Day 2- Joseph Smith's Birthplace

Wow what a day! We started the morning at the Boston Temple. It is a beautiful temple in a very special place. President Hinckley chose the location which is basically a solid hill of granite. Next to the temple is the church we attended for sacrament meeting. It is the ward the Mitt Romney was in when he was Governor of Massachusetts. It is always so fun and relaxing to visit another ward!
After sacrament meeting we went to the minute man museum. They were incredibly brave, God fearing men that were willing to sacrifice everything for what they believed in. The put their trust in God and He led and guided them.
This is a statue of the Minute man, "now a symbol for the National Guard" in Concord MA. This is where the "shot heard round the world" took place.
This is North Bridge. This is where the colonists fired their first shots against Britain soldiers as a show of arms that they were willing to fight for their freedom. It is crazy to me to think they stood about 20 feet apart and shot at each other! The British soldiers turned and ran and the colonists followed and fought the 18 miles all the way back to Boston. The two british soldiers that were shot at the bridge are buried there.
Next we travelled to Sharon Vermont the the place of Joseph Smith's birth. What an incredible place! Elder Joseph Wirthlin said when he visited this place that it is second in sacredness only to Jesus Christ's birthplace. It was a beautiful place and the spirit was very strong. The couple missionaries that did the tour were such great people!
This is the only piece of the home that Joseph was born in still left besides the hearth. It is the front step to their home. The home was tiny, 20x24 and Joseph was the 4th child for Joseph and Lucy.
Where the bench is and the tree is the actual location of the home Joseph was born in. When President Hinckley rededicated this place in 2005 he told the missionaries serving there that the entire property was surrounded by angels.

This monument was placed for the 100 year dedication of Joseph Smith's birth in 1905. It is an amazing story. The top shaft came from one big boulder. It is one piece of stone and weighs 40 ton. The part at the top is 38 1/2 feet tall to represent the Prophet's 38 1/2 years of life.