Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Many Family Members Visited for Pageant
Wow, that was a great show! We experienced the Hill Cumorah Pageant performance on Thursday night, which was officially the dress rehearsal. There were maybe 5,000 in attendance, so many of the 8,000 seats were empty (which is normal for this unofficial night). There is a tent set up for the Pageant alumni, since this is the 75th Anniversary. The alumni were given badges to identify them as being veterans of the Pageant. There were pictures of some of the past Pageants and a display of pictures. In another tent was information about this year's event, along with sample prop weapons that children can handle. We were happy to have two of our sons and their families with us. Trent and Lance both drove out from Utah, Trent arrived on Monday and Lance on Thursday. Lance's in-laws, Theron & Kathy Anderson also joined us. We went very early (7:15) to get good seats. Seating was not a problem. Once we had our seats reserved, we went on a hike along the foot of the Hill Cumorah and followed a path through the woods past a very special spot that has some trees that are over 200 years old. We continued on the path up a steep hill untill we reached the summit. The top of the Hill is very "park like", with a paved road running along the crest. On non-Pageant days one can follow the road to a parking area a few hundred feet away. Once your car is parked, it is a short walk along the top to the north end where the angel Moroni statue is. This Moroni stands erect and holds the Gold Plates.
A large stage was erected on the face of the Hill. It was most amazing watching the production and to see how the stage was used to depict Lehi's journey by ship to the promised land, Nehpi's vision of the things his father had seen, the Preaching of Abinadi, the baptisms done by Alma, some of the battles, the destruction at the time of Christ's crucifixion, the appearance of Christ to the survivors in America, the calling of the 12 Disciples, the final battle where Mormon is killed, the burying of the plates, the appearance of Moroni to Joseph Smith Jr., and his obtaining the Gold Plates. The sound and visual effects were great. Two hours before the performances the cast members mingle with the audience. That is a fun thing. Some of our grandchildren were able to get their photo taken with Moroni, Alma, and others.
Saturday was an interesting day because Trent left for Utah, Lance made a day trip to Niagara and Brian went to the Sites here with Steve. We drove to Seneca Falls Airport to pick up our friends, Dave and Karen Pond. They flew their plane here from New Jersey. We took them to the Smith Farm where they prepared to receive two bus loads of Young Single Adults (YSA) from New York City. As soon as they arrived we gathered in the ampitheater in the Sacred Grove for a fireside. Our Mission President, Jack R. Christianson, was the speaker. He gave a wonderful, powerful talk about the reality of the truthfulness of the gospel and how it can be tough to be strong in the church, but it is all worth it.
We met Brian and Steve in the Grove and gave them the tour of the Grove. We then went to the Grandin Press building to see the exhibits there. Then it was off to Hill Cumorah to get ready for the production. We arranged for the Ponds to drive back to the JY home with Brian after the Pageant. We left before the Pageant started and did some shopping on the way home.
We will be going back to the Pageant on Friday and Saturday nights. We will staff a booth and give out pictures of Christ and other brochures. We look forward to it.
It was great to have those grandchildren here to enjoy the country. I borrowed some swings and hung them from a tree in the yard. Many hours have been spent in the shade of the large black walnut tree. We will report more later on. Come to Pageant in the future when you can.
A large stage was erected on the face of the Hill. It was most amazing watching the production and to see how the stage was used to depict Lehi's journey by ship to the promised land, Nehpi's vision of the things his father had seen, the Preaching of Abinadi, the baptisms done by Alma, some of the battles, the destruction at the time of Christ's crucifixion, the appearance of Christ to the survivors in America, the calling of the 12 Disciples, the final battle where Mormon is killed, the burying of the plates, the appearance of Moroni to Joseph Smith Jr., and his obtaining the Gold Plates. The sound and visual effects were great. Two hours before the performances the cast members mingle with the audience. That is a fun thing. Some of our grandchildren were able to get their photo taken with Moroni, Alma, and others.
Saturday was an interesting day because Trent left for Utah, Lance made a day trip to Niagara and Brian went to the Sites here with Steve. We drove to Seneca Falls Airport to pick up our friends, Dave and Karen Pond. They flew their plane here from New Jersey. We took them to the Smith Farm where they prepared to receive two bus loads of Young Single Adults (YSA) from New York City. As soon as they arrived we gathered in the ampitheater in the Sacred Grove for a fireside. Our Mission President, Jack R. Christianson, was the speaker. He gave a wonderful, powerful talk about the reality of the truthfulness of the gospel and how it can be tough to be strong in the church, but it is all worth it.
We met Brian and Steve in the Grove and gave them the tour of the Grove. We then went to the Grandin Press building to see the exhibits there. Then it was off to Hill Cumorah to get ready for the production. We arranged for the Ponds to drive back to the JY home with Brian after the Pageant. We left before the Pageant started and did some shopping on the way home.
We will be going back to the Pageant on Friday and Saturday nights. We will staff a booth and give out pictures of Christ and other brochures. We look forward to it.
