Thoughts and Reflections-- Nauvoo Pageant Experiences

I am grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to be in the Family Cast of the Nauvoo Pageant in 2011. It was quite a different experience than last year when I did Family Support and that is because I was on stage and not backstage for the show. Being on stage was almost a sacred experience because I was truly representing those early saints who lived in Nauvoo. Each night I performed, I chose to represent one of my own ancestors who lived in Nauvoo. There were many times when I felt that I was feeling as they did as I was performing different scenes. I wasn’t really performing though. It was so much more. I believe that it is more than true the saying in the pageant, “When you’re here, we’re here.” We all felt it when we were on stage. The directors would talk about how movement was the language of our mission and how we bore our testimonies to the audience. I felt most successful when I wasn’t performing—trying to be perfect in the dance moves or positions on stage. I was most successful when I was being me- forgetting myself (my fears, weakness, inadequacy, comfort zone) and giving of my whole self to the scene. I learned that giving of myself meant to give more energy than I felt I had and to converse with others on stage as if I were really in that scene. “I will rest in God’s kingdom, but let me build it first.” It also meant to not complain about the sweat or the heat or any mistakes we made. “To give more that we had, we gave of ourselves.” The most powerful scenes happened when I really thought about what we were doing and the impact it has had on my own life and not just early saints.

            Just before going to Nauvoo, I felt impressed to read a book called, The Women of Nauvoo. It was great preparation for one of the great things I learned. I was selected to be in the organization of the Relief Society scene and as we rehearsed it, the stage manager led us in a discussion. She pointed out that there is a Relief Society music theme that is played throughout the pageant and not just in that scene. It even is in the raising of the temple scene when the RS sisters hold up the panels as the men lift it up and we all sing “Praise to the Man.” I gained a greater appreciation and love for the early women of the church who did so much to help care for their homes and families as well as make it possible for the men to go on missions and build the temple. Having that RS theme be throughout the pageant made me realize how much women really have and do influence or take part in building up the church. I have the potential to do so much good. The Relief Society was organized so that sisters could be there for each other and use our talents and sensitivities to help all those in need. “Sisters, we are going to do something extraordinary. Come!” The women are those who made the panels for the temple in the pageant and then we are the ones who get to run it up stage and hold it up and attach it together until the men pull it up. It’s amazing. I can’t really express how I feel about it only that I am grateful to be a part of it. I had the opportunity to be one of the runners who ran one of the panels up the stage to the men at the temple. Each night for a week I also had the opportunity to help take the panels down and fold them into the baskets. It was an almost sacred responsibility.

            The healing scene was my most favorite to perform because I have a strong testimony of the power of the priesthood. It has saved my life and I've received so many blessings that have guided and blessed my life. I also have a strong testimony of the power of the Atonement to heal the spirit and the body, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It’s such a simple scene, but having apostles come to my little group to check on how the sick one was doing and then to give him a blessing meant so much to me.

            The other scene that impressed me each night I performed it was the martyrdom scene. Each night I felt how much my ancestors LOVED the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. To see him go and then to see Emma standing all alone, crushed and sickened with grief, pain, and sorrow always hit me really hard. Immediately following that scene, Brigham Young steps forward, followed by the other apostles. I could never take my eyes off of him. I’d step forward and feel the power of his words and how much faith those early saints had to have to really believe him and move forward. He talks about how the death of the prophet would not stop the church from progressing. They will finish the temple and continue to grow and prosper. I felt so much gratitude for the truth of what he said. There ARE living prophets on the earth today and it is so important for us to follow them with faith. When I bore witness of the prophet Joseph Smith and the prophets today to those I talked to before and after the pageant, I felt the power and authority of my calling to testify to them of those things.

            Another thing that impressed me this year were the families I served with in the cast. They each welcomed me and served me as if I were a part of their families, too. I watched how they interacted with one another in kindness, love, and respect and it made me want to be a better sister, daughter, and eventually wife and mother. I know these families weren’t perfect, but they were trying and that was enough. “We who were many were becoming one.”

            The last thing that I learned was that conversations are just as important as getting referrals. I felt successful when I had meaningful conversations with individuals or families and I testified to them or lifted them up in some way. I would always invite, and some would have friends or family to share the gospel with, but many didn’t, and it was okay. I kept talking to them anyway. Making those connections, bearing my testimony, and inviting them to look for something to learn from the pageant was just as important as encouraging them to share what they have with their friends or family. In fact, one of the things I enjoyed the most this year was having those meaningful conversations with other cast members. Last year I didn’t have so many opportunities to talk to and get to know the families and the core cast and so it was wonderful experiencing that this time.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading all these posts about my experience. I hope that each of you will make it a goal to experience the pageant for yourself by going to watch it or participate in it if you feel you should. All my pictures are in my gallery and some of the best ones are on facebook. Enjoy!