The Sacred Grove is a forested area of western

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

near the home of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...

where the foundational event of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

took place. It is the location where Smith said he had his First Vision, a theophany, occurring in the spring of 1820. The exact location of the Sacred Grove is not known, but it would likely have been west of Smith's adolescent home on the border of the towns of

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. This area was being cleared at the time for farming by the Smith family, who were also using the trees to harvest

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tr ...

. The area has been purchased by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), which cares for the area and allows tourists to visit. Latter Day Saints view the place as a

sacred site Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bless ...

First Vision

The Sacred Grove's historical significance is as the location of Smith's First Vision. In the early 19th century, the western New York area had "caught fire" so many times with intense revivalism that it later became known as the

burned-over district The term "burned-over district" refers to the western and central regions of New York State in the early 19th century, where religious revivals and the formation of new religious movements of the Second Great Awakening took place, to such a ...

. As an early adolescent, the revivalism both interested and confused Smith, and he became concerned "for the wellfare of my immortal Soul," which led him to study the scriptures . Believing that "there was no society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament" , and not knowing where to turn for forgiveness of his

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

s, he went to the woods near his home to pray . While praying, Smith said he saw a "pillar of light", and then "his mind was caught away" into a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

where two personages, identified as God the Father and Jesus Christ, told him his sins were forgiven and that all churches were false and corrupt (; ). This story has become a foundational element for the LDS Church and other organizations in the

. Adherents believe this vision started Smith on a path toward him becoming a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

, translating the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...

from

golden plates According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...

, and re-establishing the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

The Eight Witnesses

The Sacred Grove is also suggested as a possible site where Smith showed the golden plates to Eight Witnesses in June 1829. Smith's mother,

Lucy Mack Smith Lucy Mack Smith (July 8, 1775 – May 14, 1856) was the mother of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is noted for writing the memoir, '' Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many ...

, said the event took place at a location near the Smith log home "where the mithfamily were in the habit of offering up their secret devotions to God" . Followers believe the plates had been taken there by the

Angel Moroni The Angel Moroni () is an angel whom Joseph Smith reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith's ...

, who had buried them there after their abridgement 1,400 years earlier. ().

Today

The Sacred Grove is often visited as part of the

Smith Family Farm The Smith Family Farm was the boyhood home of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The farm—located in the townships of Palmyra, Wayne County and Manchester, Ontario County, New York—includes the Sacred Grove, the Smit ...

, a historical site of the LDS Church, located at 843 Stafford Road. The church operates a welcome center on the farm, which includes a replica of the log home built in 1818 by Smith's father, Joseph, Sr., as well as the original frame home built by the Smiths in 1825. Visitors to the area are able to walk through the grove on a series of interconnecting dirt trails. The majority of the trees within the Sacred Grove are too young to have been present at the time the Smith family lived there. Bob Parrot, a forestry specialist hired by the church to care for the grove, has identified only six trees in the grove that were alive in 1820; these trees are referred to as the "Witness Trees". The Sacred Grove Conservation Program, which was created after the nearby log home was reconstructed, has been implemented to restore the grove to its 1820 size. Other historic sites close to the Smith Farm are the

Hill Cumorah Cumorah (; also known as Mormon Hill,A. P. Kesler"Mormon Hill" ''Young Woman's Journal'', 9:73 (February 1898)."Thomas Cook History, 1930", in Dan Vogel ed. (2000). ''Early Mormon Documents'', vol. 3 (Salt Lake City: Signature Books ) pp. 243– ...

and its associated visitors' center, near where Smith said he was given the records that he translated the Book of Mormon from, as well as the

E. B. Grandin Egbert Bratt Grandin (March 30, 1806 – April 16, 1845) was a printer in Palmyra, New York, best known for publishing the first edition of the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the churches of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Grandin was ...

Printing Shop in Palmyra, where the initial printing of the Book of Mormon took place.

Commemorations

In 1920, the LDS Church held a commemoration in the grove to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the First Vision. At the 200th anniversary of the First Vision in 2020, a video recording of Church president

Russell M. Nelson Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nelson was a member of the LDS Church ...

reading " The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World" in the grove was released at the church's general conference.

Notes

References

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External links

A Map of the Sacred Grove and Surrounding Environment

LDS Webpage for the Joseph Smith Farm Welcome Center

Joseph Smith History

at Parks and Places: scienceviews.com {{LDSsites History of the Latter Day Saint movement Latter Day Saint movement in New York (state) Latter Day Saint terms Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Sacred groves Significant places in Mormonism Tourist attractions in Ontario County, New York Joseph Smith Christian holy places