Greene Branch and Priesthood Restoration Site
August 13, 2017
We have had a very full and wonderful Sabbath day. We began our day by attending the Greene Branch that meets in a small, but very nice chapel in the Village of Greene about 20 minutes from the Knight farmhouse. We were very warmly welcomed by the members of the branch who pegged us immediately as the docents at the Knight home. We felt like celebrities because everyone in the branch loves having the historic Knight and Stowell homes in their branch boundaries, and the opportunity it affords them to bring people on tours here. Eric was asked to give the opening prayer in sacrament meeting, which he was more than happy to do. I went to Relief Society in the smallest Relief Society room I have ever seen, and there were exactly 15 sisters in the meeting, and two of us were visitors. I was asked to give the opening prayer in Relief Society, and the other sister that was visiting, also from Utah, was asked to give the closing prayer. After our block of meetings, Eric was asked to accompany one of the men from the branch to take the sacrament to a sister named Rita who lives in an assisted living place. While there, Eric and the other brother (we can't remember his name) also home taught Rita, with Eric presenting an impromptu message. Before they left, Eric felt prompted to ask Rita if she would like a blessing, which she readily accepted. Eric realized he didn't have his consecrated oil with him because we are driving a rental car, and his consecrated oil is in a flask on his personal key ring. Rita had some pure olive oil which Eric consecrated, and then he anointed Rita and the other brother sealed the anointing and gave the blessing. This was the first blessing this brother had ever given, and Eric taught him how he was to do it just before this brother administered the blessing. Rita has MS and is going in for a treatment on Thursday which is very painful for her. She was very appreciative of the blessing.
As soon as Eric returned from the visit with Rita, we took off for the Priesthood Restoration Site which is about a half hour away from here. It is located on the Pennsylvania side of the Susquehanna River. That area was known as Harmony back in Joseph and Emma's day, but it is now called Oakland. We have really been looking forward to going to the Priesthood Restoration Site because the directors of the site, Elder and Sister Abney, are members of our home ward, and they are on a two-year mission there, overseeing the site and the missionaries that serve there. Sister Abney saw us getting out of our car and ran out of the visitors' center/chapel to greet us with a huge hug and warm welcome. We then were given a VIP tour of the entire site by Elder and Sister Abney. It was wonderful to be with them. The spirit is so strong at this site and the grounds are incredibly beautiful. There is a walking path through the grove of trees where John the Baptist appeared and gave Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic priesthood. The Abneys referred to this as the "other sacred grove." We toured the Isaac and Elizabeth Hale home and also the home where Joseph and Emma lived while they were in that area. We also visited the graves of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, and the grave of the infant son of Joseph and Emma that died soon after he was born. This sad event coincided with the time period that Martin Harris had taken the 116 manuscript pages to Palmyra and subsequently lost them. What a tragic and overwhelmingly dark time for Joseph and Emma. We walked down to the Susquehanna River and saw the spot where Joseph and Oliver baptized one another after receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. When we returned to the visitors' center, the Abneys had their sister missionaries sing "This is The Christ" to us. They sang it in three-part harmony and with no accompaniment, and it was absolutely angelic sounding! Their beautiful voices brought the spirit so strongly and we were overcome with emotion and gratitude for their musical gift to us. Before we left, we sat down with the Abneys and had a wonderful visit catching up with them. They asked Eric if he would come speak to their missionaries on Friday morning and talk about some of the miracles he has seen while working in translation for the Church. It seems appropriate that Eric would share these experiences at the site where most of the Book of Mormon was translated.
We have had a very full and wonderful Sabbath day. We began our day by attending the Greene Branch that meets in a small, but very nice chapel in the Village of Greene about 20 minutes from the Knight farmhouse. We were very warmly welcomed by the members of the branch who pegged us immediately as the docents at the Knight home. We felt like celebrities because everyone in the branch loves having the historic Knight and Stowell homes in their branch boundaries, and the opportunity it affords them to bring people on tours here. Eric was asked to give the opening prayer in sacrament meeting, which he was more than happy to do. I went to Relief Society in the smallest Relief Society room I have ever seen, and there were exactly 15 sisters in the meeting, and two of us were visitors. I was asked to give the opening prayer in Relief Society, and the other sister that was visiting, also from Utah, was asked to give the closing prayer. After our block of meetings, Eric was asked to accompany one of the men from the branch to take the sacrament to a sister named Rita who lives in an assisted living place. While there, Eric and the other brother (we can't remember his name) also home taught Rita, with Eric presenting an impromptu message. Before they left, Eric felt prompted to ask Rita if she would like a blessing, which she readily accepted. Eric realized he didn't have his consecrated oil with him because we are driving a rental car, and his consecrated oil is in a flask on his personal key ring. Rita had some pure olive oil which Eric consecrated, and then he anointed Rita and the other brother sealed the anointing and gave the blessing. This was the first blessing this brother had ever given, and Eric taught him how he was to do it just before this brother administered the blessing. Rita has MS and is going in for a treatment on Thursday which is very painful for her. She was very appreciative of the blessing.
