July 9, 1981 Mormon Miracle Pageant Section Messenger-Enterpris- e Page Some may push, some Pageant family dream close to reality "What?" "The lawnmower tyPatMaOw dreamed the other night that I was brought before Judge Don Tlbba and my attorney waa pleading, Your Honor, my client is not guilty by reason of temporary 1 Judge Tibbs peered down from the bench. "How can you prove that your client is not une?" he asked in measured tones. My attorney thought for a moment, then responded, "Because for the last five years she has been in the Pageant with five children! I woke up then, but I think Judge Tibbs was inclined to' accept the evidence, having once been a cast member in the Pageant himself. "He talked to you before you were born. Before we came here, we all lived with Heavenly Father, I said piously, momentarily discarding my pet theory that this kid is a reincarnation of Attilla the Hun. She thought this over in brief silence. "You mean the Ward gave me to you? "Good grief, my husband said, "now she thinks shes a ward assignment, like a gallon of potato salad for the budget dinner. So much forTeaching Moments With Baby. Sara did not hear him. She was crawling off toward her brothers to tell them where babies really come from, like all other church responsibilities. "Stand here, and let me see if you are still a size four, I commanded. Or there was the trip to Salt Lake that same year, before the Pageant began. We pointed out the impressive gold statue of Moroni atop the temple to Sara. She was singularly unimpressed. Downright suspicious, in fact. "Wheres his levis? she asked. "Moroni doesnt wear levis, her older siblings scoffed. "The one I know does, she retorted. Who could argue with that? There are situations and phrases to which every Manti mother becomes accustomed during the summer. Karl sent me in here to tell you something, but I forgot, she said as I hunted in vain for her waist. kid is like Dressing a dressing an avocado. For about IS minutes I pinned and muttered, until finally peering back at me under three yards of calico was a tiny ld doli. 1 was about to congratulate myself when the doll spoke. I was she said "I remember now what supposed to tell you, sunnily. . you get that lid back on the garbage can this minute. . . "Samuel the Lamanite did uot wrap himself up in his mothers bathrobe and jump off the porch railing, and you arent going to either. , . "Because Zerahemnah had group insurance and you dont, so put that wooden sword down ... "I have it on good authority that Lamanites did not go about 1400 years ago dressed only in two of their mothers best hand towels. . . And we wont even discuss how d Moronis have many been talked down out of high places. Phrases from the Pageant work themselves into the daily conversation. Reminded that its time to get up and go to work, my husband held up a hand and said, "No, you move on, and Ill stay here, with my baby. sheet-wrappe- Life with five children is exciting enough, but at Pageant time it takes on an unreal quality as our family turns from seven Sanpete residents into four nineteenth-centur- y New Englanders, two ancient Nephite standard bearers, five freezing pioneers on the plains, one member of the Mormon Battalion, and a Nauvoo, Illinois family. A few days ago I was cutting and sewing Nauvoo costomps and the screen door banged for the 163rd time and before me stood Sara. "Hi, whatcha doin? she asked with the confidence only the baby of the family can have. y fire." This is not Size Four's first year in the Pageant, it is her third, which in itself says something about my mental state over an ongoing period. The first year Sara was in it with us, we were sitting on the hill at the first dress rehearsal watching Joseph Smiths first vision. A small voice interrupted. she "Whos talking to him? demanded in awed tones. "Heavenly Father, I replied. "How come he's just talking to him? How come he's not talking to all of us? she inquried skeptically. insanity.' nineteenth-centur- "I dont care if you are a Nephite, is on as One day my husband wandered into the kitchen, accompanied only by an Indian guide. "Have you seen the garden?" he asked. "It was out behind the house the last of May, I replied hopefully. "After we started working on the Pageant, I left it in the hands of the Lord." "Well, the Lord likes wild morning glories better than he does tomatoes," Rod observed glumly. He turned and began to retrace his steps through piles of satin and calico, around the sewing machine which has become a permanent fixture in the dining area. "Where are you going? I asked. "Im going to water the d soil, furrow by furrow, he replied. As we sit in the wings awaiting our cues, handcart pioneers soothe restless children, Brigham Young visits with us, Lucy Mack Smith directs the placement of props, and a New Englander minister moves sun-bake- handcarts into position. We joke about the truck driver en route from California to Salt Lake who was found kneeling in the road praying one pageant night because suddenly he saw an angel standing atop the temple in Manti and he was certain it was blowing the "last trumpet," or the time Zerahemnah lost his contact lens during the battle scene, or