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Elder David A. Bednar Rededicates Rehabilitated Hill Cumorah Site in New York

The overhaul shifted the site from a performance venue to a conserved landscape featuring a visitors center centered on Jesus Christ.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar pose for a photo at the Hill Cumorah Historic Site while visiting Church history sites in Palmyra, New York, on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025.
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Overview

  • On Sept. 21, the ceremony in Palmyra drew about 500 attendees and was broadcast globally.
  • Reforestation removed 23 pageant-era buildings and 400,000 square feet of asphalt as thousands of native tree seeds were planted to restore woodland.
  • The 2002 visitors center now features interactive exhibits, a new film, and artwork that emphasize the Book of Mormon and teachings about Jesus Christ.
  • In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Bednar set apart the grounds as a place of holy remembrance and referred to Hill Cumorah as the cradle of the Restoration.
  • The site holds central significance for Latter-day Saints as the place where Moroni directed Joseph Smith to the gold plates in 1823 and delivered them in 1827; the pageant operated there from 1937 to 2019.