an epic vacation pt 1

i am quite blessed to be a member of the harding family. growing up their were many vacations and opportunities to see world we live in. while living back east many years ago, we went up to this little town in new york where history was made. i do not remember it very much and am grateful to have this new trip to have seen it. terry is one amazing father and i am so lucky to have him.

we started the vacation out on wednesday flying from slc->jfk->rochester, long day of travel. meg took the red eye and her and terry met up with us (my two aunts and i) and we journeyed to palmyra. we walked around the ground of the smith family farm and toured their small cabin. i have always heard it was this tiny one room place but seeing it, i was astonished at how large it actually is (compared to what was in my mind). it was humbling to stand in their home and realize the history made there. the spirit was so strong and as the sister missionaries bore testimony, i knew without a doubt what they were saying was true. it was incredible to see the places where the things i testified of for 18 months took place. 

we ventured to the sacred grove and while inside a tremendous storm started. we were soaked within minutes even with the cover of trees. it was quite the experience. one i am so happy happened. later that day we went back to the grove after it had stopped raining. there is nothing better than being able to ponder the gospel and mortality in the sacred grove. 

it was awesome to tour the place where the book of mormon was first printed. the hardwood floors are original to the building as were some of the other things inside. it was neat to see that those things had held up after all these years.

the pageant was incredible. they had 10,000 thousand chairs set up and it was quite the production. the cast mingled with the audience before the production and it was fun to hear all the places people traveled from. what an amazing thing to see the book of mormon played out in a short amount of time.

we also got to do a session at the palmyra temple. it is the only temple in the world with a clear glass window. it overlooks the sacred grove and is an incredible view to see.