07-15-2010, 08:25 PM
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The Mormon Pageant at Hill Cumorah: Encountering the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Over the years, I've had the opportunity to encounter the public worship services of a number of different Christian denominations other than my own. I've witnessed liturgies and services in the Anglican, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, and Baptist traditions, and have also observed services in various "non-denominational" Christian churches. I enjoy watching what other people do in church; it satisfies a perpetual curiosity I have with respect to people who believe differently than I do. I like to see how they arrange and decorate their sacred spaces, and how they structure their ceremonies and rituals. I find the differences endlessly fascinating.
One denomination I had never before encountered in any way--until yesterday, that is--was the Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. Actually, allow me to correct myself, there, as not all the adherents of the Latter Day movement are "Mormons". Only the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are properly considered "Mormons", apparently. There have been various schisms and break-aways since the time of Joseph Smith, and there are several churches which adhere to the Latter Day teachings, but which are not affiliated with the LDS Church. One of those churches actually calls itself "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," to make matters utterly confusing; the difference with the more famous Mormon Church of the same name being the fact that they do not hyphentate the words "Latter Day", and that they capitalize the word "Day", whereas the LDS Church does not.
At any rate, a friend of mine mentioned a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to go and see a pageant in Palmyra, New York, that the LDS Church puts on every year. Palmyra is the place where Joseph Smith lived, and where he allegedly experienced an apparition in a wood on his parents' farm, now called the "Sacred Grove" by Mormons. Interestingly, Palmyra is one of the few towns in all the world which has an intersection featuring a church on each of its four corners. Naturally, we just had to drive through the intersection and sure enough, there they were: an Episcopalian church, a Presbyterian church, a Lutheran church and a Methodist church. No Mormon churches, though.
The Mormon temple, erected in the year 2000, is located a few miles outside of the village, near the Smith farm. It is a smallish, single-story structure made of a greyish-white stone. Atop the structure is a tall pedestal featuring a gold-leafed statue of the "Angel Moroni" blowing his trumpet. All LDS temples feature this statue. The design is standard: 41 other LDS temples around the world have the exact same design, all built by the same contractor. Odd, if you ask me. The design is a pleasing one, however, if somewhat androgynistic in character: it is at once sacred and profane, looking something like a house of worship, and something like a Federal Reserve branch. The grounds were beautifully landscaped and maintained. The doors were locked. People emerged from time-to-time, but nobody went in.
After walking around the locked-up temple, we drove the short distance to the Smith Farm and experienced the "Sacred Grove", where Smith alleged he saw an angel, but later in life changed his story to say that he had actually seen God the Father and God the Son (whom he called "Elohim" and "Jehovah"). Whatever he saw, the grove in which he saw it was lovely, with well-maintained paths leading reverent Mormons through the area to contemplate the foundations of their faith. The precise spot of the alleged vision is unknown, according to one of the guides I spoke with. He had a "feeling" though, that he knew where it was, but refused to share his thoughts explicitly, only making oblique suggestions with a wink of the eye.
Finally, we made our way to "Hill Cumorah" where the pageant was held. This was the hill where the golden tablets were supposedly buried that Joseph Smith was ordered to translate into English by the angel Moroni (or Nephi, depending upon which of the many contradictory accounts of the story one reads). The plates were engraved by some guy named Mormon, an "ancient" American.
These ancient Americans came from Jerusalem in Old Testament times, according to the story. They all crossed the ocean at God's command in a ship that was miraculously built in one day, landing in America. Mormon engraved on the sacred tablets the history of the ancient peoples of America from the exodus from Jerusalem up to about 600 years (something like that) after Christ's appearance in the New World. Yes, you read that right. Following his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ came to America and personally interacted with his American followers, who had been told all about him by the American prophets long before he was ever born. They were even baptized in his name long before he was ever born!
Long story short: the ancient Americans all died-out...or became our Indians (it seems this is open to interpretation) and the Church wasn't "restored" until the angel (Moroni or Nephi...take your pick), revealed Mormon's tablets to Smith, whom God (or the angel) commissioned to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ (never mind that the Church never died out in the Old World, and was brought to America by missionaries, long before that moment...but I quibble).
Before the pageant began, we stopped into the visitor center at the foot of the hill. Upon entering, we were directed to enter the "Christus Room": a circular room with a wall of windows composing one half and a mural of the Sacred Grove composing the other half. The ceiling was painted like the sky and softly illuminated. As we entered, the sheer curtains covering the wall of windows automatically opened, retracting into the walls, as soothing harp music played. The room was dominated by a large, white statue of Jesus Christ: "The Christus", as the Mormon sister referred to it repeatedly. I assumed the "Christus" must be some Mormon thing, but it turns out that the original "Christus" (in full "Christus Consolator") was sculpted in Rome for the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen. For whatever reason, the LDS Church has made something of an icon of this particular work, which they have copied and recopied, displaying their "Christuses" in their various centers around the country.
