Youth Conference

Thursday morning we arrived at the Stake Center at 4:00 a.m. to board charter buses and begin our 12 hour jaunt to Palmyra, New York. There were 109 youth and adult leaders aboard the two buses. We had devotionals and watched church videos during the 12 hour ride. Finally, at 5:00 p.m., we arrived at the KOA Campground in upper-state New York.

Just as we started setting up the camp, it started to thunder and shortly after that, we were soaked by rain. After dinner, we boarded the bus and went over to the Hill Cummorah Pageant. We were so stylish with our garbage bags (took everything but the rain poncho). Despite the pouring rain, it was an impressive production. It rained (poured) all night long. We found out that our tents are not completely waterproof and most everything that we had was wet by Friday morning. The sun finally broke through the clouds as we were taking down our tents. We ate breakfast and then had our morning devotional under the shelter. Our next stop on the tour was The Hill Cummorah. We were able to go through the Visitor's Center and then we climbed to the top of the Hill Cummorah. It was quite a steep trail, but well worth it. The Angel Moroni monument. Half of our group on top of the Hill Cummorah. A few of our ward young women at the Visitor's Center. T The Grandin Print Shop. Where the first Book of Mormon was printed. It was quite a tedious project in 1829. Nellysa at the Smith Farm with the Palmyra Temple in the background. The home where Joseph Smith was raised. There were 11 people that lived in this small home. The staircase that lead up to the kids bedrooms (1 small room, and 1 smaller room).

The workshop where the Smith family crafted barrels.

The dining room in the "newer" Smith home .

Bedroom with spinning wheel.

Inside the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith knelt to pray in order to find out which church he should join.

Testimony meeting in the Sacred Grove.

After the testimony meeting, we boarded the bus and started our trip home. We rode all night and arrived home 12 hours later. We finished the youth conference with a youth dance Saturday evening. I think everybody enjoyed the trip.