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.