Our days of rehearsal are now over

Today, in Sacrament meeting, the group assembled occupied seats filling the entire chapel and recreation hall all the way back to the stage. The full cast for the pageant are here and others are coming as well to be here for the first performance that starts this coming Tuesday evening. Last evening, Main Street, here in Old Nauvoo, was crawling with people. All wanting to see the sites and feel the special spirit that resides here in Nauvoo. Gone are the geese, and deer. Either they have migrated to other climes or are hiding well beyond the view of the casual passer-by. Occasionally we see a rabbit or two on an early morning stroll. I haven't even seen as many squirrels as we used to. I guess summer is here, and with it, the population has shifted from the wild animals to the tame tourist. The wet and coolness that greeted us when we first arrived is now replaced with warm humid days. Fortunately the temple is air-conditioned (as is our apartment). Of course, we spend a lot of our time in the temple. There is no better place in Nauvoo than in the temple. And there are others that must think that as well, for our sessions are starting to fill up. For one session this last week, we had to bring in 16 extra chairs to accommodate everyone. (That is the most that fire marshals will permit, I think.) Those are the kind of problems that we like to deal with.

Most of the people that come are not from the immediate area. Most of them have traveled hundreds of miles to visit this little out-of-the-way historic site and to sense the special feelings that permeate those that come seeking them. Obviously, in the temple, we don't get a lot of opportunity to bear our testimonies to non-members. But when the pageant is here, we should be able to find many, not of our faith, who will have come to see the “Nauvoo Pageant”. In it, the actors will bare their own testimonies as they recite the testimonies of the people they represent. The words of the characters they represent are the very words that we would say ourselves and our testimonies and theirs become one. I have the opportunity to provide the Spanish for a few of the characters – and with it, that same opportunity becomes mine, to bare my testimony as I bare theirs – as I recite their lines. Perhaps I, more than many of the translators, am appreciative of this blessing since I will be providing the Spanish voice for the Prophet Joseph. I get to tell his (and now my) story of what he experienced in the Sacred Grove or when he saw God in the Kirtland Temple. I hope and pray that I will be able to give, through this “voice”, the Spirit that is needed to carry the proper message to the hearts of those who will be listening to the pageant in Spanish.

On the second of July, we attended a “Night with the Smiths”. Here, in a fireside type environment, we listened to a direct descendant of Joseph and Emma Smith tell the story of the Smith family after the saints left Nauvoo. Her perspective may be unique since she is one of the few of their descendants that are strong members of the Church. Her father is a member of one of the Mormon splinter churches and was quite anti-Mormon. So her conversion was also a story of its own that we enjoyed hearing from her.

The Fourth of July was kind of just another day at the office so to speak. The nearest parade that I was aware of was in Carthage, over 20 miles away. The nearest fireworks were in Keokuk, again several miles away. The temple was open all day, and there was a rehearsal for the pageant in the evening. Site missionaries were busy giving tours at each of the sites. Testimonies were born. The work of reclaiming God's children, both for the living and for the dead, went on at full pace – all day long. But the 4^th, was our “P” day. So we took opportunity to go to Carthage and tour the jail where the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum, were martyred. For those who remember the Bashaws, Sister Bashaw was our tour guide while we were there.