Pageants celebrate local history, church heritage

Mormons involved in the local Western region pageants invest in their

productions which include the Clarkston "Martin Harris, the man who

knew" pageant in Cache Valley, the Mormon Miracle pageant in Manti, the

Mesa Arizona Easter pageant, and the Castle Valley Pageant in Emery

County. They are in the cast. They sew costumes. They usher and in some

cases, even serve up dinner.

The Clarkston Pageant showcases the life of Martin Harris, who risked his reputation and fortune to finance the first printing of the Book of Mormon.

It also serves to validate the feeling many Clarkston residents have toward Harris whom they claim as one of their own.

"For them, there's been a lot of pride," said Don Jeppesen, producer

of the pageant. "His gravesite is there. A lot of his direct

descendents live there."

Harris was also one of three men allowed to see the angel Moroni

display the gold plates. After the witnesses saw and handled the

plates, a voice from heaven declared that the record was true and had

been translated correctly. This experience changed Harris. Not only had

he heard the voice of the Lord but he was given the charge to declare

the divine origin of the Book of Mormon.

Now 25 years old, the pageant has grown from a little-known

community play to an epic pageant officially sanctioned by the church

and attended annually by thousands of people.

The pageant was written by Rhett James, produced by Duane Huff and

Denzel Clark at the request of Valdo Benson, brother of former LDS

Church President Ezra Taft Benson.

Each year a wooden set is erected. Costumes are designed for a cast