Miracles Happen

Miracles happen.

Miracles really do happen. I’m sure if you are reading this blog you already know that and believe it. But sometimes we tend to subconsciously modify that thought to be, “Miracles happen to other people.” Not so! Miracles happen to you.

Repeat that phrase again right out loud and pay attention to how you feel when you say it, “Miracles happen.”

Just saying it brings feelings of empowerment and strength into your heart. All of us know miracles happen, but in our day to day experiences we come up against something that our logic tells us is impossible to surmount and we give in to logic instead of clinging to the fact that miracles happen. I know they do. Again, if you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know that I have been the recipient of some major miracles. I’ve also been the beneficiary of hundreds of smaller miracles.

So my challenge to you is that at the first sign of discouragement, simply repeat to yourself out loud, “Miracles happen. Miracles happen. Miracles happen.” And then do all you can to make good of the situation, and wait expectantly for the miracle! It will happen.

Days Four and Five

We arrived home late last night. On day four we found the Sonnenberg Mansion in Canandaigua. This was a slightly different experience than the Church history sights, but wonderful. The Victorian mansion was the 41 room summer home of Mary Thompson whose husband founded what is now known as Citibank. The mansion was built in 1885-87 and was stunning. The house includes 52 acres of imaginative and delightful gardens. My favorite was the Japanese garden that had a Japanese Tea House with bridges and ponds and paths adorning it. My second favorite was the rock garden that consisted of a rock lined maze cut six feet down into the ground that twisted and turned and led into a few nooks. Everything was so magical and beautiful.

That night we attended the pageant again. It is amazing how much you miss if you only go once. There is too much to see! The first night the weather was quite cold, but the second night with jackets and blankets we were comfortable.
Yesterday morning we took Mother to Rochester because her plane left two hours before ours and then we did the “Turn left here. Oh, this looks like a good street. Maybe we should turn here. Go right now. . .” thing trying to find someplace to eat. Suddenly there was a sign telling us that the Susan B. Anthony home was on the next block. So we stopped and went through it. She is one of my heroes and I enjoyed seeing where she lived and the room in which she was arrested for voting. Especially fun was seeing the black silk dress displayed in her bedroom. Women in Utah who raised silk worms made the silk brocade fabric and gave it to Anthony as a gift for her 80th birthday and to thank her for her work to give women the right to vote. Anthony then had it made into this dress. I can’t remember for sure, but I think they said she wore the dress to Utah when she was on a lecture tour.

I am so grateful she hung in there despite all the persecution she encountered. So many rights that women enjoy today are because of Susan B. Anthony. I’ve always thought it interesting that she was born about 50 miles away from the spot of Joseph Smith’s first vision and just two months before it. The Lord send a lot of blessings in 1820!

Day Three in Palmyra

I'm sorry I couldn't post yesterday. The Internet connection in the motel went out. But we had an amazing day. Last night, with stars twinkling over head, we wrapped in blankets and watched as the Book of Mormon came to life. To begin the pageant, the entire cast of 700 people fill the stage in costumes and waving bright colored banners. Then the story unfolds. Sprays of water with bright lights shining into the mist make the Tree of Life vision come to life. Lehi and Nephi, along with their families, journey to the Promised Land in a life size ship, the huge billowing sail of the ship catching the wind until a terrible storm complete with rain rips it from it bearings. King Noah stabs a dissenter who falls ten feet to his death. Real fire consumes Abinadi, but the most spectacular part of the show is when Jesus Christ descends from high, amid the stars to gather the children in his arms and heal all who need healing.

I saw the pageant many years ago, but I had forgotten how spectacular it is. Before the show the cast members mingled with the crowd in full costume—spectacular costumes designed to be seen from hundreds of yards away. We took pictures and visited—found people who know people we know and had a great evening.

Earlier in the day we visited the Whitmer farm where Joseph did some of the translating and where the Church was organized. I study, even teach about these events every semester, but to actually be here and feel the sacredness of the places does something to one’s heart that I can’t put into words. All I can say is that Jesus Christ lives and is not only directing the Church, He is leading people to it.