the time the great Indian chief in the patriotic scene made a sweeping motion with his spear and the spear lodged itself in the pine tree behind him. . . there was the time in the early days of the Pageant when the committee experimented with special makeup for the final scene where the two lovers are reunited after death --- only the lights turned the makeup green and the reunion hue. indeed took on a There was the night the porch of the Nauvoo House fell over on us as we prayed in the Nauvoo scene and Joseph Smith convulsed in the post-morte- m wings. One year a handcart got stuck on a sprinkler head going uphill, recreating the legendary last wagon. . By far the greatest benefit to us has been the association with the many college and high school age people who come from days of cutting hay, feeding turkeys, clerking, or other work which most likely began between 6 and 8 a.m., and spend their evenings and nights in a concerted effort, to produce the Pageant. The example they set for our children was something we could have received nowhere else. As the years roll on and we see they many cast members who have gone on missions and returned again, or married in the temple (this year one of our children made the observation, Guess whatl Zerahemnah married Mary Henshaw ' -- C,. B.BG 41 DC2 m L3AD.D LDS - BOOKS Plus many more Spectacular Sidewalk Sale Values home on V Comfortable, clean acre, just right for young couple starting out, or older retired couple. 035-664- 1 , Included in the group were infants, the elderly, and mainly youths. One tiny bald head bobbed weardy from a papoose pack carried on the back of a young sunbonneted mother in original pioneer garb. The difficulties encountered by the original pioneers also met the 1980 group. One member of the party turned back with appendicitis. Three of the 14 handcarts broke down, just as the originals did (many original handcart pioneers were sold inferior carts made of green wood which warped, splintered and disintegrated on the grueling trek), As the handcart pioneers proceeded down Main Street to the Temple grounds, the cast buses were departing for the performance on the hill, also. Sanpete County "New Englanders" and "Pioneers" craned to get a look at the handcart pioneers from across the mountains. One by one the buses of cast members took up the tunc to serenade the Price pioneers for their enthusiasm and determination. In appreciation, the cast's a cappella version of "Come, Come Ye Saints wafted back to carry the pioneers their last few hundred yards onto the temple grounds. ... all trails lead to the Pageant. Whether by handcart or modern jeep handcart This group from the Price Utah Stake embarked on three-da- y trek, ending at the Pageant in Manti. d The Manti Ward Corner of 1st South & Main will serve a dinner featuring 1st-2n- Barbequed Turkey! L N. 100 W., Manti Canyon. full-cour- se ALL X at 273 y number of the travelers succumbed to blisters, sunburn, and other minor ills. "I dont know how the original pioneers ever did it without Contac pills, sniffed one Price pioneer. , the modern handvart Although didnt experience all the pioneers hardships of the original companies, they did gain a new appreciation of the difficulties of early settlement,, a member of the Price Utah Stake Presidency, Dan Keller, observed. He added that they also gained a new appreciation of one another: "The experience brought us together. a WARD DINNERS! 85 Look for fhe cheerful yellow house "This is the place." grinned Mormon Pageant President Morgan Dreng last year as he welcomed about 230 members of the Price. Utah Stake of the LDS Church to the Sanpete Valley and the Mormon Miracle Pageant. The words, spoken first by Brigham Young as he looked over the Sanpete Valley, had added import for the Price group in order to attend the Pageant, they had embarked on a three-dahandcart trek that began at Joes Valley Campground, proceeded along Skyline Drive, and descended into Sanpete via Lowry Fork and Manti Miracle place. ODBQUABJX II may pull, but all arrive at the Pageant and this year theyre New Englanders!) we know that, like Brigham Youngs followers a century before, were in the right Please drive courteously FOR SALE BY OWNER Corner of Center and Main 035-424- 1 Ask for Lloyd The Manti 3rd-4t- h Ward Corner of 3rd South & Main will serve a dinner featuring full-cour- se Roast Beef! Served with their famous hot rolls mm o mmm n Radio CEDAR CREST All Dinners Served from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. i Cost: $4.00 for adults $2.50 for children (under LODGE a DGG7CUno:i7 featuring Tuno In for Pageant Information, Woathor, Nows, Entortainmont, Sports, Rocroatlon, and of course, beautiful music I 5 STIAK A S1A POOD The Manti Scouts will be. serving Breakfast Excellence in fine dining . Beautiful grounds. Restful atmosphere and location. Special hours: Open 5 p.m. daily during Pageant, For reservations, 12) 835-635- 2 Drive toward Sterling (5 miles south of Manti on US 89), take the Palisade Lake Road east 1 mile. from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. at both Ward Houses and the County Fairgrounds this Visitor's (See Pageant Map, Page 2 of Section, No. 24L ;