It was great to have those grandchildren here to enjoy the country. I borrowed some swings and hung them from a tree in the yard. Many hours have been spent in the shade of the large black walnut tree. We will report more later on. Come to Pageant in the future when you can.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Hill Cumorah Pageant Preparations
This is a very busy time at the Hill Cumorah in Palmyra, New York. Crews are working daily to get every thing ready for the Pageant that starts on July 12th. Here are some of the things that have done: Twelve large towers have been erected for the lighting, the stage has been put in place, and tents have been erected for various uses. The cast members will be arriving this weekend. A great deal of time and effort goes into the preparation for this huge event. We stopped by on the 4th of July and spoke with some of the crew and a photographer, Michael Boren, who is filming a special about the Pageant that will air on KSL-TV at 4 pm after the last session of October General Conference. The costume crew has been at work for sometime.
The 750+ cast members will will be chosen for rolls tonight, Friday, and will be selected . On Saturday. they will then be trained in their rolls. They also have training from the full-time missionaries from Preach My Gospel, and are trained in how to talk with people. For an hour or so before Pageant starts the cast members, dressed in costume, mingle with the crowd and talk to all that they can. It is such a great tool to show everyone how friendly we are as Church members. There will also be devotionals for the cast and crew daily. Other activities are planned too. The cast members will practice for 4 days and will hold the dress rehearsal on Thursday the 12th. Performances will be on 13,14 and 17-21 July. This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Pageant. There are already exhibits in the Visitors Center showing some of the old costumes along with pictures of actors wearing the costumes. It is a great exhibit.
There are many great Pageant stories, we would like to share two with you that we recently learned about. The first one happened over 10 years ago: On the audition day a young woman was chosen to play the part of Mary (mother of Christ). That is when they discovered that there were some problems with selecting her; she was not on the official list of participants (she was a foreign exchange student and had come with her sponsor family, and they assumed that she was included), she was not LDS, and she was Japanese and spoke very little English. The selection committee asked the Pageant President what they should do, because they felt inspired that she should be Mary. The President told them that he knew they could work things out and that he felt good about giving her the role. A separate committee selected Joseph, and amazingly he turned out to be a returned missionary who spoke Japanese. They were both very pleased to have someone else to speak Japanese with. He not only helped her communicate through the Pageant, but taught her the missionary lessons, and baptized her a few days after Pageant. The couple ended up getting married a while later. Miracles do happen and the Lord is directing things.
Another story was from last year's Pageant. A missionary had just ended his mission and was picked up by his parents and released so he could join his family in being participants in the Pageant before going back to his home town. His father gave him a blessing prior to the casting auditions and promised him that he would come to know Christ better than he ever had because of being in Pageant. When selections were announced he was selected to be Christ in the scene where Christ decends from the sky to visit the Nephites.
We really look forward to the coming two weeks and will write another blog to share the experience with you. May the Lord continue to bless you and your families as you search the scriptures and partake of the written word of the Lord.
The 750+ cast members will will be chosen for rolls tonight, Friday, and will be selected . On Saturday. they will then be trained in their rolls. They also have training from the full-time missionaries from Preach My Gospel, and are trained in how to talk with people. For an hour or so before Pageant starts the cast members, dressed in costume, mingle with the crowd and talk to all that they can. It is such a great tool to show everyone how friendly we are as Church members. There will also be devotionals for the cast and crew daily. Other activities are planned too. The cast members will practice for 4 days and will hold the dress rehearsal on Thursday the 12th. Performances will be on 13,14 and 17-21 July. This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Pageant. There are already exhibits in the Visitors Center showing some of the old costumes along with pictures of actors wearing the costumes. It is a great exhibit.
There are many great Pageant stories, we would like to share two with you that we recently learned about. The first one happened over 10 years ago: On the audition day a young woman was chosen to play the part of Mary (mother of Christ). That is when they discovered that there were some problems with selecting her; she was not on the official list of participants (she was a foreign exchange student and had come with her sponsor family, and they assumed that she was included), she was not LDS, and she was Japanese and spoke very little English. The selection committee asked the Pageant President what they should do, because they felt inspired that she should be Mary. The President told them that he knew they could work things out and that he felt good about giving her the role. A separate committee selected Joseph, and amazingly he turned out to be a returned missionary who spoke Japanese. They were both very pleased to have someone else to speak Japanese with. He not only helped her communicate through the Pageant, but taught her the missionary lessons, and baptized her a few days after Pageant. The couple ended up getting married a while later. Miracles do happen and the Lord is directing things.
Another story was from last year's Pageant. A missionary had just ended his mission and was picked up by his parents and released so he could join his family in being participants in the Pageant before going back to his home town. His father gave him a blessing prior to the casting auditions and promised him that he would come to know Christ better than he ever had because of being in Pageant. When selections were announced he was selected to be Christ in the scene where Christ decends from the sky to visit the Nephites.
We really look forward to the coming two weeks and will write another blog to share the experience with you. May the Lord continue to bless you and your families as you search the scriptures and partake of the written word of the Lord.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Serving with Cousins: Gary & Shirlee Best
On June 12th we were blessed with the arrival of my cousins, Shirlee Best and her husband Gary. They have joined us to serve a six month mission in the southern New York town of Wellsville. It is almost a 2 hour drive from Mendon to Wellsville. They are so needed there to assist with the small Branch of the Church that exists there. They have two young elders there to work with them, as well as the Branch members. It is very nice to have them serving with us, and it is good to see them from time to time at conferences. The senior couples that work with the Branches and Wards are doing so much good. It was wonderful to have them stay with us for their first night in the mission. We plan on having them spend a few more nights with us in the future. The mission will be a great experience for them.
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