Albany

I am ashamed to say it but for many years I was good buddies with a guy from Albany. For over two years we were part of the same online gaming guild and used to raid together. He was a local cop. I'm sorry to say I can't even remember his name. I would have loved to look him up. I am in his city and I really love it, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I headed off from Seneca Falls and had a choice to make. Do I go to Palmyra, the holy of the holies, for the Mormon faith or do do I go and check out several of the finger lakes which are popular local attractions. They are surrounded by corn fields and grapes on the vine. Beautiful rust red barns abound and the gorgeous homes that make up this region make it look like a postcard.

I may have mentioned it earlier but I went past some real Amish. The area is rife with religious institutions and groups. The Shakers were here. They got the name for the fervour with which they practiced their devotion and were an offshoot of the Quakers. In something totally and unplanned by me was the fact that I was 29 miles away from where the Latter Day Saints (LDS) faith, also known as the Mormons, was founded. Joseph Smith, at the age of fourteen, was visited by God, Jesus Christ and an Angel. At this time he was told to ignore all other Christian sects and found his own religion. He started what was then known as The Church of Christ. It went on to become The Church of Latter Day Saints, then The Church of God, then The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints and finally The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In doing he restored the priesthood that had been lost sometime after the twelve apostles.  

The story is a bit like Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. There is now an official version of events but there are four basic accounts that differ in various ways and another nine that also have minor points of difference. The other significant thing that happened here is that Joseph Smith dug up some gold plates that had writing on them in a language that has never been seen before or since, reformed Egyptian.

When the angel Moroni directed him to the plate's location he also gave Joseph the power to translate the plates. The original story goes that the plates came with a special set of spectacles called an Urim and Thummim that allowed them to be translated. However only in the last year or so has the LDS released an essay stating that he didn't need the glasses and that he used a seer stone that he had found at the bottom of a well. He placed the stone in his hat which he then covered his face with. When he blocked out all extraneous light the translation would appear to him on the inside of his hat. Thus we now have the Book of Mormom. 

So I was left with the choice go and visit this Mormon holy site or check out some natural beauty. I think I made the correct choice. While new religions absolutely fascinate me I'm not sure I would have benefited from exposure to its origins.

So here I am in Albany, the capital of New York. It has a happening vibe to it. I really like the feel. It has great buildings, a university in the heart of the city and a thriving bar culture. I don't know what it's like in winter but right now it looks like a lot of fun.

Its the Columbus Day long weekend here now so apparently I am heading in to peak tourist time when everyone who can goes away for the weekend and plays up one last time before the onset of winter. Who knows what that will bring.