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Show Local Missionary To Participate In Pageant At Hill Cumorah Birthplace of Mormon Church Elder Devere E. Walker, who is serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Latter-day Saints in Elmira, New York, has been chosen to appear in one of the nations best known religious relig-ious pageants. He will leave for Palmyra, New York on August 1. to prepare for a major role in "America's Witness for Christ," a panorama portraying the history of America's earliest inhabitants, as told in the Book of Mormon, to be presented August 10, 11 and 12. Elder Walker, who has served in the Eastern States Mission for the past two years, has recently been acting as supervising Elder of the Seneca District, which covers cov-ers the Central portion of New York state. He is a former student of the Brigham Young University, Provo, and plans to resume his ' studies there this fall. The pageant will be presented for the ninth year on the slope of Hill Cumorah, the birthplace of the Mormon Church. It is here that the Prophet Joseph Smith was given a set of gold plates by Moroni, Mor-oni, a resurrected man, ,in 1827. These he translated from the Egyptian Eg-yptian into the Book of Mormon. "America's Witness for Christ" was seen by 75,000 people in a three night period last August and officials are expecting an audience of 100,000 people from throughout the world this year. Prepared and presented by 200 young missionaries of the Church serving i nthe New York, New Jersey, Jer-sey, Pennsylvania and Maryland area, the drama shows scenes of wars, trials, and religious customs practiced by Nephites and Laman-ites, Laman-ites, who were the first inhabitants of the western hemisphere before the time of Columbus. Most spectcular and moving scene is one showing the appearance appear-ance to the Nephites of the resurrected res-urrected Christ, shortly after his crucifixion. He appears in flowing white, and tells His listeners the Gospel He has taught in Jerusalen. Director of the Pageant is Dr. Harold I. Hansen, Professor of Drama at Utah State Agricultural College. Elder Walker's mother, Mrs. Al-ta Al-ta E. Walker, will fly from Salt Lake City to Rochester, New York on August 8 to attend the three days- of Pageantry and conferences. confer-ences. Elder Walker will be released re-leased on August 14 from his missionary mis-sionary work. They will then make a tour of historic points of interest, inter-est, visiting New York City, Washington Wash-ington D. C. and Chicago, Illinois on their way home. They expect to arrive in Pleasant Grove August 25th. |