Nauvoo Pageant

The Nauvoo Pageant was great and inspiring. This was our first time to ever see it. We had the opportunity to attend several times. The pageant stage is only about one block away from where we live. The pageant always runs from the first Tuesday in July through the first Saturday in August. You can really feel the spirit of those great saints who lived here. The pageant brings them to life.

Each evening during the month of the pageant, the country fair activities begin at seven o'clock. These included story telling, puppet shows, dancing, bag pipers, pioneer games, handcart and races to name just a few.

Joseph giving the King Follett Discourse

Emma in the Garden

The core actors of the pageant also performed various vignettes around Nauvoo. They included part of the King Follett discourse performed in the Grove, "Women of Nauvoo" performed in the Women's Garden, "Go Ye Into All the World" performed in the Seventies Hall and "Letters of Joseph and Emma." Ann and I managed to see all of them except for Letters of Joseph and Emma. Our favorite was one in the Seventies Hall. It was done by the actors who portrayed Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball and Parley P. Pratt telling about missions sharing their testimonies.

Go Ye into all the World at the Seventies Hall

We even had the annual protesters with their signs and shouting. They had to stay on the roads so they mostly stood on the road where people were crossing the road to the country fair area. The pageant people handled the shouting pretty well. They placed the bag pipers right by the protesters so that when the protesters started shouting at everyone, the pipers would play and the protesters stopped shouting because they were drowned out by the pipers.

Joseph Smith Jr in Pageant

Saints and the newly completed temple

Joseph and all in white at end

Protesters with Church Security in background

The pageant is really focused on missionary efforts in getting missionary referrals from both member and non members alike.`This year the missionaries received just over 3,000 and they are still trickling into the pageant office. They are still busy following up making phone calls arranging for missionary visits. The attendance this year was just over 30,000. Although the attendance was higher last year, the response to the follow up call are yielding 72% yes I would like to know more compared to 17% last year. People are being drawn to Nauvoo in greater and greater numbers and they don't know why. The spirit of the Lord is working on people. The harvest is really moving forward.