Hill Cumorah Pageant

When we were called on our mission to New York, I said: "Oh boy, then we can go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant." But then I thought: "We couldn't do that because that is outside of our mission." But, I did hope that it might be possible.

The second week we were in the office, Elder Schouten said: "How would you like to go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant with us?" I said that I would love to go but didn't think we could. He said that he had talked to the President and that he was told that it would be okay. So, we got our reservations at a motel in Newark, which is about 9 miles from Palmyra.

On Friday, July 9th, we left in the morning and traveled about six hours to Newark, arriving around 3:30 p.m. We stopped in Bingingham and ate lunch at an Italian Restaurant. He we are with the Schoutens.
The closer we got to our motel, the harder it started to rain, and it rained HARD for about four hours. We almost decided not to go to the pageant that night, but around 7:30 p.m., it started to let up. So we bought large black plastic bags and drove over to the pageant. It was raining, but not hard. We were grateful for the plastic bags, which kept us pretty dry. Below is the stage for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.

Here we are in our raincoats and with our umbrellas. We were glad to be there.

This is what the sky looked like just before the pageant began.

Here are some of the cast members. A lot of families come and spend two weeks being in the pageant. A pamphlet said this: "What you will experience tonight is a testimony in drama, music, and spoken word that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the wold. This pageant portrays ten stories from the scriptures. Over 800 cast and crew members have come together to bring you a message of hope and peace that can be found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ." It was a wonderful production. My favorite part was when Christ appears to the Nephites and is suspended in the air and then comes to rest on a platform. Also, watching Christ as he blesses the children was very touching.

On Saturday, it was a beautiful day. It was a lot cooler than the day before. We went to the Grandin Press, where the first 5000 Books of Mormon were published. It's a fascinating place to visit. One of the sister missionaries took us for a tour. Before we went inside, a very nice music group sang for us.

This is the press where the Book of Mormon was published. They showed us just how they put all the type onto the pages of paper. It was very interesting.

Then, we went over to see the Joseph Smith cabin. This is where their family lived until a larger home was built for them. This is also where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith three times during the night. He slept in a room with three other brothers.

Before we went into see the bigger Smith home, a missionary couple by the name of Elder and Sister Hales told us about how the bigger home came about. Alvin Smith wanted to build it for he and his future wife. He started building it, but didn't completely finish it because he died. The Smiths lived in it for a couple of years, but then they didn't have the money to pay for it, so it was sold. Elder and Sister Hales asked us if we knew the Dalebouts in Frisco, Texas. They are from Frisco, and Sister Hales was Shelley's visiting teacher. Small world, eh?

They, we walked through the Sacred Grove and spent some time just thinking and pondering about what wonderful event happened there. It was a very peaceful experience.

Joseph Smith's experience in this grove changed the world. We are truly grateful for a young boy who prayed to know the truth and restored the Savior's true church upon the earth.

We walked to the Palmyra Temple. Sister Schouten and I.

This is the Angel Moroni on the top of the Hill Cumorah.

This is looking down on the chairs where the audience sits.
We went to the Visitor's Center and had a tour with another sister missionary.

On Sunday, we attended the Palmyra Ward. There were over a thousand people in attendance. The congregation filled the chapel and cultural hall--even the stage. Elder and Sister Cook from the area seventy spoke about Joseph Smith. It was really amazing to see how well they passed the sacrament to so many people. There were sacrament tables in the chapel and cultural hall, and there were a good number of Aaronic priesthood holders passing the sacrament.

After Sacrament Meeting, we left and traveled back to Conneticut, where we enjoyed a wonderful meal given by the second counselor in the Mission Presidency, Elder Stuart Hunt and his wife. When he and his wife saw our names, they both asked if we knew the Dalebouts in Frisco, Texas. We told them he was our son. Stuart said that Scott had been their home teacher in Frisco when they lived there. Again, it's a small world.

We had an ejoyable trip and met some really nice people. The world is small when you are in the church. We're really glad we had the chance to go to the Pageant.

The Week of July 4th

The weeks seem to fly by and each week gets busier and busier. The week following July 4th was a very busy week. After church, we went over to the Schouten's apartment and had a wonderful dinner with six great missionaries. We enjoyed ham, funeral potatoes, broccoli salad, fruit, four kinds of vegetables , bread, pie and ice cream. It was very yummy. Then, we played some games with the missionaries and had a fun time learning the games that younger people play. It was a different 4th of July but a fun one.

