This year Abbey and I had the great opportunity to be the "Ma & Pa" for a group of youth to go with them to Youth Conference to Palmyra NY. It is great to have adopted 9 kids into our 'family' during this trip. We added two additional kids during our trip, making total of 11. From the beginning, we didn't know much of them, but by the end of the 2-day youth conference, the kids and us bonded like a family!
During this trip we had 6 hr bus ride, visited the Sacred Grove, Smith Family farm, Palmyra Temple, Grandin Building, and Hill Cumorah. We made a lot of memories, friendships, bonded, and testimonies strengthened. During testimony Elena, Alexa, and Lubna game some very powerful testimonies. As we arrive back at the Stake Center, the kids all wrote on two Book of Mormons that we gave to Lubna and Alexa.
Clayton was with another family and they had a lot of fun too. There are some photos of him with his 'family'. From the words of Clayton:
My first youth conference with the Seneca Stake was one of the best experiences I have ever had. During this conference, I was able to visit the Sacred Grove, the first printing press for the Book of Mormon, the Hill Cumorah, the Smith farm, and also the Sacred Grove Temple. At around 5 am on Friday morning, mom dad and I arrived at the Seneca Stake center with our luggages meant for two days. After signing in, mom and dad went to find their assigned ‘families’ which were essentially a group of youth whom they would be staying with for the duration of the trip.
I was assigned to Brother Hurt’s family, and coincidentally ended up being in a family with familiar faces; Davis, Maddy and Leah. Our family was scheduled to go to the Sacred Grove Temple first, so we were instructed to change into our Sunday bests before boarding the buses. (Each family was assigned to different locations and would rotate to and from to make sure there were not too many people at the same place. I was in a different rotation than mom and dad… fortunately.)
After the grueling long 6 hour drive to the Sacred Grove Temple, I was able to perform 5 baptisms for the dead, since they had many people there to help. It was quite special and holy to experience a baptism of such close proximity to where Joseph Smith had restored the Church. In addition, the temple workers also mentioned the design of an untinted window in the main lobby, which, in the distance, provided a clear view of Joseph Smith’s first home and also the Sacred Grove. It was the only LDS temple in the world to have an untinted window.
Something else that I learned was that brother and sister Hurt had been at the dedication of the temple, and they had witnessed a blessing when President Hinkley came to dedicate the temple. Before he had arrived, the sky had been cloudy and it seemed like it was going to rain. However, when the apostle arrived, the clouds cleared and the weather was perfect all throughout the dedication. It was super special to be able to experience this one of a kind temple.
Our next stop was Joseph Smith’s first home. As we walked there (as it was a short walk) I also got to meet Ethan, one of the family members and learned about his western film that he had been helping his cousins with, out in the midwest. At the visitor center for the Smith Farm, there were original relics on the wall which were tools that Joseph had used so many years ago. We toured the farm and the guides showed us where Joseph would hide the gold plates from the mob who wanted to take them for profit. The guides told us a story about how Joseph hid the golden plates in the upper loft of a small shed, practically in plain sight, and through God's miracles was able to stay hidden from the meticulous searchings of the mob.
After our tour concluded, we took the bus to the first printing press of the Book of Mormon. We learned about the long and arduous process of creating the book; the precise lettering, conditioning of the leather, gluing process, all down to the assembly where it would be distributed. There, one of the first printed Books of Mormon are preserved, along with several original paintings which I recognized in pictures within the Book of Mormon for children. This was our last stop for the day, so we then headed to the campgrounds at Seneca Lake Camp and set up in our cabins. The night went fairly well, and dinner was some pretty good plated tacos. I played the games they had; gaga ball, grass volleyball and ultimate frisbee but abstained from the mini stake dance that was at the end of the night.
On Saturday morning, we had pancakes and sausage for breakfast. When the cabins were cleaned and everyone was ready to go, my ‘family’ took the bus to the Hill Cumorah, where Joseph Smith had met with the angel Moroni to receive the plates. We took a hike which led us to the top of the hill where a great statue stood, of which Joseph Smith and his latter day witnesses were engraved. From the Hill Cumorah, we then went to our last location, the Sacred Grove.
The Sacred Grove was a truly amazing experience. With absolute reverence, I was able to ponder about Joseph Smith and his significance to me as a member of the Church, and my position here on earth. Brother Hurt allowed us around 15-20 minutes to find a quiet place to sit, and we were able to feel the peace and overwhelming spirit which radiated from the grove. Rays of light gently squeezed between the tree leaves, illuminating patches of the ground here and there. It was inspiring to know that we were so close to where Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to restore the church. We then were on our way (to be added later)
Our adopted kids from left to right:
Sadie, Elena, Katie, Lubna, Alexa, Abbey, Da, Victoria, Aspyn, Zoie, Ben, Benten, Everett
