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Show n Pageant . . -. - i,ih Piqil' 1 w IP PHI 'Vutt'jj'V . 1 1 T , ; i J i Richard G. Sumsion Missionary from Springville in Religious Pageant Elder Richard G. Sumsion, son of Mr. and Mrs. Glen W. Sumsion Sum-sion of this city has been selected to appear in the famed religious pageant, "America's Witness for Christ." August 7, 8 and 9. Elder Sumsion is serving a twc-year twc-year mission in the Eastern States for the Church of Jesus' Christ of Latter-day Saints having entered the mission field January 20, 1951. Since his arrival he has labored the entire eighteen months in the. Cumorah District which includes Palmyra, Rochester, Buffalo, Niagara Nia-gara Falls, and other smaller cities He spent the first twelve months of his mission in the villages of Warsaw, Attica, Perry and Bata-via Bata-via which are located midway between be-tween Rochester and Buffalo. Since that time he has been laboring labor-ing in Rochester as the Supervising Supervis-ing Elder of the Cumorah District. Dis-trict. The religious pageant has become be-come an annual event in the Eastern East-ern States Mission, this being the eleventh year that it has been produced. Because of its dramatic excellence and spiritual value, the (Continued on page Two) Missionary from Springville In Regilious Pageant (Continued from page One) pageant has become widely known throughout the United States and Canada and is one of the feature events of the colorful Finger Lakes region of northern New York. In the past four years, an estimated one quarter of a million people have witnessed this brilliant spectacle. spec-tacle. Originating in 1936, it was produced pro-duced each summer mntil the war forced its discontinuance in 1942. In 1948, and each August since that time, it has been staged by the missionaries serving in New York, Nev Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. This year it is expected to attract over 100,i-' 100,i-' 000 spectators during its three nightly performances. "America's Witness for Christ" portrays scenes from the Book of Mormon, the account of God's dealings with the pre-Columbus inhabitants of the western hemisphere. hemis-phere. Actual scenes from the Book of Mormon have been adapted adapt-ed for presentation on the four stages which are erected on the pine-covered slopes of the Hill Cumorah, near the burial place of the Plates of Mormon from which the Book of Mormon was translated transla-ted by Joseph Smith. All parts of the pageant are played by the missionaries of the church who give their time freely for this work. Direction of the pageant is by Dr. Harold I. Hansen, Professor of Dramatics at Brigham Young University. Dr. Hansen has been the director of this event in each of its ten years of production, and has gained national acclaim for his work with it. Anyone that wishes to attend this year's performances may make lodging reservations through Mrs. June C. Crider, Martin Haiv ris Farm, Palmyra, New York. 2 |