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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{short description|Former Latter Day Saint theatrical performance}}
{{Infobox play
| name = Mormon Miracle Pageant
| image = 
| image_size = 
| caption = A caption for the image
| writer = [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
| setting = South lawn of Temple Hill, [[Manti Utah Temple|Manti Temple]], [[Manti, Utah]]
| premiere = 1967
| subject = [[Book of Mormon]], [[First Vision]], [[Mormon pioneer]]s
| genre = Religion
| web = http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org}}
The '''''Mormon Miracle Pageant''''' was a [[Latter-day Saint pageant]] held in [[Manti, Utah]], until it was discontinued in 2019. An annual outdoor [[Theatre|theatrical]] [[performance]], it was produced by an amateur cast of over five hundred members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church). The nightly program took place on the south lawn of temple hill at the [[Manti Utah Temple|Manti Temple]], usually in June. The two-week pageant would typically draw an average of 15,000 people per night over an eight-night performance.<ref name=MM2>{{cite web |url=http://www.mormonmiracle.org/information.html |title= |website=www.mormonmiracle.org |access-date=11 April 2006}}{{title missing|date=May 2022}}</ref>

The 2019 pageant was the final full-scale event of its type, as part of a church-wide directive to make church events more focused on home and family and discourage all large-scale productions.<ref>Stephenson, Kathy. [https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/06/23/mantis-mormon-miracle/ "Manti’s Mormon Miracle Pageant is now history. Here are five remembrances of the show’s 52-year run."], ''[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]'', 23 June 2019. Retrieved on 24 March 2020.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Will next year's Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant be the last? Hill Cumorah show to end after 2020 as church steps away from large shows.|url=https://sltrib.com/religion/2018/10/27/mantis-mormon-miracle|access-date=2021-03-22|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Image:Manti Temple 5.jpg|thumb|250px|The Pageant was held on a hill adjacent to the [[Manti Utah Temple|Manti Temple]].]]

==Content==
For LDS Church members, the pageant was a [[Mormonism and history|faith-promoting]] family event. The pageant portrayed the relationship and chronology of three separate, but related, faith-promoting accounts. Opening with the experiences of the church's first [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|president]], [[Joseph Smith]], during his young-adulthood in the [[burned-over district]] of [[New York (state)|New York]] in the 1820s. Including the recovery and translation of the [[Book of Mormon]], the restoration of the "Church of Christ" in 1830 (which was renamed "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" in 1838) and its infancy, and the death of Smith in 1844. During the dramatization of the translation of the Book of Mormon an overview of its contents it presented. The wars and contentions of the native [[Israelite]] inhabitants of [[North America]] are represented, along with their teachings of [[Jesus Christ]], leading to his post-[[resurrection]] appearance in the first century A.D. The pageant concludes with the persecution of the [[Mormon pioneer]]s in the East and their subsequent exodus to [[Utah]], led by the church's second president, [[Brigham Young]], and the group of pioneers sent to central Utah (now [[Sanpete County, Utah|Sanpete Valley]]), where the Manti Utah Temple stands.

The performance began shortly after sunset, during the early summer (usually late June), with people often arriving several hours before the performance. In addition to restaurants in the town, there were special food stands for the event. Light security was provided at the performance site and the surrounding streets to ensure general order and to direct traffic.

==History==
The pageant was first produced by the Manti Utah [[Stake (LDS Church)|Stake]] in 1967 under the leadership of [[stake president]] Vernon Kunz. Helen and Morgan Dyreng of Manti, parents of past [[Young Women (organization)|Young Women]] General President [[Margaret D. Nadauld]], directed the production.<ref>[https://www.deseret.com/2010/7/7/20126198/obituary-dyreng-helen/ "Obituary: DYRENG, HELEN"], '''Deseret News'''.</ref> Duane and Martha Ryan were the narrators. Although simple and unpolished in comparison to the pageant in later years, the performance was accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra. The original music directors were McLoyd Erickson, Harry A. Dean, and Evan Bean. Among the orchestra members was [[Richard Nibley]] (brother of [[Hugh Nibley]]), who had trained most of the rest of the musical group.<ref>[http://www.mormonmiracle.org/history.html Mormon Miracle Pageant: Book of Mormon and LDS Church history in pageant form - Manti, Utah] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609085804/http://www.mormonmiracle.org/history.html |date=9 June 2007 }}</ref> The original script was based on the 1950 book ''The Mormon Miracle'' written by Grace Leora Johnson.

==Pageant evangelists and protesters==
There were usually several [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] Christian church groups, who would attempt to [[proselytize]] the largely Latter-day Saint attendees prior to the nightly event. These evangelists would typically hand out [[Anti-Mormonism|anti-Mormon]] (or pro-[[Evangelicalism]]) literature and engage pageant-goers in religious discussion as they would approach the site.<ref name=MM1>Bean, Kent R. (2005). ''Policing the Borders of Identity at the'' Mormon Miracle Pageant. Doctoral Dissertation. Bowling Green State University.[http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?bgsu1124572144]</ref> Some evangelists would carry picket signs and wear "overtly anti-Mormon t-shirts." In addition, some local "[[Mormon fundamentalism|fundamentalist Mormon]]" groups were known to carry picket signs in the approach area, criticizing the LDS Church's position on [[Mormonism and polygamy|polygamy]] and [[abortion]]; the LDS Church abandoned the practice of polygamy in the 19th century, and believes that abortion should be allowed only in rare cases, such as rape or incest.<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/abortion?lang=eng "Abortion"], ''Church Handbook''. Retrieved on 24 March 2020.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|LDS Church}}
* [[List of pageants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
* [[Temple (LDS Church)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation
| last = Johnson
| first = Grace
| title = The Mormon Miracle
| year = 1950
| location = Salt Lake City
| publisher = Deseret Book
| oclc = 42388514
}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Mormon Miracle Pageant}}
* [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/events/pageants?lang=eng Pageants] Latter-day Saints Official site
* [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/details/manti-utah-temple?lang=eng Manti Utah Temple Official site]
* [https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/manti-utah-temple/ Manti Utah Temple] at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org
* [http://sanpete.com The Sanpete County website]
* [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1978/07/mantis-miracle?lang=eng "'Manti’s ‘Miracle'"], [[New Era (magazine)|New Era]], July 1978, p. 18
* [https://archive.today/20130201202942/http://sanpete.com/page/pageant Pageant Visitor Information Page]
*{{cite archive |date = 1968–1974 |collection = Mormon Miracle Pageant Papers |collection-url = http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/545 |repository = L. Tom Perry Special Collections |institution = Brigham Young University |location = Provo, Utah}}

[[Category:1967 establishments in Utah]]
[[Category:2019 disestablishments in Utah]]
[[Category:1967 in Christianity]]
[[Category:1967 musicals]]
[[Category:Festivals in Utah]]
[[Category:History of the Latter Day Saint movement]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint plays and pageants]]
[[Category:Plays based on real people]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1967]]
[[Category:Recurring events disestablished in 2019]]
[[Category:Stage portrayals of Jesus]]
[[Category:The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Sanpete County, Utah]]
[[Category:Manti, Utah]]
[[Category:Religious controversies in theatre]]
[[Category:Mormonism-related controversies]]
[[Category:Works based on the Book of Mormon]]
[[Category:Mormonism and other religions]]

Mormon Miracle Pageant - Revision history

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