We have been leading this ultimate Church History tour for the past twenty-six years. If you have ever thought about going on a Church History tour, this might be your year and we would love to have you! We are leading this year’s tour October 2-16, 2017. It begins the day after General Conference. This is a life-changing experience. Here is a thorough look at what we do. Will you consider joining us? Places sell fast so decide right away. Pricing and contact information are located at the end of the article or you can call right now for information from Wendy at Morris Murdock Travel: 801-483-5285.
Monday, October 2
Fly to Boston today and enjoy an evening on your own in this picturesque city that gave birth to America.
We will watch someone muster for battle and actually fire a musket.
Tuesday, October 3—
Enjoy Boston. Walk parts of the Freedom Trail. See the Old North Church. We’ll gather today for a memorable lecture at Harvard Square in Cambridge that will ring in your ears throughout the trip. Enjoy! We’ll get a feeling for the American Revolution, and then let you have an enjoyable hour at Quincy Market for dinner where you’ll see the famous Faneuil Hall. Tonight you will love the Colonial Inn (built in 1716) once owned by Henry David Thoreau and begin to feel Joseph Smith’s New England Heritage.
Scenic view of the Old North Bridge in Concord Massachusetts where the shot heard ’round the world was fired!
Wednesday, October 4—
This morning we will relive the first moments of the Revolutionary War and see the place where the shot was fired that was “heard around the world.” We will travel the Battle Road, stopping at various points, and even see the place where the British captured Paul Revere. You will come to know Lexington and Concord and understand those events that brought about the independence of this great Nation, the birthplace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days. In the afternoon we will visit Louisa May Alcott’s home and see the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau and the Alcotts are buried. Tonight we will have a never-to-be-forgotten meal together at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury–the oldest operating Inn in the country, offering comfort and hospitality to travelers along the old Boston Post Road for over 300 years. Here we will see one of America’s most picturesque sites–New England’s most famous mill. Prepare yourselves for tomorrow’s journey deep into New England and the sight of Joseph Smith’s birthplace and childhood. We overnight again at the Colonial Inn.
Dairy Hill road leading to Joseph Smith’s birthplace in Sharon, Vermont.
Thursday, October 5—
Early this morning we leave for our trip to Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont and to Dairy Hill where we will experience strong feelings of the Spirit at the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph. The setting and beauty of this site are beyond imagination. During the day we will visit the towns of Sharon, Tunbridge, and, time permitting, Norwich and Lebanon. Here we will get a feel for the first twenty years of marriage of Lucy Mack and Joseph Smith Sr. This evening we stay in a lovely Best Western Plus in Rutland, Vermont. You love our catered meal here tonight!
Friday, October 6—
Leaving New England the scenery changes as we wind our way south and west to the fertile fields and lovely lands of Western New York. This will be a long travel day. We will see the countryside through which the Smiths passed as they moved to the village of Palmyra. We will enjoy stories of other early leaders of the Church–where they came from and how they came to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tonight we will stay at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa in Rochester, New York just off the Erie Canal (not too far from Palmyra) and ready ourselves for a spiritual feast tomorrow.
The Sacred Grove, Palmyra, New York.
Saturday, October 7—
We will arise early and be at the Sacred Grove by 8:30am. For many, this experience is the highlight of the whole trip. We will have our own quiet time in the Sacred Grove. Afterwards, enjoy some time on the Smith Farm, tour the newly restored Smith Farm House and tour the Smith Log Cabin (where the Angel Moroni visited the Prophet). We will also visit the Martin Harris Farm, the E.B. Grandin Printing Complex and the downtown village of Palmyra. Our little walk up the hill to the Swift Cemetery will touch you as we gather at the grave of Alvin Smith, beloved oldest brother of the Prophet. This afternoon we will have the opportunity of a session at the Palmyra Temple. Tonight we stay again at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa in Rochester, New York.
The Susquehanna River near where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were baptized.
Sunday, October 8—
This morning we head east and a little south to Seneca County where the Whitmers lived in the township of Fayette. Here the Church was legally organized on Tuesday, April 6, 1830 and nearly twenty revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants were received. This is also the place where Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer received their special witness of the plates. We will attend sacrament meeting at the Fayette Ward in one of the most beautiful chapels in all the Church. After lunch we head south about 100 miles to Harmony, Pennsylvania where we will see the restored birth home of Emma Hale, the restored cabin of Joseph and Emma (where a good part of the Book of Mormon was translated and fifteen revelations were received) and the recently restored Priesthood Restoration site. We will take a memorable walk to the “Sugar Bush” where John the Baptist restored the Aaronic Priesthood and then to the banks of the Susquehanna River where the first baptisms were performed in this dispensation. Tonight we stay at the DoubleTree Hotel in Binghamton, New York.
Monday, October 9—
Today we travel through some of the western regions of New York where we will review the missionary labors of Samuel Smith, Parley Pratt and his companions. The latter headed for Ohio where their great work would change the history of the Church because of the conversion of Sidney Rigdon. About midmorning we will stop in Corning at the glass factory (be careful at how much money you can spend in thirty minutes here). We arrive in Kirtland, Ohio in the late afternoon and tour the Newel K. Whitney Store and see some of the other Kirtland sites from the bus. Be prepared for a spiritual feast at the Whitney Store. We stay overnight at the Best Western Plus Lawnfield Inn & Suites in Mentor, Ohio. You will love this charming property.
