A day in the Countryside with Friends (Harmony, PA and Colesville, NY)

One thing that has made moving across the country a little easier is that my parents, especially my mom, have visited a lot (not to mention that my sister moved here a couple of years after I did!) My mom came out to Philly in May to attend our brother-in-law, David's, graduation ceremonies from University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mom, aka Minnie, stayed a week with Bethany and David's family, and then moved in with us for a little over a week once David's parents arrived. It was really great to see Mom and to enjoy some time together. She is an awesome lady!

One of the things that we had planned while she was here was a trip to some LDS Church History Sites up North. I had planned to go with a friend from the ward - the Bishop's wife - last Fall, but we had to cancel at the last minute and decided to reschedule for May since that is when the Aaronic Priesthood was restored in Harmony, PA. In the LDS Church we believe that the original priesthood was lost for many, many years, and that Joseph Smith was the first recipient of the original priesthood again in our time - hence, we call it a restoration of the priesthood since we believe it is the same priesthood that Jesus established on the earth. This is a special place and time that we celebrate, so it was exciting to be able to go and see the actual location where this happened and where Joseph Smith established his first home with his wife.

Gigi in front of the monument commemorating the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood - given on the banks of the Susquehanna River by John the Baptist to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The Aaronic Priesthood allowed Joseph and Oliver to baptize each other in the same way that John the Baptist had baptized in the ancient church.

Lainie, my friend, was awesome and drove us all the way in her very comfortable Suburban. We had Gigi in the back with her friend, Jackie - Lainie's daughter - then Mom and Eli - Lainie's 3 yr old son - in the middle bench, and me and Lainie in the front. Eli and Mom got along so well that he sought her out at Church that Sunday and called her Grandma I do believe. Gigi and Jackie just had a ball being silly and singing, etc., and Lainie and I and Mom enjoyed chatting for hours and getting to know each other better than you can just seeing each other for a few minutes at church functions. The day was beautiful and the ride was delightful. We had another car following us with Brother and Sister Blattman - senior missionaries and our Institute teachers - and they were with a couple of members from the city.

Jackie, Eli, and Gigi standing on the remaining foundation stones from Joseph and Emma Smith's original home near the Susquehanna River.

The Joseph and Emma Smith property is right next to a country cemetery where their first child, a baby boy, is buried, as well as Emma's parents who also lived on the property. Here are Lainie, Gigi, and my mom looking at Emma's parents' graves.

Here is the gravestone (reinforced later) of Joseph and Emma's baby boy. I can't imagine how hard it would have been to have had to leave behind your first child's grave as well as your parents' resting spot.

We had packed our lunches and we ate them there at the commemoration site. There was a man and a woman there eating lunch with their small children. We started talking and found out that this guy was a student at the University of Illinois and that they are in my brother, Alex's, ward. What a small world! They were driving from IL to VT for an internship and happened to be there at the same time that we were. Some missionaries also stopped by while we were eating lunch and they and a man who was with them explained to us how to get behind the property and go down to the Susquehanna, closer to the spot where the event actually happened.

Driving on a very bumpy, occasionally muddy, dirt road made us very happy for Lainie's 4-wheel option on the Suburban! It wasn't QUITE as easy walking down to the river, as it was occasionally steep and often muddy of course - hello - bank of a river! However, it was beautiful! We could not have had better weather or a more gorgeous time of year to visit.

Mom, Gigi, and Eli starting down the path leading to the river.

Some of the forest foliage at the edge of the river.

The Susquehanna River really is beautiful!

After we saw everything there was to see at that location (Harmony, aka Oakland) we discussed our options, and decided to keep going North up to Colesville, NY, now known as Ninevah. Joseph Smith had friends there and it is where one of the first branches of the LDS Church was organized. We were headed up to the Joseph Knight, Sr., home. The Knight family were good friends to Joseph. It was a truly beautiful drive, but we were very grateful for GPS and the precise coordinates we'd been given by our previous Institute teacher - we barely found the farmhouse! It was funny that we were right in front of it, but the sign was facing the opposite direction and my mom luckily noticed it - practically in front of our faces!

The one-way sign...

The kids were fascinated by the well. Don't worry - it was safe with a very thick plexiglass shield over it - though they didn't have problems finding cracks through which they could throw rocks down it. One half of the building is the original, and the other half has been added on - but we could never agree on which was which. The house is not currently occupied as far as we could tell.

The front porch with commemorative plaque for the Colesville Branch of the LDS Church.

A great example of the beautiful farmland in this area. If you look, you can just barely see the river through the distant trees.

After enjoying the peaceful setting of Colesville, aka Ninevah, we had a lovely drive home chatting about what we'd seen. Seeing places that I had heard about for my entire life just reinforced the powerful feelings I had about Joseph Smith, the early LDS Saints, and my Church. It was the perfect day and I'm SO glad that I could share it with my mom, my awesome niece, Gigi, and my good friends.