Preparing to Leave

The last few days have been filled with preparation. Many of you know that Ryan and I will be traveling to Nauvoo, IL and participating in the Nauvoo Pageant. We were in the Pageant last year so we know what is ahead and I am hoping to take you all for a bit of the journey.

Nauvoo is a city that was founded by the Mormon pioneers in the late 1830's. They arrived there destitute as they had been driven out of the state of Missouri, most arriving with only the clothes on their backs. The area was a swamp and malaria became rampant among the refugees. They overcame and within a few short years had built the largest, most beautiful city in Illinois with a population of over 20,000.  Located on a gentle bend of the Mississippi, with a gleaming temple built on the bluff and the sprawling city at it's feet, it became a major center of commerce and leadership for the state. It's beauty, cleanliness, industry, organization and safety were reported far and wide, many considering it to be the most beautiful city they had ever been too. For the saints living there, it became a beloved season of joy, nestled between the painful past of Missouri and the arduous exodus to Utah in the future.

In 1844, the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered at the hands of a mob. Outsiders thought that the Mormons would disband without their leader, not realizing that Christ is our leader, not Joseph Smith. As the church and Nauvoo continued to grow, so did the persecution. In the middle of winter in 1846, the saints left the beautiful city, their farms and homes, and made their way across the frozen Mississippi river heading west with what they could carry. They spent the winter huddled in tents and shacks in a place called Winter Quarters just outside of what today is Omaha, Nebraska. Over the next decades, thousands of Mormon pioneers would make their way west, stopping in Nauvoo before continuing on to Utah. Through the years, Nauvoo, once one of the greatest cities in America, became a ghost town. Much of it was looted, some destroyed and all fell ruin to decay. The magnificent temple built by the sacrifice of so many as a monument of worship to God was used as a cattle barn for a time before it was finally struck by lightning and burned to the ground.

Some years ago, the Church began the process of re-purchasing the properties and restoring Nauvoo. I first fell in love with Nauvoo when I was 10 years old and we spent a few short hours there after attending a family reunion in Ohio. Over the years, more and more of the city has been restored, the Red Brick Store, Scovil Bakery, The Browning Gun Shop, the brick yard, the blacksmith shop, the mansion house, private homes and farms, the temple quarry. For years, a fence guarded the foundation stones of the temple. Walking around the foundation stones felt like wandering through a cemetery - so quiet, so sacred. A few years ago, the temple was restored. It is amazing. Breathtakingly beautiful. I cried when I first saw it last year.

For years, the church has put on a pageant in July. Five years ago a new pageant opened and using an outdoor stage, music, and with a cast of 300 members from all of the world, we tell the story of this city, the people and the gospel that made it great. The audience seats 3,000 and most nights it will be full. Before the pageant starts, there is a frontier county fair where everyone, cast and audience alike, travel back in time and spend the evening playing pioneer games - stick ball, dancing, tug-of-war, cross cut sawing, stilts, puppets, checkers, quilting, rag tying, and stick pull, just to name a few. At 8:30, the bagpipes sound and lead everyone to their seats and the pageant begins.

The pageant is a miracle of no small proportions. First, there is the core cast - a group of 20 members who have all the speaking roles and are in the pageant for the entire summer. Next, there are the Young Performing Missionaries - a group of 10-12 young adult who perform many of the shows around the city and dance in two of the dance numbers in the pageant. They are also there for the entire summer. Then we have the work crew - two groups of about 12 young men ages 16-25 who work the light towers and all of the back stage (or I should say under stage. They move the stage by hand multiple times each evening). Each work crew is there for 3 week - they are amazing young men and Ryan wants to be on work crew when he is old enough. Then we have family casts. There are 5 family casts of 15-25+ families. Each cast has approximately 120-150 participants and this is what Ryan & I will be doing. The first week a family cast is there, we learn the show. Our week is filled with costume fittings, learning the County Fair games, and learning the entire 2 hour show in less than one week. We will begin Monday at 9:00a.m. and we will be performing in the finale by Tues. night. One week later, we are performing the entire show. And the pattern continues all 4 weeks of pageant, constantly there is a rehearsal cast and a performing cast all month long. It is a miracle. The directors and staff are amazing. Costuming alone is a miracle. There are over 10,000 costumes. Each cast has participants ages 18 months to Great Grandparent. That many people, that much stuff, that little time... It is a miracle.

I wish I could somehow communicate the feelings I have for this sweet place. There is a line from the pageant that Parley P. Pratt, a Mormon pioneer and former apostle of the church says in the beginning of the pageant- "When you (speaking to the audience) are here, we are here." That is so true. The lives and testimonies of these pioneers permeates every stone in Nauvoo. You can feel them. Their voices and testimonies radiate. Over and over again last year I spoke with people not of our faith who loved Nauvoo. One couple had come for only a week but were still there over two months later. The husband, not a member, didn't want to leave. Last year, Ryan and I were there on the one year anniversary of the divorce. I will never forget the first thing the artistic director, Ray Robinson, said when he first met our cast. He said that "Nauvoo is a healing place." So true.

So, the last months have been filled with preparation. There have been daily devotionals and assignments to prepare for this opportunity. We have been learning the pageant music. Tuesday, we were set apart as Special Representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ for the Nauvoo Pageant. Yesterday, I got the car trip checked and we spent an hour deep cleaning it. Today is laundry, packing, cleaning. Tomorrow, pack the car, clean the house and hopefully get on the road by 1:00. I am hoping to email a bit each day and take you along with us. No promises because internet is very spotty in Nauvoo and it is so hard to communicate the millions of wonders of each day. "I can not write a hundredth part..."

More than anything, I hope I somehow communicate my heart, the spirit of this place, the testimony of these people, my testimony. Each day this week, my excitement and joy have doubled. Being far from family when the divorce happened, I felt very much like a ship without a harbor. Until Nauvoo, no place felt like I truly belonged. And then Nauvoo. It became my harbor, the healing arms of a mother. So many prayers were answered, so much strength given, so many blessings. Am I excited to spend the next two weeks in the blazing sun with 90% humidity singing and dancing in layers of costuming on little sleep each night? Absolutely. I can hardly wait. I am going home. I am going home.