The Kirtland Temple in fall is so very beautiful.
Tuesday, October 10—
Hot Breakfast is provided at the hotel before we tour the beautiful Kirtland Temple. We will talk about the events that we know happened here and share our feelings and testimonies. Here, in this Temple, the Lord Himself appeared, as did Moses, Elias, Elijah and numerous other angels. We will travel on to the John Johnson Farm where the vision of the three degrees of glory and fifteen other revelations were received. Here the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon were mobbed, beaten and the Prophet tarred and feathered. This afternoon we travel to the heart of the Ohio Amish Country for an old-fashioned home-style meal with them at the Dutch Valley Restaurant and a lovely driving tour of this incredibly beautiful Amish farmland. Our accommodations will be at the lovely Carlisle Inn in Walnut Creek, Ohio–a favorite property of the whole trip!
Wednesday, October 11—
Breakfast is provided prior to our biggest travel day as we will go all the way to St. Louis Missouri, the gateway to the west. We will follow a part of the Zion’s Camp March and discuss the significance and details of this incredible journey. You will have time to rest and we will watch a movie or two along the way and participate in a most unique and amazing talent show on the road! Tonight we will enjoy our own private Mississippi River Boat Cruise with dinner and dancing and old time fun. Our hotel tonight is the Drury Plaza within walking distance of the world-famous Gateway Arch.
We actually walk on the original Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri.
Thursday, October 12—
After a deluxe quick start breakfast we will travel the 270 miles across Missouri to Independence, once the extreme western frontier of the United States. Here we will see the original temple lot, (time allowing) tour the Community of Christ (RLDS) temple, enjoy the LDS visitors center and see the Jackson County Courthouse. We will review all that happened in these areas then head north a short distance to the Liberty Jail where the Prophet and his companions were imprisoned through the cold months of the winter of 1838/1839. Here we will feel the Spirit as we read the revelations and hear the voices of the past. Tonight we stay at the Comfort Suites. Dinner is provided at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant next door–everybody’s favorite for down-home cookin’.
Friday, October 13—
Arise early to a continental breakfast and head for our morning devotional service at Adam-ondi-Ahman, about one hour north/east of Liberty. Here we will read accounts from journals of the past and recount the events that have taken place and will yet occur in this sacred place. Most people don’t know much about Adam-ondi-Ahman. This is often one of the most spiritual stops of the whole trip! We visit the Temple site at Far West, talk about the revelations received there, recount the heart rending stories of the Saints being driven from Missouri, then head east along the approximate path the Saints were driven. We will eat dinner in Mark Twain’s Hannibal, Missouri, before heading north to the fair city on the horseshoe bend of the Mississippi River–Nauvoo! We will stay at the Nauvoo Family Inn and Suites for the three remaining nights of our tour.
The Nauvoo Temple at sunrise is not to be missed.
Saturday, October 14—
This morning we arise early to attend a very memorable session in the Nauvoo Temple before breakfast. Then we will spend a glorious day touring the sites, hearing the stories of the past and getting a feeling for “the City of Joseph.” We will see the moving Relief Society gardens where thirteen monuments to women will touch your soul. We will tour Brigham Young’s home, the Printing Complex, the Blacksmith Shop, the Seventies Hall and as many other places as we can squeeze in. You may receive a Nauvoo brick and a prairie diamond as authentic souvenirs. This afternoon we dine at the old Hotel Nauvoo with their wonderful all-you-can-eat dinner (including catfish if you’re up to it). After dinner you can stay in the upper town or go back to the historic area of Nauvoo and see the entertaining musical production at the Cultural Hall on the flats.
There are 30 massive sunstones around the Nauvoo Temple.
Sunday, October 15—
On this Sabbath we will attend sacrament Meeting in the Nauvoo Ward, then tour more of Nauvoo. This afternoon we travel south and east to our final stop, the Carthage Jail. Here we will have one of the highlight experiences of the trip as we review the events of Carthage, talk about our feelings for Joseph and Hyrum, and end the tour with a testimony meeting.
Joseph and Hyrum Smith statues at the Carthage Jail.
Monday, October 16—
We have this morning free in Nauvoo after you come with us to the old Pioneer Cemetery where we visit many graves, including that of Lury Scovil, wife of Lucius. You’ll want to go to the Allyn House (if you haven’t been there already), pick up some homemade fudge at the Orson Spencer Pratt Fudge Factory, and get ready to go home. We leave Nauvoo at noon and stop for fast food lunch en route to St. Louis airport and our flight home this evening.
Tour Cost Per Person includes hotels, deluxe motor coach, entrance fees, taxes & gratuities, luggage handling, daily breakfast and dinner, and a riverboat dinner cruise.
Cash (check) prices:
Double Occupancy: $2,499.00
Triple Occupancy: $2,259.00
Quad Occupancy: $2,099.00
Single Occupancy: $3,699.00
(Please add $95 if you plan to use a credit card to pay)
Airfare is not included and may be booked with the group or secured on an individual basis (you are welcome to use frequent flyer miles).
Please call our agents at Morris Murdock Travel here:
Call Wendy at 801-483-5285.
A deposit of $250.00 per person is necessary to hold space. Payment arrangements can be made with final payment due 60 days prior to the tour. Cancellation insurance is available and is always recommended.