The Sacred Grove in New York and the Joseph Smith Farm Historic Site, on which the grove is located, will be restored to their historic early 19th-century appearance, the LDS Church's First Presidency announced Friday.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the wooded grove, located near the western New York village of Palmyra, is the place where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820 in answer to his prayerful pursuit of religious truths.The restoration project has begun, but all work will not be completed until the years 2000 or 2001. The project will include the construction of a visitors center, on which work will begin next spring and be completed in about a year. Also, it will include an authentic rebuilding of the Smith family log home, realignment and restoration of the road that ran through the property, restoration of a period garden and orchard, outbuildings and fencing.
A second stage of the project will include work on the existing frame home on the property, built by the Smiths before they moved to Ohio. Also included will be the restoration of a barn and cooper's shop, an apple orchard, farm fields, a stream bed and a marsh area. Visitor amenities will be provided.
The purpose of the project, church leaders say, is to inspire and strengthen Latter-day Saints and to help all visitors understand and appreciate Joseph Smith's divine calling and the church's organization in 1830.