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The New York and Pennsylvania AreaChurch History in the Fulness of Times, page 70.
Harmony is 130 miles
from Palmyra. Joseph Smith moved there in 1830 to escape
persecution in New York.
Susquehanna RiverSteve Mortensen, 2003
After their
baptism and ordination, as Joseph and Oliver "were returning
to the house, they overheard [Joseph's brother] Samuel
engaged in secret prayer. Joseph . . . spoke to Samuel upon
the subject [of baptism] and he went straightway to the
water with them and was baptized" (Lucy Mack Smith,
History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, ed.
Preston Nibley, [1945], 142).
Susquehanna RiverWelden Andersen, 1993
"Now, what do we hear
in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness!"
John the Baptist, followed later by Peter, James, and John,
came somewhere along the banks of the Susquehanna River
between Harmony and Colesville to restore the Aaronic and
Melchizedek priesthoods (see D&C 128:19).
Isaac Hale Home SiteSteve Mortensen, 2003
After Joseph Smith
received the gold plates, persecution "became so
intolerable" that Joseph and his wife, Emma, moved to
Harmony in December 1827 to live "at the house of my wife's
father" (Joseph Smith—History 1:19).
Joseph Smith HomeGeorge Edward Anderson, circa 1907Because Isaac Hale was not permitted to view the plates, Joseph and Emma were obliged to leave the Hale home. They purchased a home and a 13-acre parcel of land from Isaac. The center portion of this building was the Prophet's home.Joseph Smith's PropertyChurch History in the Fulness of Times, page 54.
In Harmony, Joseph and
Emma Smith resided with her parents until they purchased a
home with 13 1/2 acres of land from Emma's brother, Jesse
Hale, for two hundred dollars. It was a long narrow strip
that ran south to the Susquehanna River.
Susquehanna RiverGeorge Edward Anderson, circa 1907
John the Baptist
conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery, after which Joseph recounted that John the
Baptist "commanded us to go and be baptized. . . . I
baptized [Oliver Cowdery] first, and afterwards he
baptized me" (History of the Church, 1:39).
Susquehanna RiverVirtual Historian, 2004
Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery received the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood
along the banks of this river. The Lord stated: "Peter, and
James, and John . . . I have sent unto you, by whom I have
ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial
witnesses of my name, and bear the keys . . . of my kingdom,
and a dispensation . . . in the which I will gather together
in one all things" (D&C 27:12–13).
Susquehanna RiverJohn Telford, 2004
John the Baptist
conferred the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery on the banks of this river and said, "Upon
you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I
confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys
of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of
repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of
sins" (D&C 13:1).
Smith Home SiteSteve Mortensen, 2003
Due to persecution,
Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, moved to Harmony to live
with Emma's parents for a time. They soon had their own home
nearby. Due to a fire in 1919, today only the outlining
stones of the home remain.
Cemetery in HarmonySteve Mortensen, 2003
Joseph and Emma Smith
became parents of a son, Alvin, who died on June 15, 1828,
the same day he was born.
