The Sacred Grove

 The next several pictures are of the Sacred Grove.  It is a beautiful, quiet place.  You can really feel the Spirit in these woods.

 The day was quite overcast.  This is a fun picture of a shaft of light through the trees. 

 An old gnarly tree.  We found out the birch trees grow hollow at the top.  This looks like a birch tree from the description of the Sister that took us on tour.

 Another shot of the Sacred Grove.

This is Connie and me.  Connie is a non-member that came to see the Sacred Grove and the Palmyra sites, in order to learn more about the Church.  I was able to bear my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and that is not a far-fetched idea to have a 14 year old yearn for the Gospel in his life.  I explained that I had known several young men and young women that when they bear their testimonies, you know they are speaking from their hearts.  Just as I finished my testimony, the sun broke through the clouds and created a shaft of light into a clearing.  I had been tearing up the whole time I bore my testimony.  When the sun broke through, Connie said, 'this must have been a glimpse of what it was like for Joseph.'  For no other reason than this opportunity, I am grateful that we were in the Sacred Grove for that experience.