We all sat on settees arranged around the Christus as sister welcomed us and bade us listen to a few recorded words of Jesus, which she played on the sound system as we all sat and stared at the Christus statue. Then she asked what touched us about Jesus' pre-recorded messages. Nobody was touched, apparently, so she told us what touched her. I can't recall what she said, only that after she said it, somebody asked the following question: "are we allowed to leave?"
They left. The rest of us proceeded onward to watch a short movie about the experience of Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. After the movie, we were ushered into the "Resource Room", part library, part exhibit. Nobody lingered. Everyone darted right out the door. Poor sister.
The pageant itself began after dark: it's all about lighting effects. It was brilliant, saccharin, captivating, and laughable all at once. It told the whole story of the ancient Americans (lots of wars), showed Jesus descending from heaven and landing in America, and culminated with the angel showing Joseph Smith where the tablets of Mormon were buried on the hill.
During the entire performance, several angry men with bull horns professing to be "Christians" were shouting at all those of us in attendance. They wanted all of us to get the message that the Mormons were evil, not true Christians, polygamists, &c. The litany of hate went on and on. The only message I got from that is that fundamentalist Christians who do that sort of thing are a bunch of rude, ill-mannered assholes who need to get a life, I'm afraid.
The Mormons, on the other hand, could not have been friendlier, more pleasant, or more welcoming. There was no hard-sell proselytizing going on, no annoying witnessing, nobody shoving the Book of Mormon in your face. Just alot of young missionaries (most in costume for the pageant) wanting to be of any assistance they might be to you, and offering to answer any questions one might have. And if you told them you were fine, thank you, they simply thanked you for coming and said "enjoy the pageant". Their teachings might be a bunch of nonsense, but at least they have good manners and know how to make a visitor feel welcome, which is more than I can say for the "true" Christians shouting at and shoving tracts and pamphlets at everyone.
So that was my experience with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I doubt that I would ever be interested in repeating the experience, but now I can cross the Mormons off my list of other religions to encounter.
.
Image of the LDS Temple at Palmyra, New York:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sYx...RRxMfQ8uZQ
.
The Mormon Pageant at Hill Cumorah: Encountering the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Over the years, I've had the opportunity to encounter the public worship services of a number of different Christian denominations other than my own. I've witnessed liturgies and services in the Anglican, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, and Baptist traditions, and have also observed services in various "non-denominational" Christian churches. I enjoy watching what other people do in church; it satisfies a perpetual curiosity I have with respect to people who believe differently than I do. I like to see how they arrange and decorate their sacred spaces, and how they structure their ceremonies and rituals. I find the differences endlessly fascinating.
One denomination I had never before encountered in any way--until yesterday, that is--was the Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. Actually, allow me to correct myself, there, as not all the adherents of the Latter Day movement are "Mormons". Only the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are properly considered "Mormons", apparently. There have been various schisms and break-aways since the time of Joseph Smith, and there are several churches which adhere to the Latter Day teachings, but which are not affiliated with the LDS Church. One of those churches actually calls itself "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," to make matters utterly confusing; the difference with the more famous Mormon Church of the same name being the fact that they do not hyphentate the words "Latter Day", and that they capitalize the word "Day", whereas the LDS Church does not.
At any rate, a friend of mine mentioned a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to go and see a pageant in Palmyra, New York, that the LDS Church puts on every year. Palmyra is the place where Joseph Smith lived, and where he allegedly experienced an apparition in a wood on his parents' farm, now called the "Sacred Grove" by Mormons. Interestingly, Palmyra is one of the few towns in all the world which has an intersection featuring a church on each of its four corners. Naturally, we just had to drive through the intersection and sure enough, there they were: an Episcopalian church, a Presbyterian church, a Lutheran church and a Methodist church. No Mormon churches, though.
The Mormon temple, erected in the year 2000, is located a few miles outside of the village, near the Smith farm. It is a smallish, single-story structure made of a greyish-white stone. Atop the structure is a tall pedestal featuring a gold-leafed statue of the "Angel Moroni" blowing his trumpet. All LDS temples feature this statue. The design is standard: 41 other LDS temples around the world have the exact same design, all built by the same contractor. Odd, if you ask me. The design is a pleasing one, however, if somewhat androgynistic in character: it is at once sacred and profane, looking something like a house of worship, and something like a Federal Reserve branch. The grounds were beautifully landscaped and maintained. The doors were locked. People emerged from time-to-time, but nobody went in.
