Show Guest editorial a t Comparisons By NORMA S. S It was August 1963 We were on our way to the Hill Cumorah Pageant Having been on the road for three days we were already numb our senses being dulled by the bright sunlight and heat the fleeing landscape the long lines of cars speeding toward us or with us Into hurried indifference Knowing that New York City claimed to be the largest city In the world we expected wall to wall hard surfacing elbow to elbow crowds and tall suffocating buildings compacting it all into a rushing hysterical mass of blaring horns and screeching brakes Civilization they call It Living In the quiet unhurried oblivion of the far West we had no idea of what was ahead and had left len all arrangements up to Bert Barbara and family with a feeling of Why worry Well We'll meet each problem as It comes There were three cars traveling together from Detroit which Included our family Berts Bert's family and Bishop family with a few close friends from their Detroit ward We arrived at Hill Cumorah about 3 o'clock In the afternoon and found most of the rough plank benches already full and the thep p fields being used for parking filling rapidly with automobiles There was a fountain where people waited In Inline inline inline line for for fora a drink of water soft sort drink and candy dispensers and sandwich machines all of which were Out of Order at least for that day and His and Hers restrooms that reminded me of the comfort stations in our national parks in the West with the usual long lines of waiting people Perhaps this Is the reason that I couldn't get too upset about the problems and complaints connected with our Mormon Miracle this past summer Surely with the Hill Hlll Cum Cumorah rah Pageant In production since 1939 w we could expect a little time to meet and master the problems of this Infant Miracle The green lush rolling hills of the countryside were indirect In Indirect indirect direct contrast to what we had bad Imagined New York would be The towns in the Immediate vicinity were very small and instead of being laid out in square blocks with wide streets one would come to a lane that meandered through the countryside for miles mUes with a house now and again on either side After the pageant there were bumper to bumper automobiles automobiles auto auto- mobiles as far as one could see along the narrow roads We drove about fifteen miles mUes knowing only that we were going to Maces Macle's sisters sister's home Macie Made was one of the close members of the ward Today we cant can't recall her name or her face but we do remember distinctly the hospitality that we received Macle's Mades sister was a convert to the Church Her husband was not a member They were originally from one of the southern states South Carolina I tl think They lived in a southern colonial type mansion-type two story house Our hosts had retired when we arrived and people were rolling their sleeping bags out on the floor To get anywhere In the house one had to step over overa a sleeping form The families slept In the dooryard In an Apache tent trailer we had pulled from Michigan When we awoke In the morning Maces Macle's sister was preparing breakfast for what must have been 45 people We had fruit juice hot biscuits with milk gravy over them typically southern and fried eggs I asked myself if I would have made hot biscuits for that many people that early In the morning We were famished famish famish- ed having been unable to find anything to eat at the pageant except some cookies we brought to piece on Being in the family so to speak we stayed and helped clean up No they did not have an electric dishwasher We asked if her husband objected to strangers moving in on them inasmuch as he was not a member of the Church She answered No he understands how much the Church means to me and supports me In most everything I do By this time we were feeling pretty humble and quite selfish We wondered If people here In Mormon Country would open their homes and pantries to total strangers as Macies Macie's sister had done Would we women have made an effort If our husbands believed differently than we did or would we have used that as an excuse or a way out Think about it ill r You may say If she's so anxious let HER do It To this I can only quote An ounce of judgment is worth a pound of wit wU People traveling now to the Pageant on pre-arranged pre bus tours stay In Rochester New York about an hours hour's ride from the Hill Hlll Cumorah We have Provo and Richfield with all the towns between which certainly would not be too far away Perhaps you think the Mormon Miracle will fade away when everyone in Utah has seen it It Is not just the members of the Church who flock to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant The people in that area are predominantly non They too will come searching for the MORMON MIRACLE I I r r I. I I I 7 t w i iF iT if f a f T I F I r t I tI Barbara Bullock Ogden and David Madsen Gunnison t i rehearse roles in The Cactus Flower at Snow College I 3 |