The Standard Works
Church History Photos

HILL CUMORAH AND MANCHESTER—PALMYRA AREA

The angel Moroni directed Joseph Smith to find the gold plates he had buried in this hill. (Hill is center right.)

Looking northward, this photograph shows the Hill Cumorah, in Manchester, New York. The hill appears in the lower right-hand corner of the photograph and runs slightly over halfway to the top of the photograph. The white monument visible on the north end of the hill honors the angel Moroni and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The Hill Cumorah is located about three miles (4.8 kilometers) southeast of the Sacred Grove. Near the top of the photograph is Palmyra, four miles distant. The Smith farm and the Sacred Grove are situated at the upper left side of the photograph.

Significant Events:
The family of the Prophet Joseph Smith lived in this area at the time of the First Vision (JS-H 1:3). In a.d. 421, Moroni buried a set of gold plates in the Hill Cumorah containing the sacred history of his people (W of M 1:1-11; Morm. 6:6; Moro. 10:1-2). This same Moroni told Joseph Smith where to find the plates—toward the north end of the hill, on the west side, near the top. Moroni delivered them to him in 1827 (D&C 27:5; 128:20; JS-H 1:33-35, 51-54, 59).