On Wednesday, July 7th, we had a mission-wide social with all the young missionaries in the mission (about 130) and a few of the senior missionaries. As you can see below, the Schouten's made homemade root beer. It was a big hit, especially because it was 100 degrees outside, and it was much needed. Sister Schouten and I cut up fruit for three hours in the morning. We were very glad there were also some missionaries to help us or we would never had gotten everything done before the party.

Dick and Elder Schouten cooked all the hamburgers and hotdogs. Phew! IT WAS HOT!!!!!!!!

Elder Schouten, Sister Miller and I sit and relax a little. As you can see, I wasn't wearing a lei. The party was a luau with American food.

For our entertainment, several of the Tongan and Hawaiian missionaries, including some howly missionaries dance the "Shaka."

Some of the sister missionaries dance the hula. I kept feeling like I was back in Hawaii. It was really fun to watch them, and I certainly got nostalgic.

Here, the missionaries try to get some relief from the sun by sitting in the shade. Can you see Elder Dalebout in the middle of all of them?

President Smith and his wife, along with one of the AP's (Elder Raymond) were persuaded to get up and try the Tahitian hula. President wasn't to excited about that, but he was a good sport.

Here are four of the senior missionaries: l-r: Sister Cropper, Sister Miller, Sister Schouten, Sister Dalebout.

Some of the missionaries tried the limbo.

It was a fun party and lasted four hours. The missionaries were sunburned but full and happy.

One of the fun things we do every Thursday night is attend a community band concert in the park here in Scarsdale. The band is composed of old, middle-aged, younger-aged, and high schol students. They do a terrific job and play tons of great music. The week before the 4th, the whole program was patriotic. Last week, we heard a medley of Glenn Miller songs, dixieland, jazz, and some highbrow music. It is very enjoyable and we love being able to attend these concerts. When you work all day in the office, it's a nice break to listen to great music. Also, we are able to meet people. We have talked to a couple of people who knew a little about the church, and that was fun.

We Had Visitors Last Weekend

Last weekend, Billy and Amy came to visit us. Because Billy had Friday off, they decided to leave on Thursday evening and drive up to Scarsdale. They left D.C. around 7:30 p.m. and arrived here at 12:30 a.m. They brought a couple of Amy's friends up with them and dropped them off in Manhattan. Apparently, the traffic was okay and the drive wasn't too bad.

We brought our blow-up mattress so they could sleep on it in our living room. It worked out fine. On Friday, we had to go to the office, so Amy and Billy got on the train and went into New York City and walked around for most of the day seeing some of the sights. They came back around 9:30 p.m., very tired.

Our P-Day is on Saturday, so we were able to spend the day with them. We drove up to Hyde Park, where Franklin D. Roosevelt had his home. We went on a tour of the home. It was very interesting and it was fun being with the kids.

Amy and Billy had a nice visit with Franklin and Eleanor.

Dick and I joined in the visit.

We drove back home to Scarsdale so that Billy could watch the U.S. vs. Ghana soccer game. We were all disappointed that the U.S. lost, but most of all Billy. Afterwards, we went and got some Chinese takeout and brought it over to our apartment building. We sat out on the patio in back of our building and ate our Chinese dinner. Then, we went for a walk around Scarsdale and showed them some of the beautiful old houses that are here that have been renovated. It truly is a beautiful area. We then went to an ice cream shop and invited our friend, Jay Steele, to have ice cream with us.

On Sunday, Billy and Amy went to church with us. It was a different church meeting. It was called "Come and See." We had Sacrament meeting, and then during Sunday School, we had a munch and mingle in the cultural hall. The whole idea of the meeting was to invite investigators and members to Sacrament meeting so they could learn more about the church and be introduced to some of the members. The Sacrament speakers talked about what we believe as a church. It was very interesting, and people seemed to be very happy to associate with one another. Billy even met a former classmate from Provo High, whose husband is doing an internship here during the summer.

After the munch and mingle, they left and went back to D.C. The traffic was pretty bad getting into the D.C. area, but they made it safe and sound. We are so glad they came to visit.


These two elders are the AP's and they are truly a joy to work with. They really work hard and are on the go every minute. Elder Raymond is on the left. He is from the South Jordan area. Elder Butler is on the right and is from Mesa. We had them over for dinner last night and they just have such a great spirit about them. They were actually MTC companions. We're so glad to be associated with them. They are great young men.