Priesthood Restoration Site
The Priesthood Restoration Site, located in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, welcomes visitors year-round. Joseph and Emma Hale Smith lived in this area from 1827 to 1830. Events associated with the translation of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood, and many of the early revelations received by Joseph Smith took place here. Visitors of the site can follow guided tours of reconstructed homes and landscape features. The site hosts:
- a visitors’ center and meetinghouse where a new 25-minute motion picture dramatization of the events in Harmony told through the eyes of Oliver Cowdery can be viewed. The movie was produced expressly for and will be unique to the Priesthood Restoration Site.
- the Aaronic Priesthood restoration area—the sugar maple grove where the visitation of John the Baptist occurred. In 1960 the Church placed a monument on the site commemorating the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. The monument was designed by Avard Fairbanks.
- a walking path that features sculptures by Avard Fairbanks depicting the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods
- the reconstructed home of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, Emma Smith’s parents
- the smaller reconstructed home that Joseph and Emma moved into after living with her parents (where most of the Book of Mormon was translated)
- the McKune cemetery (where Joseph and Emma buried their first child and where Emma’s parents are buried)
- the Susquehanna River (where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were baptized).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preserves places where significant Church history events occurred. The Church “identifies, preserves, and interprets places significant to the history of this dispensation. These places have been sanctified by God’s blessings upon His people and by faithful Latter-day Saints who have dedicated their lives to building up God’s kingdom. They bear witness to the Restoration and remind us of God’s blessings and the faith, commitment, and sacrifice of His people.[1]
