Charts in Whitmer Farm Visitors Center

"Dispensations" poster covers some of the periods of prophetic leadership in the history of the world. It compares Old and New Testament dates with Book of Mormon dates and shows some of the periods of time without prophets on the earth.
Church Organization as Christ established it. This chart shows the major structure and ordinances of Christ's church as recorded in the New Testament and in the writings of the early Christian writers prior to the Council of Nicea.
Church organization as Joseph Smith was directed to do it starting in 1830 and continuing through the Nauvoo period. The same structure and ordinances are clearly seen.
Church organization as it exists in 2009 under the current prophet, Thomas S. Monson. Note that the appearance of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper has changed but that the ordinance still uses the wording recorded by Moroni in the Book of Mormon. No wording for the prayers of the Sacrament was recorded in the New Testament, so it was good that Moroni was directed to include this information, which would have been used at the organizational meeting of the Church on April 6, 1830.

I apologize to blog searchers who have been looking for these charts and have been unable to find them. I am not an experienced blogger, being from a generation of dinosaurs. I did not realize that one posting would not hold all the gallery prints plus the charts. When that blog posting done in August registered "full," I stopped the project and forgot to go back and create a separate posting for charts. A kind phone call reminded me of the oversight. I hope this addition is helpful for those of you who want to use these in your teaching. The photos of the charts were tricky to do with their large surfaces, since we did not bring multiple flash units and tripods on our mission. If the light is not quite even, it was the best we could do under the conditions. These pictures were shot at night without building lights, so as to minimize bright spots from windows, track lighting and flashback caused by oil paints.

Art Gallery at Whimer Farm Visitors Center

From the Whitmer Home the Gospel of Jesus Christ has gone forth to the world in this last dispensation.William Whitaker, Professor of Art at Brigham Young University, was commissioned to do this series of paints for the first issue of the Ensign Magazine in 1970. The originals hang in the gallery of the visitors' center. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery are planning the organization meeting for the date the Lord set, April 6, 1830.
April 6, 1830, was a Tuesday. The meeting was set in the afternoon so people would have time to travel.
Attendance was between 50 and 60 people. The Prophet Joseph's father was there.
His sisters were there.
Martin Harris was there. He had made possible the publication of the Book of Mormon by mortgaging his land to guarantee payment on the cost of the publication.
Chairs were in short supply for this meeting. They may have been borrowed from neighbors.
Joseph Smith, Junior, conducted the meeting according to the plan the Lord had given him.
The meeting opened with prayer. It is uncertain whether the prayer was kneeling or sitting.
Participants then sustained Joseph as a Prophet, Seer and Revelator by the raise of hands. Common consent has been the rule of choosing leaders throughout history in Christ's church.
Joseph was ordained as First Elder, and then Oliver was ordained as Second Elder.
Now that the formal church was organized, it was possible to have the first blessing and passing of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in this dispensation.
The tokens of the Lord's Supper were passed to the congregation.
Business of the church was conducted, with ordinations, confirmations and blessings.

A testimony meeting was then held. The Prophet's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, bore powerful witness that God had called her son to lead the church in this day.
With an organized church again on the earth, many of those attending wished to be baptized now as members of God's church on the earth. Previous baptisms were done for the remission of sins. It is uncertain where the baptisms were done. Seneca Lake is a possible site.
Lucy Mack Smith prepares for her re-baptism. She said, "As I stood on the shore..." which might indicate Seneca Lake as the site. No one wrote down where baptisms were done.
Joseph's father, Joseph Smith, Senior, was baptized and confirmed on April 6, 1830.

