Following extensive renovations, Church of Jesus Christ to rededicate Hill Cumorah Historic Site

PALMYRA, New York (ABC4) — After nearly four years of preparations, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be rededicating the Hill Cumorah Historic Site in Palmyra, New York on Sept. 21.

According to a press release, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside and offer the dedicatory prayer. On-site participation is by invitation and requires a ticket, which can be found through the Church website.

The Hill Cumorah is among 30 historic sites operated by the Church across the United States. Officials say these sites highlight the heritage of the Church and help visitors understand significant events in Church history.

History behind the Hill Cumorah Site

The Hill Cumorah in Manchester, New York, is where, according to Church officials, Joseph Smith received visitations from the Angel Moroni and retrieved the gold plates that contained the record now known as the Book of Mormon.

The Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York is just four miles north of the Hill Cumorah and the site of Joseph Smith’s First Vision of Deity.

According to the Church, Latter-day Saints believe that the Book of Mormon was originally written in an ancient language on metal plates, often referred to as gold plates. The final writer in the book, a prophet named Moroni, buried the plates in the hill now known as Cumorah in about 420 A.D.

Several centuries later, the Church believes Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was guided to the plates and was allowed to take the plates from the hill where he translated the record to English by the gift and power of God.

The Church purchased the property in 1928 and has welcomed visitors to the hill since. A monument featuring a statue of the angel Moroni was dedicated on the hill in 1935.

Renovations and rehabilitation

Church Historian and Recorder Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. said the Church was rehabilitating the landscape, removing pageant infrastructure and upgrading the messaging of the hill’s historical and sacred significance.

Twenty-three buildings used to support the pageant were removed from the hill, including restrooms, a costume shop, cast changing rooms and an administration building. The area is being reforested with thousands of native tree seeds, which Church leaders say will one day be a mature forest that more closely resembles what Joseph Smith would have seen in the early 1800s.

The rededication can be viewed live on Sunday, September 21, 2025, at 1 p.m. EDT and for two weeks after.