It wasn’t easy saying goodbye to the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
The annual performance featured scenes from the Book of Mormon and took place on the hillside in Palmyra, New York, where the Prophet Joseph Smith experienced five encounters with the angel Moroni and retrieved the ancient gold plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon. The show ended in 2021 after an 84-year run, Church News reported.
At that time, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said while the decision to discontinue the pageant is in no way a denial of all the good it accomplished. Rather, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had reached a point where the majority of its members would never see the Hill Cumorah or visit the Sacred Grove.
Therefore, the First Presidency determined that in an increasingly worldwide Church, they could not justify the cost of current and future maintenance, security and safety upgrades running into several millions of dollars when only a relative handful of members and visitors would benefit from the experience.
“Times are changing; the world is changing — and quite rapidly. The future is challenging but glorious,” said Elder Christofferson, who participated in the pageant as a young man.
And while Latter-day Saints in Palmyra understand why the pageant ended, it was still hard losing something that was such a large part of the community, said Kristen Dimick, a regional communications director for the Church.
So when a chance to participate in a new, interfaith community event came along, local Latter-day Saints jumped at the opportunity, she said.
From Sept. 13-15, Latter-day Saints in Palmyra participated in the town’s Harvest on the Canal festival, a new iteration of the Canal Town Days festival that had previously been held for almost 50 years.
Church members organized a “5K Restoration Run” held Saturday, Sept. 14, that took visitors past sites like the Smith family farm, the Sacred Grove and the Palmyra New York Temple. One hundred and seventy people explored the route during the festival, chatting with missionaries and Church members along the way.
Bill Woodworth, the Palmyra New York Stake’s communications director, said the route worked out to exactly five kilometers. “This must have been a partnership made in heaven.”
The festival also included over 100 vendors, a car show, and a variety of food and entertainment, with proceeds benefiting local organizations.
Dimick said Latter-day Saints in the area were excited about the festival because the town of Palmyra has been so generous to them.
“We know Palmyra did not ask to be the birthplace of a worldwide religion, and for so many years, they’ve been gracious hosts to our faith members and [to] our historic sites and [to] the Hill Cumorah Pageant,” she said.
Christopher Bjorling, first counselor in the Palmyra New York Stake presidency, added that when the pageant ended, local Church members felt disconnected from the community and eagerly sought out ways to become involved again.
Regardless of the organization or faith group, “we’re all looking to do good, and we should be collectively yoking ourselves because it makes us do more… to help those that are in our community,” he said.
Community connections
Pam Ferranti, co-chair of Harvest on the Canal, said the former Canal Town Days festival was unexpectedly dismantled earlier this year over logistical difficulties.
But Ferranti, who is also president of the Union Agricultural Society at Palmyra, said community members immediately got in touch with her organization, which had already wanted to do some kind of local event. The festival was reborn as Harvest on the Canal — but at that point, there were only seven weeks to plan.
Efforts from community organizations, however, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made it possible to plan the festival in such a short timespan, Ferranti said.
“I do believe in the power of prayer,” said Ferranti, who is a person of faith. “I do believe in the power of good, and I just asked for a big blessing for this [festival] to come off without really any major hitches and it did, and that continues to strengthen my belief.”
Woodworth said the event had a spirit of joy, unity and love, which helped him feel the Savior’s influence.
Bjorling added that they were blessed because of the good they were trying to accomplish. He especially appreciated working “side by side and shoulder to shoulder” with friends of other faiths.
Most importantly for local Latter-day Saints, he said, “we’re back in the community. … We’re talking, we’re having fun, and we’re connecting the dots [for people to see that] this is the birthplace of the Church.”