Whitmer Farm Historical Pictures

Peter Whitmer Farm as a working farm in the early 1940s. House With Columns stands on the site of the present-day chapel. Site of the original Whitmer Cabin is behind the barns. Hay being dragged into those barns exposed the foundation stones to the old cabin, discovered by William Lee Powell in 1947.
House With Columns had a second wing (on the right) added to it for use as a Visitors' Center.
Diorama of the Organization of the Church which was displayed in the old Visitors' Center. Further research revealed that, although six men signed the legal documents, somewhere between 50 and 60 people were present for the organizational meeting on April 6, 1830.
House With Columns was moved so that the Fayette Ward Chapel could be built on its previous site. The Whitmer Cabin was built on the spot of its original foundations in time for the 150th anniversary of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This celebration was broadcast via satellite uplink on April 6, 1980, from the cabin and the chapel.
Peter Whitmer Log Home in winter. It was built with authentic logs from the 1820s. Unfortunately, the logs are beginning to show signs of rot, and the cabin is slated to be rebuilt with newer materials, possibly in 2010.
Living room of the Peter Whitmer Log Home. The furnishings are authentic to the 1820s, but none are original pieces belonging to the Peter Whitmer, Sr., family, since they sold their land and took their belongings with them to Ohio in 1831-32. This room is approximately 20 x 18 and served as the first LDS meetinghouse. The first three General Conferences were held here, as well as Sacrament Services on Sundays. The Whitmer family sacrificed a great deal for their beliefs and were extremely helpful and supportive to Joseph Smith and his family.

The west bedroom in the Peter Whitmer farmhouse where the Small Plates of Nephi were translated in 1829. Looking south.
Looking north in the translation room upstairs in the Whitmer Cabin.
Joseph Smith Frame Home as it appeared as a visitors center in about 1960. Missionary apartment shows behind this postcard picture.
Joseph Smith Frame Home as a Visitors' Center when Stafford Road ran in front of it.
Gathering Place on the Smith Farm property near the Sacred Grove.
Living Room of Joseph Smith Frame Home in the 1920s when the Willard and Rebecca Bean Family lived in the home.
Upstairs bedroom in Smith Frame Home, shown on tours as Joseph Smith's bedroom. The plaster and decorating is from a much later period than 1820s.
"Artifact Room" upstairs in Smith Frame Home where old furniture and belongings from earlier periods were displayed to visitors. This picture from about 1939.
Working barn on the Smith Farm property at the time the Willard and Rebecca Bean Family lived there.
Threshing barn from the 1820s, moved from the John Young property in Mendon in about 2000.
Porch and additions to the Smith Frame Home being removed during the renovation done in 2000.
The Hill Cumorah was an area of battles in former ages. These arrowheads were dug from the hill by Willard Bean's children, who grew up living on the Joseph Smith Farm and being caretakers for the Hill Cumorah after it was purchased in 1928.
Visitors' Center at the Hill Cumorah from about 1980 to 2000. Christus Statue shows in the window.
Angel Moroni Monument on the Hill Cumorah as it appears now.
First Visitors' Center at the Hill Cumorah, built in Mayan style.
Angel Moroni Monument at dedication in 1935.
Monument and hedge planted by Willard Bean before the trees on the hill grew to large size.
The Beans put up the billboard, sold lemonade at the Hill in the summer, and taught about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
Permission given by Pres. Heber J. Grant to purchase the Hill Cumorah in 1928.
North end of the Hill Cumorah was cleared for grazing as early as Joseph Smith's first visits to the Hill.
Grandin's Row as it appeared in 1850s. From this daugerrotype the restoration of the building was modeled.
Erie Canal-level back door of Grandin Building is now well below street level.
Grandin Building as it appeared as a Ben Franklin Variety Store in about 1920.
Rebecca Bean (taller of the ladies) and a friend behind the Grandin Building prior to its restoration. This back wall is now enclosed within the Visitors' Center and visitors walk through some of the back doors.
Book of Mormon Publication Site as it appeared in 1983 when the bookstore was first opened to the public. Significant restoration of the building has not occurred in this picture.
The corner with the Four Churches, a historic Palmyra landmark, as photographed from the roof of a building on the block with the Grandin Building.
LDS Chapel built in the 1960s. This has been donated to the Village of Palmyra for their city offices, with the tower removed.
Grange Hall, which stood in downtown Palmyra until the 1970s, was the first LDS meetinghouse when it was purchased with the Hill Cumorah in 1928. Building was demolished in about 1974.
Stage of the Palmyra Opera House where Willard Bean held his boxing exhibition when he first came to Palmyra in about 1915. His descendants walk on the stage in 2000 during a family reunion. Willard had been a national champion boxer and knocked out numerous contenders during his exhibition. The building below is a picture taken of the one-room cabin in Harmony (now Oakland) Pennsylvania where the major part of the Book of Mormon was translated. This building burned in 1919 and will be rebuilt with a Visitors' Center in 2009.