It's that Easter Pageant Time of Year

The last month has been an odd one for me. It's been fraught with unexpected changes in plans, and a lot of continued bafflement for me in the way things end so differently than expected. I've been sick, and that illness (a seemingly neverending cold/flu) has caused most of the changes in plans.

Last year, the Easter Pageant was a place of peace and strength for me. I watched the practices, sitting on the north lawn of the Mesa, AZ temple. I talked with some of the people involved and found inspiration in their smiles and experiences. I walked the temple grounds, and around the Easter Pageant stage, and found peace in the quiet that exists when practices and shows are finished, and everyone has gone home for the day. The pageant, the people, the stage, the location of it being on the temple grounds...all of it evokes peace and hope in my heart.


The production of the Easter Pageant is an extremely invovled one. Hundreds of hours are spent to ensure that everything is 'just right'. One of the most touching stories I heard last year was about the lamb used in the scene with Adam - when he lifts the lamb above his head, and the narrator explains that God gave the commandment of sacrifice to Adam. The miracle in this, each year, is explained in this article from 2007:

"Miracle of the Lamb".


I heard the story, and the invitation was given to everyone present to please pray for such a lamb to be found, as I sat watching the practice one afternoon last year.

This year I looked forward to the chance of taking at least a couple of hours each week and going to watch the practices. Due to my illness and my mind being so foggy from being sick, I missed it all. The pageant, however, is not over yet, and I will have the chance to watch it this week. For that, I am incredibly grateful and excited!

Something I did get to enjoy this year was new - an exhibit called "Reflections of Christ". It is being displayed in the Visitor's Center and includes many people from the Easter Pageant. One thing which touched my heart was that the music was composed by Clyde Bawden. He's the guy who played at a fireside last year, and who gave me the last CD he had from the trunk of his car. I bawled and bawled through the fireside as he played his song 'Human Spirit' which is about overcoming.

I am so grateful for people in this world who share their talents and gifts, and who share their testimonies of God and Christ. They bless and strenghten and uplift my heart and life.