We were just driving around today ,after going to Montpelier VT. I started seeing signs for “ Joseph Smith’s Memorial and birthplace “. I was thinking “ Wow, another Joseph Smith”, then a second later, it hit me. It was the same one. I forgot he was born in Sharon VT, about 20 minutes from us. We drove there just for fun. It wasn’t touristy, like I thought I’d be. In fact, we were the only car driving around. The area is so pretty, hate it being wasted on that scumbag. The church really put a lot of money into the landscape and area. (Of course, the whole area has naturally green grass anyway). We didn’t stop , just drove through ,to look. I thought there was going to be missionaries walking all over the place. No one was around at all, on foot,nor by driving. There was a pretty stone building, probably the visitors centre.
Maybe that’s good news. Years ago, there would probably be people walking around “ soaking in the atmosphere “ and at least one bus
Thought LDS people would be taking the kiddies here during Summer break

There's a granite obelisk, an information center of a few rooms, and a caretaker's apartment--senior missionaries, I'm sure. A pile of BoMs, free for the taking. Heroic statue and artwork, similar to any ward house. There were two other parties visiting when I was there, probably LDS. And a couple of girls, missionary sisters I' sure, doing some grounds work. A decent job, overall.

What's been out on the board is that Sharon is not too far from Hanover, NH & Dartmouth College, where Smith may have been in contact with some very imaginative thinkers.

Birthplace of Joseph Smith. World's largest granite shaft.

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's been out on the board is that Sharon is not
> too far from Hanover, NH & Dartmouth College,
> where Smith may have been in contact with some
> very imaginative thinkers.

One imaginative thinker who got to Joe was a fugitive from justice called Luman Walters (on the lam for making bogus money).

This rakish lad, fresh from studies under hypnotists in Europe, got palsy with Smith in Palmyra and taught him the wonders of gazing into stones.

This opened new horizons for an impoverished clan.

> This rakish lad, fresh from studies under
> hypnotists in Europe, got palsy with Smith in
> Palmyra and taught him the wonders of gazing into
> stones.

Seer stones are very old folk magic. It is likely this folk tradition was passed down to him.

An interesting study was done on early colonial homes in Tasmania a few years ago. Tasmania was colonized after the Enlightenment, mostly around the time when the 13 Colonies gained independence... Yet sure enough, the study found witch marks etc in some old Tasmanian houses, suggesting folk magic was alive and well in the 19th century.

Off-topic, but...

I took a six-week summer course at Dartmouth Medical School in 1984. No religious overtones, but that's a beautiful area.

Cheers.

Much nicer in the summer than in the long, dark winter!

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There's a granite obelisk, an information center
> of a few rooms, and a caretaker's
> apartment--senior missionaries, I'm sure. A pile
> of BoMs, free for the taking. Heroic statue and
> artwork, similar to any ward house. There were two
> other parties visiting when I was there, probably
> LDS. And a couple of girls, missionary sisters I'
> sure, doing some grounds work. A decent job,
> overall.
>
> What's been out on the board is that Sharon is not
> too far from Hanover, NH & Dartmouth College,
> where Smith may have been in contact with some
> very imaginative thinkers.

It is not far at all. I grew up in Hanover, NH and first attended the South Royalton ward which is located on the grounds of the Joseph Smith birthplace. I was baptized in that chapel when I turned 8. The church property straddles the border of Sharon and South Royalton. After the South Royalton ward split around 1980, the Hanover ward was formed and we first met in the local elementary school in Hanover (the Ray School if anyone is familiar). Initially the Hanover ward was part of the Montpelier, Vermont stake, but within a year or two they moved us to the Concord, NH stake. It took almost a decade for the church to buy property in the area and build us a chapel, in Lebanon, NH near the shore of Mascoma Lake. Even after the ward split, we still did a lot of activities at the church grounds at the JS Memorial. They used to have camp grounds down the hill behind the actual memorial, and we always had our father-son campout there. Right after I graduated high school I spent a couple of summers, and one winter, working as a caretaker at the site, so drove the route between there and Hanover on a daily basis.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2019 07:01AM by alsd.

New Hampshire or thereabouts? We should meet up sometime.

*Not to be confused with DesertRat.

I had a missionary when I was 20. I was one of the people who talked him into going. He went to the Boston mission and his first area was the place you are talking about. He was in the visitor's center. Boy, I had forgotten about that. I don't think much him at all anymore. I wrote him off. Mean old me. His zone leaders wrote me a letter about dumping him. They mimicked (I still have it) what I had written. I did see the guy once after he returned so I could get my letters back and I gave him his.

He went late on his mission--20. Wasn't I a nice person to talk him into going. The last time I talked to him while he was on his mission, he was miserable and wanted to come home. Mean old me told him if he came home, I wouldn't see him. Boy, I'm a bitch.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2019 10:45PM by cl2.

cl2 you were brainwashed just like most of us.

I was brainwashed and then put away wet.

Thanks for the report. I suppose this place is probably overshadowed by Hill Cumorah and the sites near there.

