"Bees were humming, sweet birds singing,
Music ringing thru the grove,
When within the shady woodland
Joseph sought the God of love."
— Joseph Smith’s First Prayer (Hymn)1
While clearing trees one day, Joseph Smith Jr. discovered a quiet and secluded grove of trees, not far from the Smith family home.2 It was in this grove that, in the spring of 1820, the 14-year-old Joseph chose to pray and ask which church to join and where Joseph would see and speak with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.3
Though the Smith family moved from the farm in 1830, 10 acres of the woods still stand today.3 The dominant tree species in the woods are sugar maple, beech, basswood, ironwood, and hickory (though there are around 30 more species in and around the grove).4
William Avery Chapman, whom the Church bought the land from in 1907, said his father never cut down the trees in that spot because his boyhood friend Joseph had identified it as the place he had seen his vision.3 This area, now known as the Sacred Grove, is preserved and owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many people visit it each year to reflect on the importance of what occurred there.5
