Tag Archives: Restoration History

How an LDS Family Helped Restore the Joseph Smith Homestead, Heal a Town, and Safeguard Sacred Ground Introduction Sacred history does not only live in scriptures. It clings to soil, to timber, and to walls that once rang with laughter and weeping. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, the small village of Palmyra in upstate New York carries the spiritual weight of beginnings. It was here… Read more

The journey to Alvin Smith’s grave begins with a climb that feels both physical and symbolic. My son and I made our way up a steep hill in Palmyra, New York, toward a small cemetery that has been resting quietly for nearly two centuries. It is not much larger than a football field, yet the sense of history contained within its boundaries is immense. The hill rises above part of the town,… Read more