Let me make it perfectly clear from the onset: You do not need to visit the Sacred Grove to have a rock solid testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith any more than you need to visit Gethsemane to have a testimony of the Savior’s Atonement. Both of these witnesses can come whenever, and wherever you may be, if you seek this knowledge with real intent.
This week I visited the Sacred Grove with my family for the second time in my life. It is as serene and unspoiled as I remember it to be. It is a place of peace. When Joseph Smith entered this small copse of trees, it was merely a grove – but when he exited, it had become sacred, and is sacred to this day.