Hill Cumorah Pageant: Long-running Mormon production to end after 2020 event

[Suppressed]

Hill Cumorah Pageant: Long-running Mormon production to end after 2020 event
Updated Oct 28, 5:44 PM; Posted Oct 28, 5:28 PM


A ship is built by the Prophet Lehi's son, Nephi, and the family sets sail for the promised land
during a scene of the 2008 Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra. (Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.com)

MANCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- An annual Mormon pageant that drew thousands of visitors to upstate New York will be staged for the last time in 2020 as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints moves away from large-scale productions.

The Salt Lake City-based church released a statement Saturday saying its local leaders and members are being encouraged to focus on gospel learnings in their homes and participate in Sabbath worship and church programs.

[...]

Last summer's 81st pageant, held on a large outdoor stage in the town of Manchester, drew 25,000 attendees.

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https://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/2018/10/hill_cumorah_pageant_long-running_mormon_production_to_end_after_2020_event.html

[verga]

I am sad to read this. While I am not a Mormon, I did attend on several occasions. It was a spectacular show.

[mountaineer]

My first thought was that this is a cost-saving measure, but the LDS trying to get away from the word "Mormon" also may come into the decision. A poster on an ex-Mormon discussion forum opined, " I think it signals a shift away from the BoM* as doctrine. They’re serious about not treating it as a historical document. I’m amazed to see them making actual progress."

*Book of Mormon