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.
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