Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site

Priesthood Restoration Site
Monument depicting the restoration of the Aaronic Preisthood, erected at the site in 1960
Location	Oakland Township, Pennsylvania,  United States
Coordinates	41°57′04″N 75°38′19″W / 41.9512°N 75.6387°W / 41.9512; -75.6387Coordinates: 41°57′04″N 75°38′19″W / 41.9512°N 75.6387°W / 41.9512; -75.6387
Area	157 acres (64 ha)
Elevation	955 feet (291 m)
Years of significance	1827-1830
Governing body	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Site location within Pennsylvania, USA

The Priesthood Restoration Site, formally known as the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site, is a historic site located in Oakland Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. Because of its historical significance to Mormonism, the site is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The site comprises property once owned, and lived on, by Joseph Smith and is the spot where Latter Day Saints believe the resurrected John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic priesthood upon Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1829. In September 2015 the Church dedicated the site, which includes a visitors' center and meetinghouse, monuments, and the reconstructed homes of Joseph Smith and the Hale family.

In December 1827, Smith and his wife, Emma, moved to the area, hoping to escape persecution experienced in Palmyra, New York. After arriving the Smiths purchased 13.5 acres (5.5 ha) from Emma's father, Issac Hale. In Smith's day, the property was located in the Harmony Township of Susquehanna County; when the Oakland Township was incorporated in 1853, it included the land in question. Emma had been raised in Harmony, and many of her family members lived in the area. Her brother, Jesse Hale, had constructed a three-room frame home which the Smiths purchased and had moved onto their property.

While living in the home the Smith's first child, Alvin, was born and died. Alvin is buried just east of the historic site in the McKune Cemetery. A large portion of the Book of Mormon was translated by Smith while living in the home. According to Smith, the Aaronic priesthood was restored to him and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829, somewhere in the woods near the home. After being given the priesthood by John the Baptist by the laying on of hands, the two men baptized each other in the nearby Susquehanna River. Following the baptisms, they ordained each other to the Aaronic priesthood.