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Show Missionary Fakes Part In Pageant A Pleasant Grove man has been selected to portray a major role in one of the nation's best known religious pageants. Elder DeVere E. Walker, a so nof Mrs. Alta E. Walker, 278 So. 1st West, will appear in "America's Witness for Christ" at Palmyra, New York, August 18, 19 and 20. j Elder Walker, a missionary for the Mormon Church in Rochester, New York, is one of the 185 young men and women in the New York-1 New Jersey-Pennsylvania area who will appear in the seventh annual pageant depicting scenes from the Book of Mormon on the wooded slopes of Hill Cumorah. It is here that Joseph Smith received gold plates from the Angel Moroni j which he translated from the Eg-yptian Eg-yptian in 1829. The performance portrays wars, trials and religious customs of t Nephites and Lamenites, who emigrated em-igrated to South America in 600 B. C. guided by the Prophet Lehi and under the direction of the Lord. They gradually moved to territory now the United States, and began a series of destructive wars which caused annihilation of all but a tiny group who became the American Indians. Most thrilling thrill-ing of all panorama scenes traditionally trad-itionally has been. the appearance of Jesus Christ to the Nephites. This scene comes near the end of the performance and is portrayed on the middle of three stages set in theshrubbery of Hill Cumorah. Last year more than 60,000 saw two nights of brilliant pageantry. This year an extra night has been added to the festival and officials anticipate an audience of more than 100.000 people from throughout through-out the United States and Canada. Elder Walker, who has served as a missionary in the Rochester area since last January has been in the Eastern States Mission Field for thirteen months. He is a graduate grad-uate of Pleasant Grove high school and Seminary. Prior to Missionary Mission-ary work, he attended he Brig-ham Brig-ham Young University. |