The Tangrens

Church History Sites

We went to Orchard Park, New York ( that's near Buffalo ) for New Years so we could spend it with my sister's family. My parents usually travel through Canada but since we never got Hyrum's birth certificate ( although I'm sure we ordered one ) we drove state side which takes longer and has much more lake affect snow. ( Sorry about that everyone ) But one of the bonuses is that you pass Kirtland, Ohio on the way. And in Orchard Park you are only an hour and a half from Palmyra. So we took advantage of both opportunities.

Derek spent a year and a half working for the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and learned just about everything there is to know about church history sites but had actually visited very few of them. We were excited to change some of that.


The day after New Years we headed to Palmyra. We stopped at the Hill Camorah first. They suggested that we go to the Palmyra sites before we took time in the visitors center at the Hill Camorah because the other sites were going to close an hour before they did. We turned to bundle the kids back out to the cars but one had wandered in to see the Christus and the rest had followed. We caught a quick picture of all the grandkids and were glad we did because we never got back with them.

We hurried off to the Smith family farm first. :)
There is something to be said about being there. Walking on the same paths, and being in the same air space where incredible things happened. There is a feeling. There is just a feeling that remains.
The frame home

It was cold but we trudged through the snow to the Sacred Grove as well. We couldn't miss this experience despite the cold and the snow.

Bundled Hyrum
From there we headed to the Grandin Printing press in downtown Palmyra. At this point Hyrum was beyond done but we enjoyed our visit anyway. But we didn't get many pictures.
Proof that we were there at least. :)

Derek wanted to go back to the Hill Camorah to get a picture of the Moroni statue at the top so we put Hyrum in one of the party vans ( aka my sisters mini van with a movie playing and cousins to talk to) and headed back. We tried to drive to the top of the hill but the road was blocked off. Me not being disuaded headed off across the bottom of the hill to get some video of the statue from the bottom. Derek, thinking that I headed to the top, started up the hill in the snow wind and cold. I got back to the visitors center and my dad said that he thought Derek was with me. I ran out into the darkness, retracing my steps screaming his name. But the swirling wind and increasing snow made any hope of him hearing me vanish. Meanwhile Derek had reached the peak and not finding me near the statue began to panic, and didn't even take a picture. When we finally reconnected he was mad at me for running off and I was mad at him for not taking a picture.

Then on the way home to Michigan we stopped at Kirtland. We began our visit at none other than the Kirtland temple which if you don't know charges $2 for a tour. We walked around in thier museum for awhile and Hyrum dressed up as a little pioneer ( isn't he adorable )
Then headed off to see the temple
After their very accurate but not really complete tour we headed to the church owned sites in Kirtland. They were about to close up in less than an hour but these wonderful missionaries stayed to give us the tour, that incidently didn't cost us anything. :)
Newel K Whitney Store (where the school of the prophets was held)
Newel K Whitney's house ( where Emma and Joseph lived upon arriving in Kirtland)

Both visits were way too quick and we promised ourselves that we would come back when the weather was nicer and when we could stay longer.