We must keep in mind there is a spiritual purpose for the Book of Mormon – to prove that Jesus lived, died, and rose again; Jesus descended there in western New York.
God is Love
The glory manifests locally as love, and is felt by all who come, garnering for itself the title “Honeymoon Capital of the World:”
The Honeymoon Capital
Niagara Falls has long been called the Honeymoon Capital of the World. The distinction of the first honeymoon trip to the falls is bestowed upon Theodosia Burr, daughter of U.S. Vice-President Aaron Burr, who married Joseph Alston and came to Niagara for her honeymoon in June 1801.
The actual route of the trip began in Manhattan, where Theodosia lived, and ended in Canada, where she visited Captain Joseph Brandt, a Mohawk Indian who served with General George Washington during the American Revolution. During her stop in Niagara Falls, Theodosia was accompanied with a retinue of servants and nine pack horses, loaded with the “barest necessities” for her honeymoon trip. With the opening of the Erie Canal and the building of railroads, more and more couples followed suit. The first printed use of the phrase, “Honeymoon Capital of the World,” was found in brochures and advertising in the early 1900s. In addition, millions of couples, who for whatever reason, did not travel to Niagara after their wedding, have made Niagara Falls the destination of choice for their “second” honeymoon (source: Niagara County).
We chose the above quote because it contains three factors pertinent to the geography:
- Imprint of the glory of God’s love is felt by all
- Joint effort by the Indians and the Colonists to found America in fulfillment of prophecy
- Erie Canal paved the way for Gentile inhabitation of Book of Mormon lands
You could say the Erie Canal paved the way for all to come to where our Lord descended in glory!
In 2000, the United States Congress designated the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor to recognize the national significance of the canal system as the most successful and influential human-built waterway and one of the most important works of civil engineering and construction in North America (http://www.eriecanalway.org; see also NY Times ).