Hill Cumorah Thunderstorm

Growing up, The Hill Cumorah Pageant was an annual tradition. Some years I attended multiple times. Well worth 3 hours in the car, uncountable mosquito bites, and a very late night. The show and everything leading up to its start was always so exciting.

Parking in a huge field amidst a sea of cars . Worrying about finding your car later.

Protesters with mean signs, yelling offensive phrases in fog horns, handing out their propaganda in ugly pamphlets and newspapers.

The first sight of that magnificent stage sprawled across the face of The Hill.

Snacks.

Frisbees.

Lawn Chairs.

Blankets.

Flags of the nations waving tall and proud.

Reverent music playing loud enough to drown the sound of the picketers across the road.

My favorite pre-show diversion: meeting with the costumed cast members. They mingle and spread cheer for hours before the production's beginning.

In case you don't know, The Hill Cumorah Pageant is an outdoor theatrical performance, telling The Book of Mormon story. It's about a family, hundreds of years before Christ. They leave their home in Jerusalem with another family and are led by the Lord across the ocean to a new, promised land. It follows their struggles to remain faithful and to prosper in the Americas. The culmination of the performance is when Christ visits the people after his resurrection to teach, love, and bless them just as he had in the Old World. The scene of Christ's visit to the Americas always tugged on my emotions, invariably stealing a few tears. From an early age I felt I could identify with those people who believed and waited for Him. My heart just bursts every time. Hundreds of years of faithful waiting fulfilled. They fall down at the Savior's feet.

Oh Wow. I just love The Pageant.

We planned on going Saturday. Part of the plan was to meet a friend and her family up there before the show began. But the forecast made a last minute change in its prediction and suddenly rain and thunder were headed our way. By mid afternoon, that last minute prediction proved itself right and we were greeted by a short, but vicious thunderstorm. I told PTB that I couldn't remember ever attending Pageant when it was cancelled, though I could remember sitting through many productions in the rain. We worried a bit, then blue sky returned and, figuring we'd seen the forecasted thunderstorm, we headed up to Palmyra without even the worry of rain. We parked, tried to memorize the location of our vehicle, packed up our blankets, snacks, and play things, and headed past the protesters over to the flag surrounded field.

There, we set up a blanket and enjoyed our time, mingling with cast members, and enjoying the company of old friends until those nostalgia-inducing-trumpets lauded the opening of the show. And away we went. Nolan was intrigued. Gerret was almost interested. I was loving it. I'm not sure how PTB was feeling, but you can ask him. We got to Alma baptizing in the waters of Mormon and suddenly I was overcome by an anxious feeling as a huge wind seemed to come from no where. I tried to pay attention to the show, but I could not ignore the wind and the eerie feeling creeping over my skin. Then I noticed lightening bolts far in the distance and just knew it was coming our way. So I grabbed Nolan and ran across the grassy aisle to Patrick and Gerret informing them that I was feeling nervous. Without much discussion, we started packing our stuff. We were mostly packed when the thunder cracked and clouds let loose fat raindrops, soaking us in just a few seconds. We were turning our backs on the stage as a man announced over the speakers, "Due to severe weather, the show will be postponed for ten minutes. ALL CAST MEMBERS LEAVE THE STAGE!!" We practically ran/fell to the sea if cars and by a small miracle found ours, which we loaded in a hurry and plopped down in our seats, completely drenched.

A frantic ending to what would have been a lovely, nostalgic night. Oh well.