The first site we visited was the Susquehanna River. While Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon, they came across passages about baptism. They prayed to know more about baptism in the church of Jesus Christ, and they were visited by the resurrected John the Baptist, who gave them the Aaronic Priesthood, or the power to baptize. This happened here, at this river.
Here is a picture of the men in our tour group singing "Called to Serve":
At some point as men age, they lose the ability to carry a tune. Unfortunately, this seems to have happened to some of the men in our group.
We made a brief stop in Harmony, Pennsylvania. It is here where Joseph Smith met his wife, Emma. After they married, they lived here for a short while.Their first child, whose name was either Alvin or Alva, was born here and died shortly thereafter.
We then headed up through the southern tier of New York state toward Fayette, where the Peter Whitmer farm is. The Whitmer family were friends of Oliver Cowdery, who was helping Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon. When they began to have trouble in Harmony, they relocated to Fayette, and stayed with the Whitmers, where they finished the Book of Mormon translation.
On April 6, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (then called the Church of Christ) was organized in the Whitmers' tiny home:
This is a recreation of what it looked like. It is in the same spot.
Fayette, New York, is also the last place I lived as a missionary, over six years ago.
This was the house where I lived with three other sisters, and a senior missionary couple. It is across the street from the Whitmer home.
Additionally, the Fayette ward meets in a building on the same property:
In many ways, it was like coming home.
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