Of Prophets, Temples and Testimonies

Wed. June 30

The temple as seen from the stage

It is getting harder to accurately express our pageant life. Today started at 8:00a.m. at the stage as we learned more blocking. I don’t even remember which scenes – morning feels so long ago.

This afternoon was something exceptional. We spent an hour and a half reviewing the music of the pageant with Bro. Brad Thompson. He is amazing. First, we would sing a song and we sounded much like a fairly decent ward choir. Then he would ask us what thoughts we had about the song, experiences relating to that subject, how those emotions look like and sound like. He asked us the purpose each hymns – why was this hymn chosen? Why was this verse chosen? What is going on while we are singing? Our sharing almost became a testimony meeting. And then he would say, “O.K. Let’s sing that.” And suddenly that ward choir sounded like angels from above. Every eye was glued to Bro. Thompson’s direction and every cheek wet from the trail of tears.

I am just understanding this but Nauvoo Pageant isn’t about the Pioneers. It is about each one of us. Every part of the pageant is our story. Our story of family, love, loss, healing, and joy. It is our testimony of Joseph Smith and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we sing each song, we are thinking of our individual stories, singing our individual stories, not acting the Pioneers’ story. 

In the evening, we learned the blocking of the Martyrdom and building the temple scenes. First, they had myself and two others share our feelings from last year as we learned this part of the show. We each talked about the powerful witness we each felt that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. Then, without any instruction, we ran the scene. As we formed the walls of the jail, we stood as silent sentinels as Joseph and Hyrum Smith walked to their deaths. The spirit profoundly witnessed that Joseph was a prophet of God. Everyone was silent, even the children. Tears trickled down our cheeks. The Spirit was so thick I felt like I could physically touch it. The moments were powerful ones that I will never forget and forever lean upon.

From the martyrdom, we immediately turn to finishing the temple. The temple on stage is a sacred. It takes all of the men on stage and another 15 young men underneath to build the frame. 

Then the sisters bring out the fabric panels that make up the face of the temple. The panels are treated as sacred, partially because of what they represent but also because of the sacrifice and dedication that was given to make them. The following is an article printed in the Ensign about the Nauvoo Temple project.

Nauvoo Temple: One Stitch at a Time

By Karol Jean Kasteler Miller

Late in April 2005, I received a phone call from a friend at Church headquarters, asking if I would like to do a big project: design and sew a 25-by-40-foot fabric representation of the front of the original Nauvoo Temple. It would be used in a new Nauvoo pageant. It was an exciting challenge for which I would use an architectural drawing of the temple as my guide. The deadline to finish the project was in six weeks.

Using the blessing of e-mail, I gathered help from women in my family, lifelong friends, and various stake and ward members. They included local Chinese, Laotian, and Thai sisters. My family garage served as our workshop.

Eighty women helped sew, embroider, crochet, and cross-stitch the panels over 30 days and nights. Ten women sewed the temple tower over the next 10 days and nights. Many supportive family members also helped at home.

Sometimes sisters would clutch their sewing bags and say, “I just don’t want to go. Can I come back tomorrow?” The sisters felt an urgency to complete the sewing so our temple would be built by the deadline. We had one goal in mind—completing the temple in time.

We felt a connection with the building of the original Nauvoo Temple and the early sisters in Nauvoo. As we sewed, we reflected on their tremendous sacrifices. We sensed that we understood in some small way the feelings of those pioneer sisters as they labored hard to assist in completing their temple. We pushed harder.

We felt creative blessings multiply as the project progressed. I was blessed with good health and amazing strength, despite getting very limited sleep during those six weeks. Countless sweet and powerful prayers were offered. We met our goals with grateful hearts. I believe all of us who participated understand more now about consecrating time and talents to the building of the kingdom here on earth, and so much more of the magnitude of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s vision.

Every time we use the panels, they are very carefully folded, placed in special baskets and kept tucked away when not in use. We strive to never let them touch the ground. This year I am a runner that carries the panels past the sisters to the brethren who attach them to the bar that hoist them into place. Last year I was a sister with my arms outstretched keeping the panels from touching the floor. No matter my job, it is such a privilege to build the temple. As the temple goes up, we stand back and gaze at it and every time, the Spirit wells up. Ryan comes over and joins me and some of my best parenting memories are these nights standing together gazing at the temple. 

I struggle to express the tender feelings of the day, the many witnesses and confirmations I’ve received, the waves of blessings. In addition to what I have shared, there were so many wonderful conversations, friendships built, laughter, jokes, hugs and joy. My words do not do this experience justice. My pictures cannot record it accurately. I am so grateful to have this experience and wish every person could feel and experience and know what I have felt, experienced and know. My heart is full of the good news of the gospel.