Sacred Grove
Encyclopedia
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
took place in what is commonly referred to as The Sacred Grove. This Grove is a forested area near the border of western New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
near the home of Joseph Smith, Jr.. It is the location where Smith had his First Vision
First Vision
The First Vision refers to a vision that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received as a youth in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received a forgiveness of sins...
, an important theophany
Theophany
Theophany, from the Ancient Greek , meaning "appearance of God"), refers to the appearance of a deity to a human or other being, or to a divine disclosure....
in the movement's theology occurring in the Spring of the year 1820.
The exact location of the Sacred Grove is not known, but it would have been west of Smith's adolescent home on the border of the towns of Palmyra
Palmyra (town), New York
Palmyra is a town in Wayne County, New York, USA. The population was 7,672 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria....
and Manchester
Manchester (town), New York
Manchester is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 9,258 at the 2000 census. The town was named after one of its villages, which in turn was named after the original Manchester in Greater Manchester, England....
. 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
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
. The area has been purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who cares for the area and allows tourists
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
to visit. Latter Day Saints view the place as a sacred site.
First Vision
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First Vision
The First Vision refers to a vision that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received as a youth in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove. Smith described it as a personal theophany in which he received a forgiveness of sins...
. 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
Burned-over district
"Burned-over district" refers to the religious scene in western and central region of New York, in the early 19th century, where religious revivals and Pentecostal movements of the Second Great Awakening took place....
. 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
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
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 , 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 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This vision started Smith on a path toward becoming a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
, translating the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
from golden plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
, and re-establishing the Church of Christ.
Other Occurrences
The Sacred Grove is also suggested as a possible site where Joseph Smith, Jr. showed the golden platesGolden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
to Eight Witnesses
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who signed a statement stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith, Jr. said was his source material for the book...
in June 1829. Smith's mother
Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations. She was an important leader of the movement during...
said that the event took place at a location near the Smith log home "where the [Smith] family were in the habit of offering up their secret devotions to God" . The plates had been taken there by the angel Moroni
Moroni (prophet)
The Angel Moroni is an angel that Joseph Smith, Jr. said visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, which Latter Day Saints believe were the source material for the Book of Mormon, buried in a hill near...
, who had been guarding them since their translation .
Today
The Sacred Grove is often visited as part of the Smith Family FarmSmith Family Farm
The Smith Family Farm was the boyhood home of Joseph Smith, Jr., 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 Smiths' restored frame home and a reconstructed log home...
, a historical site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 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 Joseph Smith, Sr. and his wife Lucy Mack Smith, 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 location of Joseph's First Vision within the grove is unknown, and some historians believe the exact spot may have been cleared and used as farm land, meaning it is no longer in the area referred to as the Sacred Grove. The majority of the trees within the Sacred Grove are too young to have been present at the time of the Smith Family. 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 Smith Family log home was reconstructed, has been implemented to restore to grove to its 1820 size.
Other historic sites close to the Smith Farm are the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center, where Smith was given the records that he translated the Book of Mormon from, as well as the Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site, located at the E.B. Grandin Printing Shop in Palmyra.
External links
- A Map of the Sacred Grove and Surrounding Environment
- LDS Webpage for the Joseph Smith Farm Welcome Center
- Joseph Smith History
- The Sacred Grove at Parks and Places: scienceviews.com