After 30 years of the miracle of the Restoration being portrayed in mid-summer on the picturesque hillside of the Manti Temple, performances of this year's Mormon Miracle Pageant have been scheduled for the last two weeks in June. This year's performances come two weeks earlier than the traditional time in July.
New performance dates are June 19-21 and June 24-28. The change in dates comes as a result of the Church Pageant Committee organizing to provide the best lighting equipment in the most economical manner to the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, N.Y., and the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti.Since performance dates of the pageants overlapped, the schedule of the Mormon Miracle Pageant was rearranged so both outdoor dramas could use the equipment.
Concern over the lighting system began in 1995 when pageant directors felt that the system had become inadequate. After the directors discussed their concerns with the Church Pageant Committee, it was determined that the most economical means of upgrading the system was to utilize the lighting equipment already available in the pageant committee's "pageant wagon," which was designed to transport lighting equipment to the various locations where Church pageants are produced.
Work has begun in Manti to place new foundations, run electrical lines and build towers for a new system that will accommodate the mobile lighting equipment.
The plot of the Mormon Miracle Pageant follows two story lines. It first depicts the major events of the Restoration. The story then follows Robert and Mary Henshaw as they search for truth, join the Church and cross the plains, eventually going with settlers to Sanpete Valley in 1849.