SHARON, Vermont — Walking along a tree-lined road amid the bright colors of autumn in Sharon, Vermont, on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve, talked with “deep reverence and appreciation” for the Prophet Joseph Smith.

“Here on Dec. 23, 1805, a baby with theresponsibility of restoring to the earth the fullness of the everlasting gospelwas born,” said President Ballard.

President Ballard said he can’t get anywhere near this birthplace without having deep affection and love for the Prophet Joseph Smith. “I feel obligated to do everything I can to declare and to teach that the gospel is once again on the earth.”

President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles walk at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial in Sharon, Vt., on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Elder Christofferson called the site sacred.

“Tucked back in these trees came to the earththe Prophet Joseph Smith,” he said, speaking of the baby born in “humblecircumstances” who would “change the course” of history.

A new Church News video, “A Baby Was Born,” released six months after President Ballard and Elder Christofferson visited Vermont, highlights the significance of Joseph Smith’s life as the Church prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the First Vision — when the Father and Son appeared to Joseph and set in motion the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.