From Revolution to Restoration with Dr. Steven C. Harper

About the Tour Guide:

Dr. Steve Harper is a leading scholar of Joseph Smith's First Vision and his later revelations, and he's the only guide in the game with over 20 years as a professor of Church history, 10 years as a volume editor of The Joseph Smith Papers, and 6 years as the Managing Historian and a General Editor of Saints: The Story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Trip Dates: May 16, 2026 to May 21, 2026 (see itinerary below)

Trip Length: 6 days

Trip Cost per person: The cost is $3,000 per person double occupancy, or $3,500 single occupancy. A $250 non-refundable per person deposit is required to book. Final payment is due on March 15, 2026.

Trip Difficulty: Modern urbanized (learn more)

Number of Tour Spots Still Available: WAITLIST

Payment of the deposit guarantees your place in line on the waitlist. Your deposit is refundable if your spot does not open.

Experience the most sacred and significant sites in American history: from George Washington's Philadelphia to Joseph Smith's Sacred Grove.

This trip is for Latter-day Saints (young, old, and in between) and their family and friends including teens who think about scriptures when they don't have to. You'll need to be able to walk a mile each day and ride in a vehicle for up to three hours at a time. If you’re not sure it's for you or your family and friends, contact us, and let's chat about it.

The itinerary is as follows:

We'll meet in Philadelphia, enjoy dinner together at an amazing Brazilian churrasco, and plan for our travels beginning the next morning. 

Attend sacrament meeting across the street from the Philadelphia temple. Visit Independence Hall and surrounding sites, learn about the historical trajectory of I to We, or what Steve calls "the distance between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution." Experience Washington's Crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas 1776. Tour Valley Forge, where the Continental Army was forged in the winter of 1777-78.

Visit Pennsylvania's World Heritage Site in Bethlehem and learn about the Moravian Zion and religious freedom. Visit the Sun Inn, where both George Washington and Benjamin Franklin dined and slept, and learn how their experiences and characters shaped the course of history from Revolution to Restoration. Then a scenic drive through the Pocono Mountains to the Susquehanna River Valley and the Priesthood Restoration Site to tour Emma and Joseph's home where the Book of Mormon was translated by the power of God. We’ll visit the cemetery where Emma and Joseph buried their first child, the nearby woods where angels restored priesthoods, and the river, where we will contemplate the first baptisms of the last dispensation.

Start the day at Taughannock Falls enroute to the Whitmer Farm in Fayette, where Joseph finished translating the Book of Mormon, the witnesses saw the plates, and the Savior organized His Church on April 6, 1830. Tour the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, and learn how what happened there highlights the ongoing American Revolution as well as the ongoing Restoration. 

Spend the day at the Sacred Grove, the Smith homes, and at the Hill Cumorah, with plenty of time for temple worship.

We will see Alvin Smith's gravesite and tour the Grandin Press and Print Shop where the Book of Mormon was published and sold, then follow Samuel Smith on his historic missions to the villages west of Manchester on our way to Niagara Falls. We'll overnight near the airport in Buffalo.

Please note: while our tour does end on May 21st, we request that you book flights home on the 22nd so that there is no stress on your part to catch flights on time. We have a hotel booked near the Buffalo airport for your convenience on the 21st.

• Ground transportation
• Accommodations
• Two meals per day
• Entrance fees into activities as outlined in the itinerary
• Gratuities at all group meals and for all services covered by trip fee

• Airfare and baggage fees to Philadelphia, PA where the tour begins, and from Buffalo, NY where the tour ends
• Snacks and one meal per day
• Souvenirs and clothing
• Activities not included in the itinerary
• Personal medical and emergency costs (we strongly recommend purchasing traveler's insurance for this trip, and all trips you may take)

The cost is $3,000 per person double occupancy, or $3,500 single occupancy. That includes whole group activities (two meals each day and all gratuities for waitstaff at group meals). It doesn't cover the third meals or optional add-ons that the whole group doesn't participate in together, including the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls, etc.