After walking around the locked-up temple, we drove the short distance to the Smith Farm and experienced the "Sacred Grove", where Smith alleged he saw an angel, but later in life changed his story to say that he had actually seen God the Father and God the Son (whom he called "Elohim" and "Jehovah"). Whatever he saw, the grove in which he saw it was lovely, with well-maintained paths leading reverent Mormons through the area to contemplate the foundations of their faith. The precise spot of the alleged vision is unknown, according to one of the guides I spoke with. He had a "feeling" though, that he knew where it was, but refused to share his thoughts explicitly, only making oblique suggestions with a wink of the eye.
Finally, we made our way to "Hill Cumorah" where the pageant was held. This was the hill where the golden tablets were supposedly buried that Joseph Smith was ordered to translate into English by the angel Moroni (or Nephi, depending upon which of the many contradictory accounts of the story one reads). The plates were engraved by some guy named Mormon, an "ancient" American.
These ancient Americans came from Jerusalem in Old Testament times, according to the story. They all crossed the ocean at God's command in a ship that was miraculously built in one day, landing in America. Mormon engraved on the sacred tablets the history of the ancient peoples of America from the exodus from Jerusalem up to about 600 years (something like that) after Christ's appearance in the New World. Yes, you read that right. Following his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ came to America and personally interacted with his American followers, who had been told all about him by the American prophets long before he was ever born. They were even baptized in his name long before he was ever born!
Long story short: the ancient Americans all died-out...or became our Indians (it seems this is open to interpretation) and the Church wasn't "restored" until the angel (Moroni or Nephi...take your pick), revealed Mormon's tablets to Smith, whom God (or the angel) commissioned to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ (never mind that the Church never died out in the Old World, and was brought to America by missionaries, long before that moment...but I quibble).
Before the pageant began, we stopped into the visitor center at the foot of the hill. Upon entering, we were directed to enter the "Christus Room": a circular room with a wall of windows composing one half and a mural of the Sacred Grove composing the other half. The ceiling was painted like the sky and softly illuminated. As we entered, the sheer curtains covering the wall of windows automatically opened, retracting into the walls, as soothing harp music played. The room was dominated by a large, white statue of Jesus Christ: "The Christus", as the Mormon sister referred to it repeatedly. I assumed the "Christus" must be some Mormon thing, but it turns out that the original "Christus" (in full "Christus Consolator") was sculpted in Rome for the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen. For whatever reason, the LDS Church has made something of an icon of this particular work, which they have copied and recopied, displaying their "Christuses" in their various centers around the country.
We all sat on settees arranged around the Christus as sister welcomed us and bade us listen to a few recorded words of Jesus, which she played on the sound system as we all sat and stared at the Christus statue. Then she asked what touched us about Jesus' pre-recorded messages. Nobody was touched, apparently, so she told us what touched her. I can't recall what she said, only that after she said it, somebody asked the following question: "are we allowed to leave?"
They left. The rest of us proceeded onward to watch a short movie about the experience of Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. After the movie, we were ushered into the "Resource Room", part library, part exhibit. Nobody lingered. Everyone darted right out the door. Poor sister.
The pageant itself began after dark: it's all about lighting effects. It was brilliant, saccharin, captivating, and laughable all at once. It told the whole story of the ancient Americans (lots of wars), showed Jesus descending from heaven and landing in America, and culminated with the angel showing Joseph Smith where the tablets of Mormon were buried on the hill.
During the entire performance, several angry men with bull horns professing to be "Christians" were shouting at all those of us in attendance. They wanted all of us to get the message that the Mormons were evil, not true Christians, polygamists, &c. The litany of hate went on and on. The only message I got from that is that fundamentalist Christians who do that sort of thing are a bunch of rude, ill-mannered assholes who need to get a life, I'm afraid.
The Mormons, on the other hand, could not have been friendlier, more pleasant, or more welcoming. There was no hard-sell proselytizing going on, no annoying witnessing, nobody shoving the Book of Mormon in your face. Just alot of young missionaries (most in costume for the pageant) wanting to be of any assistance they might be to you, and offering to answer any questions one might have. And if you told them you were fine, thank you, they simply thanked you for coming and said "enjoy the pageant". Their teachings might be a bunch of nonsense, but at least they have good manners and know how to make a visitor feel welcome, which is more than I can say for the "true" Christians shouting at and shoving tracts and pamphlets at everyone.
So that was my experience with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I doubt that I would ever be interested in repeating the experience, but now I can cross the Mormons off my list of other religions to encounter.
.
Image of the LDS Temple at Palmyra, New York:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sYx...RRxMfQ8uZQ
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