Miracle in the Cooper Shop

Yesterday cloud cover kept Palmyra at a perfect temperature and the threatened rain never occurred. We spent the morning driving over to Seneca Falls to visit a delightful Mennonite Store, Sauders Store, that sells all kinds of fresh produce, cheeses, pastries, jams and mixes for soups, dips, cakes and everything else you can imagine. We stocked up on goods to keep us through the week , made a quick lunch out of what we bought, and then drove to work.

Our afternoon shift began at 1:30 with a devotional and at 2:00 we were in the north-east loop of the Sacred Grove. Since that is the farthest out part of the mile and one-half trail not as many people roam there so the main sounds come from singing birds and rumbling insects. Every hour we change posts and that means that yesterday we got to be stationed at the cooper shop and the threshing barn, my favorite posts, where I get to tell the story of how Joseph Smith hid the gold plates under the floor boards of the cooper shop. Shortly after he hid them he received the impression that he should move them. He obeyed and put them in the loft of the cooper shop under some stalks. When a mob came seeking the gold, they demolished the floor of the cooper shop, never found the plates, and went away angry. The entire time the plates were just over their heads in the loft, but they never found them.

Over 1300 people came through the Farm yesterday some to experience it and some to say they had been here. It is very interesting to see the difference.