Manti Pageant - A lost art of american history

We recently had the opportunity to take my kids to the Manti Pageant. This is a pageant as dictionary.com explains it: "a public entertainment consisting of a procession of people in elaborate, colorful costumes, or an outdoor performance of a historical scene." Manti has been the home of the Mormon Miracle Pageant for 50 years. This small town in central Utah, population of about 3300 people, swells to over 18,000 people for the pageant each night for two weeks except for Sunday and Monday. They estimate over 150,000 people come each year to see the free pageant. It typically starts at 9:30pm and ends at 11pm. You should probably have a hotel in one of the bigger towns near by or expect to sit in traffic for about 2 hours to get back to Provo, UT.

The Pageant this year was special because it was the 50th anniversary, happening right there on Temple hill. It was a wonderful evening. One of the things you notice when it gets dark is how many stars are visible. Being from a "light polluted" city in California, we don't get to see all of the stars that we could see in Manti. It was hard not to look at the beautiful night sky and ponder all the great things we have been given in this life.

That is part of the allure of the pageant, the setting. The pageant is held outside at the base of
the small hill that the magnificent Manti Temple sits. The temple is the backdrop to the stage that looks about the size of a football field. The pageant starts when it is dark. There are some spectacular fire effects and lighting that help tell the story of how the people settled the area. It is a wonderful story of how their faith, courage, passion, and drive led them to central Utah and how they built their Zion in Sanpete County.

This pageant has special meaning to me and my family as my family comes from this area. They came to settle in Sanpete county in the 1880's following the Latter-day Saints across the plains from Norway and Wales. They settled in this area and raised their families there. I still have many cousins that live in the area. One of my cousins was key in putting the pageant on this year.

One of the most moving moments was when the Angel Moroni is standing on top of the west tower of the temple (This is actually a person standing there all dressed in white, most LDS temples have a statute on the temple, but this is one that does not have the Angel Moroni on the top of its spire). It is a highlight of the pageant. The Angel Moroni standing on the spire of the temple,was the only thing lit up, when a shooting star streaked across the sky, right over his head. That was just an added bonus to a wonderful evening with my kids.

So if you ever want a great night out, with some fun and inspiring entertainment, check out a historical pageant near you. You might be surprised how entertaining and knowledgeable, they can be.

• https://www.lds.org/locations/pageants
• https://www.facebook.com/MantiPageant
• https://www.facebook.com/HillCumorahPageant
• https://www.facebook.com/NauvooPageant
• https://www.facebook.com/CastleValleyPageant
• https://www.facebook.com/ClarkstonPageant
• https://www.facebook.com/MesaEasterPageant

DWP