The Sacred Grove--Palmyra, New York





(Joseph Smith History, Chapter 1) At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God.  I at length came to the determination to "ask of God," concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.

 

   



So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt.

It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty.

  













It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my
 anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.



After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go,
having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began
to offer up the desires of my heart to God.







I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended
gradually until it fell upon me.  

  



When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all
description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name
and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

  





 



My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that
I might know which to join.  No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be
able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the
sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)--and
which I should join.

He forade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me. When I came
 to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.

.

When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home.

 




And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was.  I replied, "never mind,
 all is well--I am well enough off.  I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true."

 




This is the stream that young Joseph Smith crossed to enter the grove of trees behind his
cabin home.  The stream watered the Smith farm and originated at the Hill Cumorah
where the plates of gold were buried.  The Book of Mormon that Joseph would soon
translate would become the living waters of the Restoration.

 





Being in the Sacred Grove was a dream come true for me.  LeGrand and I also found
ourselves alone in that  most sacred place and had the Spirit witness to us that Joseph
truly did see the Father and the Son as he prayed that morning in 1820. 

 





Firehouse Ruin Part 2

On the north end of the ruin is a perfect refrigerated cave-ish room created by these huge sandstone rocks.  This is really quite a ruin.



I dragged LeGrand back to this ruin after my fun neighbor introduced it to me.  He patiently waited until the sun came out so I could take a few pictures.

The trail.



Nice easy little hike through a beautiful canyon bottom to these ruins. . .

The ruins weren't the only things on fire--LeGrand's feet were burning too.  He enjoyed his little nap on the rock while we waited for the sun to hit the roof of the ruins.  That man is so good to me! I was so excited to show him the canyon that I didn't think of the agony that might result from my enthusiasm.

Firehouse Ruin

What a beautiful day to hike!  Dana took me to this ruin on a cloudy, warm, and wonderful fall day.



The unusual layering of rock in the roof of this cave gives the appearance of fire in full sunlight.  When Dana and I got there in the cloudy morning, it looked like a normal cave.  We went on to another ruin, but when we returned on our way back out of the canyon in the afternoon, the sun was out, highlighting the colors in the roof.  I was so glad we got to see it both ways!



Grandpa's New Pet--Meet Rocky!




What's that hangin' in my tree?







Hey you!



<>



You talkin' to me?












Whatcha after?  Almonds!





Grab it.






Peel it.













Eat it and brush the crumbs away.





Then repeat a dozen times 6 x day.





Waddle home for a fat nap.



. . .and things you never knew about these two!

Notice the ring on Kaye's finger--the happily engaged couple looked and looked till they finally purchased the perfect ring.  Later, Daniel reminded Kaye that she helped him choose the same one for Brook years earlier.  And the great news is they both ladies still love the ring!




Kaye and Matt are currently reading The Hunger Games together.

 

More about Matt

 For inquiring minds:


Matt served in the Charlotte, North Carolina Mission.



Matt does the majority of the laundry.

Matt is a great racquetball player.  So is Kaye.

Matt and Kaye

 This is the first installment of a couple of blog posts devoted to the outrageously, deliriously, and hysterically happy new couple. Hope this helps you get to know Matt a little better.  He's a keeper!



Matt works part-time at UPS and is a fulltime student at USU, majoring in Human Movement Science (no he is not a ballerina) and minoring in Health Science.





Matt moved to Price as a 3rd Grader.  At Carbon High School he was an All-State Football selection at cornerback and wide receiver as well as a star on the Dino basketball team.



Kaye reports that Matt is sensitive and sweet with a HUGE heart!  He even loves Lilly, the little black doglet.



Matt has a beautiful tenor voice, maintains their family blog, and builds "woodish things" like a true carpenter.  He has his own tools and everything!  Kaye says he put together a lamp in like two seconds. . .