Whatever we think about Joseph Smith, he is still a notable and influential historical figure. I suppose if it helps put money into the local economy that is not a bad thing in itself.

I have never been to the area, but I bet there are museums celebrating the many artifacts that have been found from the BOM era, including the greatest battles ever fought in the history of the world.

I am assuming, perhaps a "Hill Cumorah" museum with swords, cimeters, arrows, shields, breastplates, and an urim and thummin or two.

Does anyone know where I can visit these museums that celebrate the BOM era? I am sure they're up there by Vermont and surrounding area. I am trying to plan an impromptu family vacation, and we really wanted to visit a BOM museum.

Do NOT miss the memorial park honoring the Tomb of The Two Million Unknown Nephites Camp Followers!

Man, I am talking unlimited goose bumps!

You can’t visit. All that stuff is in a secret cave guarded by an angel.

That stuff is a traveling exhibit. They move it from the Cumorah in upstate New York, to the Cumorah in Central America, and then to the city of Moroni in the Comoros Islands. If you hurry, you might catch up with it in Guatemala before it is off to the Indian Ocean.

I'm expecting LDS Inc to more heavily promote Church History tourism among Mormons and potential Mormons.
Itinerary: Sharon VT, Palmyra/Cumorah NY, Susquehanna PA, Kirtland OH, Nauvoo IL, Independence MO, Winter Quarters NE, Chimney Rock NE, Martin's Cove WY, Zion, er, SLC UT.

Service missionaries will be called to staff the RV parks built at these sites. Missionary outreach to the Winnebagoed. Mark my words. :)

Brother of Jerry is a visionary ~


in b 4 ~ Brother of Jerry gets a sweet "consulting" gig with LD$ inc ~


brb ~ buying stock in LD$ inc ~


wait ~


nevermind ~


can't buy stock in LD$ inc ~


anyway ~


Brother of Jerry is a visionary ~

When I first went there in 1979, there were more tourists. The church was getting a lot of converts in the area and many of them loved visiting the site. Nowadays, Vermont is almost devoid of Mormons and New Hampshire is also not doing well with Mormon population, though a little better than Vermont. The internet age destroyed the progress the Church had made in this area in the 70's and 80's.

There used to be a wading pool that attracted people. But for insurance reasons, they got rid of it sometime in the 80's.

I remember the predictions (sometimes called prophecies) of how tremendous the conversions were going to be in this area, of how strong the church would be. Nobody said anything when it dwindled instead. Some Mormons moved away to better economic areas, some died of old age, but most simply dropped out. Many went back to their Catholic or Protestant roots, and are seen at those churches today.

I was young, converted and excited when I moved to the state of Joseph Smith's birthplace as a very young adult. I thoroughly believed the talk about it becoming big and strong for Mormonism. I loved the Memorial, but now I loathe the very though of it. We threw all our pictures and postcards of it away. Along with all of our other Mormon stuff.

This is the area where I served out my two year sentence. One day a week, while in two places in Vermont, we took a turn giving tours at the memorial. It is a peaceful place and we always enjoyed getting a reprieve from door knocking. The wading pond was a reflection pool for the granite spire. Most of the visitors were mormons on vacation. The senior missionaries lived on site too. Summers there are beautiful, Winters are bleak.

Somewhere, I still have some pictures of those days from long ago. The best part of being there was a neighbor girl named Cindy who would wander over frequently. She had a crush on the missionaries and was always trying to land one. She was cute.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2019 12:48PM by sunbeep.

I'm trying to remember, but I was talking to someone who had lived up in that part of Vermont for several years. Somehow it came up that I had been Mormon or grew up in Utah, and she mentioned the JS birthplace marker. She really didn't know of much of a Mormon presence in that area otherwise.

Anyway, there are Mos in the state. During a trip up there, I stayed at a culinary resort outside Burlington and what do I see but a stake center across the street. I just can't get away ;).

I ain't sharin' Sharon.

Is that you, Ozzie?

I gave tours through the JS mememorial under Paul Dunn. One visitor tried to convince me that Joe had more than one wife. I set him straight... I was blind. The memorial is 33 plus ft high, this guy had the nuts to tell me each foot stood for each wife he had taken.
The joke was on me

> The joke was on me


Did you laugh?

Now THAT was a REAL REVELATION!

:)

I have always loved the idea of the memorial being "the world's largest polished shaft"!

Innuendo gets us all in the end ;-)

Tom in Paris



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2019 03:36AM by Soft Machine.

Prize for longest thread that deviated away from Mo'ism? And I was entertained! :-)

P.S. A local farm here in SoCal was started by an 1800's sea captain and it's nowhere near the ocean. Maybe some sea-faring guys just reeeeally want to get away from the water when they're home! :-)

Did the SoCal sea captain/sea merchant leave his wife alone in a house he built, while he was gone for extended periods of time?

Thank you. Note that there are haunted places throughout California as well.

Lots of rich history there !

:)