Day Two in Palmyra

Yesterday we spent the morning in the Smith homes and the Sacred Grove again--this time with Patrea and her family. It was just as wonderful the second time. We spent the afternoon in the Grandin building where the first Book of Mormon was printed. The fact that a press the size of that one was in a small town like Palmyra is nothing short of miraculous. But what doesn’t often get mentioned is the long involved binding process. The folded signatures of each book had to be cut open. First each signature (a paper with 16 pages printed on it) was cut in half with a bone knife. Then the two halves were folded, stacked with other signatures and the edges planed off so the pages could open. Once the signatures were compiled, each book had to be hand sewn together! And each leather cover had to be glued to cover board and then to the book. Then each book, again by hand, had to have the gold lettering that formed the title embossed on the spine one letter at a time. It took years to get all 5,000 books finished. Again, it is amazing a bindery that could handle such a large printing order was even in such a small town. So many miracles!


Palmyra is in the Finger Lakes region of New York which is still small towns and breath-takingly beautiful. Rich green corn fields abound broken occasionally by brown fields of grain. Homes on large lots with sweeping green lawns surrounding them stretch on for miles. No one fences their yards. There is no sign of cement—no sidewalks, no curb and gutters—only nature at her comfortable best.

We are staying in Canandaigua which is about 20 minutes south of Palmyra at the northern tip of Canandaigua Lake. Last night we took a dinner cruise with Patrea and her family around the lake on a real paddle boat called the Canandaigua Lady. Fantastic food. Brilliant sunset. Beautiful clean water. Friendly, accommodating crew that even let me steer the boat for awhile. In short, an amazing evening. We invited two of the crew members to come to the pageant with us tonight. We’ll see if they show up!

Joseph Smith's Boyhood Homes

It is amazing what a good night’s sleep will do for a person. As you might remember, I don’t sleep sitting up and all night on an airplane didn’t allow for much rest. But last night I slept like an angel. I’m ready to go. Our daughter and her husband from Washington, D.C. drove up to join us with their three children so we are in for a fun day.

Part of the excitement here is the back stage adventure we are having. There were a couple thousand families who tried out for the pageant. (They accept all participants as families.) And many of them who come stay behind the Hill Cumorah in Zion’s Camp, a camp ground with pavilion and bathrooms, and refrigeration facilities. They come in motor homes, trailers, pop-up tents, or tents. Some fly in and then rent a motor home here to stay in for the duration of the pageant. Some have been in the pageant before and have perfected camping. They set up their camp and then cover their entire camp with a huge blue plastic tarp to protect against the frequent rains.

The security is amazing. Everyone has to wear a badge. We visited and ate dinner with Laresa’s family and were given visitors’ badges. The organization and unity is astonishing, but again the thing that is most overwhelming is the feeling. The camaraderie and the love that fills the camp is beyond words. People come from all over the United States to be part of the 700 member cast and they are one big family! They take care of each other’s children. They share an evening, “Munch and Meet.” Yesterday everyone had been to Church before we got there and teenagers mingled in the pavilion still in their Church clothes while adults played games with little ones at picnic tables. What a sight! A camp ground with everyone in dresses and white shirts and ties.

Today we are taking in all the Church history sights with Patrea and her family. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow. I’m so glad we have an Internet connection at the hotel!

We Made It!

We were up all night on the red-eye special. Arrived in NY City at 5:45 a.m. Had a three hour layover and then flew to Rochester. By 1:30 p.m. we had seen Joseph Smith's frame home and the old log cabin. Then the highlight, we took a long meandering walk through the Sacred Grove. There were few people in the grove so we weren't pushed or hurried. We lingered in the dusky shadows soaking up the amazing feeling of peace and love. The grove is so dense that even though the sun is bright overhead, it feels like dusk except for the illuminated canopy of leaves that forms a mystical ceiling.

I'll write more about it later. I am so tired I can barely type. But I just wanted you all to know that we arrived and it is wonderful! There are a few places on earth that approach heaven and this is one of them!

I'm Off To Adventure

The next few days I may not be able to post. I’m on my way to Palmyra, NY, to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I am excited to see it because it is an amazing production, but also because my oldest daughter, Laresa, and her entire family are in it. I don’t know if I will have Internet access, but whenever I do I will keep you apprised of all the fun.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Tomorrow I’ll be in the Sacred Grove!

My wonderful photographer/husband is going with me, so I'll post pictures as soon as I can.