Hill Cumorah Pageant

Hill Cumorah Pageant

Begins on the third weekend in July

Billed as the largest outdoor pageant in the United States, the Hill Cumorah Pageant is based on the Bible and the Book of Mormon and is presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (popularly called Mormons) in Palmyra, New York, for nine consecutive evenings (excluding Sunday and Monday) beginning on the third weekend in July.
The drama tells the story of the people who lived on the North American continent between 600 b.c.e. and 421 c.e., and how Christ taught these ancient Americans his gospel after his resurrection in Jerusalem. Presented on seven stages, each showing of the pageant can accommodate an audience of 15,000. More than 500 people participate in the pageant on a volunteer basis. Some impressive features of the pageant include water curtains that are used during the "vision" scenes and an erupting volcano.
Hill Cumorah is believed to be the site where, in 1823, the angel Moroni instructed Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Mormon Church, to look for the secret records, written upon gold plates, that told about the ancient inhabitants of North America—American Indians that the Mormons believe were descended from the Israelites via the tribe of Joseph. Smith was told that the plates were hidden in a hill named Cumorah, located between Palmyra and Manchester, New York. But it was nearly four years before Moroni gave Smith permission to remove the plates and begin their translation. They would eventually be published as the Book of Mormon in 1830.

CONTACTS:
Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center
603 State Route 21
Palmyra, NY 14522
315-597-5851; fax: 315-597-0165
www.hillcumorah.com

SOURCES:
GdUSFest-1984, p. 129
RelHolCal-2004, p. 127