In September 2015, the Priesthood Restoration (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) site in Harmony, Pennsylvania was reopened to the public after major reconstruction. We toured the restoration site and created this video.
Priesthood Restoration Site
Located in what was historically known as Harmony, Pennsylvania, the site includes a visitors’ center and meetinghouse, the reconstructed homes of Joseph and Emma Smith and Isaac and Elizabeth Hale. In addition the woods where John the Baptist restored the priesthood, the baptismal site at the Susquehanna River, a trails system, and new statuary have been restored.
Priesthood Restoration – Hale Home
Joseph and Emma Smith moved to Harmony in December 1827 to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. They lived with Emma’s parents, Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, until they purchased a nearby home with 13½ acres from Emma’s brother Jesse.
Priesthood Restoration – Smith Home
In early April 1829, schoolteacher Oliver Cowdery came to meet Joseph and soon became his scribe. During the translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph and Oliver went into the woods and prayed for guidance on the subject of baptism. In reply, the resurrected John the Baptist visited them on May 15, 1829, and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood. He then commanded Joseph and Oliver to baptize each other in the nearby Susquehanna River.
Later, the two received authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood from apostles Peter, James, and John.
While in Harmony, Joseph received 15 divine revelations. These are included in the Doctrine and Covenants. Joseph and Emma Smith moved from Harmony in August 1830. The original home burned down in 1919 and is now reconstructed as part of the site. ~LDS.org
A nearby cemetery contains the Hales plots and Joseph and Emma Smith’s firstborn son. Restoration of the headstones embedded the old, nearly unreadable stones into one side of new granite ones.