 |
| The Greene Branch Chapel. |
As soon as Eric returned from the visit with Rita, we took off for the Priesthood Restoration Site which is about a half hour away from here. It is located on the Pennsylvania side of the Susquehanna River. That area was known as Harmony back in Joseph and Emma's day, but it is now called Oakland. We have really been looking forward to going to the Priesthood Restoration Site because the directors of the site, Elder and Sister Abney, are members of our home ward, and they are on a two-year mission there, overseeing the site and the missionaries that serve there. Sister Abney saw us getting out of our car and ran out of the visitors' center/chapel to greet us with a huge hug and warm welcome. We then were given a VIP tour of the entire site by Elder and Sister Abney. It was wonderful to be with them. The spirit is so strong at this site and the grounds are incredibly beautiful. There is a walking path through the grove of trees where John the Baptist appeared and gave Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic priesthood. The Abneys referred to this as the "other sacred grove." We toured the Isaac and Elizabeth Hale home and also the home where Joseph and Emma lived while they were in that area. We also visited the graves of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, and the grave of the infant son of Joseph and Emma that died soon after he was born. This sad event coincided with the time period that Martin Harris had taken the 116 manuscript pages to Palmyra and subsequently lost them. What a tragic and overwhelmingly dark time for Joseph and Emma. We walked down to the Susquehanna River and saw the spot where Joseph and Oliver baptized one another after receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. When we returned to the visitors' center, the Abneys had their sister missionaries sing "This is The Christ" to us. They sang it in three-part harmony and with no accompaniment, and it was absolutely angelic sounding! Their beautiful voices brought the spirit so strongly and we were overcome with emotion and gratitude for their musical gift to us. Before we left, we sat down with the Abneys and had a wonderful visit catching up with them. They asked Eric if he would come speak to their missionaries on Friday morning and talk about some of the miracles he has seen while working in translation for the Church. It seems appropriate that Eric would share these experiences at the site where most of the Book of Mormon was translated.
 |
| Priesthood Restoration Site Chapel/Visitors' Center. |
 |
| A statue of the Savior in the visitors' center entry. |
 |
| A close up of the statue. |
 |
| Peter, James, and John restoring the Melchizedek Priesthood to Joseph and Oliver. |
 |
| John the Baptist restoring the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph and Oliver. |
 |
| Our good friends Elder and Sister Abney -- Directors of the Priesthood Restoration Site. |
 |
 |
| Inside the Hale home where the translation of the Book of Mormon first took place when Emma was acting as scribe. The box weighs approximately what the actual plates would have weighed inside a box. They would have weighed around 40-65 pounds. Kathleen lifting the heavy box. |
 |
| Original monument which was erected in the 1960's depicting the restoration of the priesthood. Up until 2015, this was the only thing at this site besides the cemetery where Emma's parents and Joseph and Emma's infant son are buried. |
 |
| Another view of the Chapel/Visitors' Center. |
 |
 |
| Original headstone of the first baby that Joseph and Emma lost. It has been encased in a modern headstone to protect it. |
 |
| This is the other side of the infant son's headstone. |
 |
| The home where Joseph and Emma lived when Oliver Cowdery was scribe for the translation of the Book of Mormon. It is just a little ways down the lane from Emma's parent's home. This is where Eric's job all started. |
 |
| The grove of trees where John the Baptist appeared and restored the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph and Oliver. |
 |
| A statue depicting the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood |
 |
| A statue depicting the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood |
 |
| The sister missionaries who blessed us with their angelic voices |
 |
| This display depicts the beginning of the work that still continues today. |
 |
| The spot on the Susquehanna where Joseph and Oliver were baptized. |
 |
| Another view of the Susquehanna. |
 |
| Sunset next to the Knight home |
We went there eleven years ago. We saw the monument, foundation of the Hale home, a few graves and the river. The railroad prevented us from getting to the river, so we had to drive clear back to the bridge to see much. I want to go back!
ReplyDeleteI want to go for the first time. I hadn't stopped to think that Joseph's translation of the Book of Mormon was the beginning of Eric's job now. What a marvelous work and a wonder has come from that humble and difficult beginning. The Book of Mormon is now in dozens of languages and Joseph's name is had for good and ill around the world, just as prophesied. I did go in a bus along the Susquehanna once, traveling back to Washington, D.C., from visiting Palmyra and the Pageant at the Hill Cumorah. I thought then what a beautiful river it was. Looks like it still is--hallowed by the sacred events that happened there.
ReplyDeleteThe Priesthood Restoration Site is a beautiful, sacred spot. You both should visit it now that it is much more accessible and more to see there.
ReplyDelete