Church History Sites

            I have a deep yearning to travel to the historical sites of the beginning years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have not made the effort to do so for several reasons. The most important reason is that I live in Alaska and prefer not to leave the state during the beautiful summer months. A second reason is that I am hesitant to travel in the summer to the site locations due to the heat, humidity, and crowds of the summer months. I expect that the time will come when I am willing to make the sacrifices, but the time is not yet.

            I was, however, thrilled to see an article outlining the sites and giving much information for the willing traveler or the person just seeking information. In her article titled “The Coast-to-Coast guide of U.S. Church History and Restoration Sites,” Jannalee Sandau starts in Vermont with the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith and ends in San Diego, California, at the Mormon Battalion’s visitors center. In between the two coasts, she takes us to New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah.

            I have already visited numerous sites, but there are many that I still want to visit. I have visited most of the sites in Missouri and Utah and a few in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and California. My yearning is to travel to the sites in Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio as well as the sites in Wyoming. I will get to more of the sites “someday.” Meanwhile, I enjoy studying about them and miraculous events that took place at the various places along the trail.