had given Joseph instructions each time Moroni had denied him the plates. Now the time had come again to meet with the angel, Moroni, and see if he passed the test of self-discipline and obedience. Let us all ponder the blessings that were about to be restored to the earth through this lad from Palmyra.
As a young boy, Joseph recognized the hill that Moroni had described to him. Near the top of the hill Joseph found a large stone, "thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner toward the edges". It was the lid of a stone box. Inside were the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate just as Moroni had described. His family was in poverty, he could become a wealthy man with the contents of this box. Three times he tried to remove the plates and received a "shock" each time he touched them. He shouted out loud, "Why can I not obtain this book"? Thus the tutoring began for the next several years.
So with all this pondering we arrived in Cortland for Sacrament Meeting. It was the children's Primary Program. The Theme was Families are Forever. The children sang and gave talks and just did a wonderful job. You can just picture a three year old holding her tongue trying to sing..another waving at her parents...another singing as loud as he could...another looking down shyly. They were just so cute as they performed for the audience. This is my favorite meeting of the year!
Then we were off to teach our Sunday School class. We had 8 young women and 2 young men in attendance and our lessons for this month are keeping divine commandments brings blessings every time! So we taught our lesson and I pondered Joseph Smith. Relief Society met next and our lesson was on the temple and temple marriage. The newest member of our Ward is Ahna. Her mother held her up for all of us to see as, Sr. Phillips, the teacher reminded us that we all came to earth with this sweet body like Ahna. Now we have the responsibility to train our minds and bodies to choose that which will bring us back to Our Heavenly Home. Ahna gave us all hope for a glorious future. We pray Ahna has a lovely, lovely life.
Then we all got together after for a "linger-longer" where we had lunch and a newly returned missionary from Brazil shared his mission experiences with us.
I saw our two young men in the luncheon and took pictures of them. The young women did not stay for the meeting after church.
Stephen Hyde is a Senior in High School this year. He is a tall, lanky 6'3" young man. He is just an awesome person and we are so thankful he is in our class. He helped me in my pondering of Joseph Smith today. This young man is obedient to the gospel and would be ready to translate the golden plates if they were given to his charge.
Jacob Moss is the oldest of 8 children. I believe he is a sophomore. He was assigned by his mother to make dessert for the linger longer today. He made two huge bowls of cake pudding with whipped cream. He too is obedient to the gospel and would be ready to translate the golden plates if they were given to his charge. There was not a drop of cake left in his fabulous dessert bowls by the end of the meeting.
Elder Bushman and I feel so blessed to get to know these young people. They are both such awesome young men and make their parents, and Their Heavenly Father, proud. We are humbled to be their Sunday School teachers.
We returned to Palmyra and went to another fireside meeting. Elder Emery Smith spoke on his heritage. Hyrum Smith, the elder brother of Joseph, was his great, great, great grandfather. He told us many family stories of his grandparents and read from their journals. He is blessed to be in the heritage he was born into and is humbled to be serving in this area at this time. We were blessed to have him speak to us. Thank you Elder Smith.
This morning as I left to go swimming at 5:45AM Elder Bushman reminded me the car had warned us of a low tire on our way to Cortland yesterday. So he went down with me and we checked the tires and sure enough the back right tire was flat! I believe we were blessed in our travels yesterday. What do you think? So as I write this Elder Bushman is out repairing the tire.
Since I couldn't swim, I walked on the treadmill and then swam in the spa! Oh yah....I am spoiled to live in the Inn...it is awesome to dip in the warm water and enjoy! I enjoyed my own water treatment center this AM.
Tomorrow we are to be at the temple for a 7:00 AM session, so no swimming until Wednesday for this aqua girl. I don't mind, being in The Lords House, as the sun rises, it is a great way to start any morning.
When Elder Bushman returned from fixing the car he asked me to walk in The Sacred Grove with him. The weather is great here in Palmyra and so we walked.
We pondered Joseph Smith's vision and enjoyed the peace we felt in these surroundings.
We are lunching with some of the missionaries at The Great Wall in Newark, NY. Elder Mayo served his first mission in China. Today is his wife's birthday. He held a surprise party for her. We filled a party room. Even the Mission President and his wife showed up. Sister Mayo came into the room and we shouted surprise! Then we all sang to her. She was in shock. It was a fun day just watching how excited her husband was to do this for her. This picture is before she arrived, Elder Mayo was so excited. On his shirt he is wearing his first mission tag that the writing is in Chinese.
President & Sister Francis, the Mission President, took time to party with the Mayo's.
The Missionaries filled all the tables and then some!
Sister Doralee Mayo was thanking her friend Penny for bringing her and surprising her. She is in the brown stripped sweater. Elder Mayo looks so pleased that she was surprised!
Elder Bushman had to take a picture of Sister Johnson and her plates of food. Elder Bushman and I are jealous of how much she can eat and burn off. We all enjoyed our birthday meal for Sister Mayo. Happy, Happy Birthday Sister Mayo. May you have many, many more!
All the well fed missionaries then are headed over to Home Evening at The Brighton's Basement. President Broadbent will be speaking on the history of this area again. We love his lectures.
The topic....time to move to Ohio
We were all waiting for the party to begin.
Elder Bushman took a picture of The Great Wall of China photo on the wall in the restaurant.
The topic....time to move to Ohio
"Three days later, the third conference of the Church convened in Fayette, and Joseph announced to the members the Lord's charge to leave their homes and gather in Ohio. In connection with the announcement, Joseph dictated another revelation that elaborated on the command to gather and promised members that, in Ohio, they would receive God’s “law & there you shall be endowed with power from on high” (see D&C 38:32).
Joseph Smith & Oliver Cowdery had The Lord appear to them in the Kirtland Ohio Temple.
Newel Knight later wrote that the members present were “instructed as a people, to begin the gathering of Israel, and a revelation was given to the Prophet on this subject.” Though some Church members balked at the commandment to abandon their homes and gather to a new place, after a night of fasting and prayer the young Church committed to obey the charge. Is any of this believable? The Saints believed and sold what they could and left behind the rest to follow Joseph The Prophet and to build The New Jerusalem.
If a Hebrew were asked to translate this blog could they do it? They would need to read from left to right instead of right to left. There are many different sounds in the Hebrew alphabet that are not in the English alphabet.
Joseph received a request to translate the Golden Plates. He accomplished this task. I will be pondering this all week. I believe Moroni took the plates back from Joseph when he had accomplished the translation of The Book of Mormon. I look forward to the day when, once again, our Prophet will be given the task of translating the sealed portion of the Golden Plates that were not translated by Joseph Smith.
"The Golden Plates lay hidden deep in the mountainside, until God found one faithful, in whom he could confide." Oh, the pages we have yet to read!
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