I love to see the Temple

Tuesday, June 26th, Rob and I went down to Manti with Tony and Loni. We went and saw the "Mormon Miracle Pageant" (AKA- Manti Pageant) Tony and Loni were married in Manti, and I received my endowment in Manti. It is one of my favorites, if not favorite temple. We had all seen the pageant, except for Rob. I was really excited for him to see it, Especially the end of it :D I left work at about 3PM, met up with everyone, had a dinner stop in Provo at Mountain West Burrito (If you have NEVER been there- Go. Its SOOO good! Its all organic, huge, and has good prices. I LOVED IT!)After that, we headed up to Manti. On the way, we saw some smoke from the "Wood Hollow Fire" It was nuts, it looked HUGE! When we got to Manti, we parked, staked out a spot to watch the pageant, saved the seats with blankets, then went to hang out across the street at the park. We talked a little bit, then decided to get drinks (I was adamant about this, because I didn't want to be in the heat for too long without a drink since I got so sick the weekend before) We walked up and down the "main" street, got drinks and then went back to our seats and waited for the pageant to start. Rob kinda dozed off at the beginning, but then he got a 2nd wind, and was able to stay awake for most of it. For those of you who may not know what the "Manti Pageant" is, I will give you a little background, including a few spoilers- as they are my favorite part. First of all, The Manti temple is on a hill, and the pageant takes place on the side of the hill, with the temple as the background. The Pageant tells the story of Joseph Smith, A few brief stories that have taken place in the book of Mormon, such as Captain Moroni and the title of Liberty, Samuel the Laminate, and the story of when Christ visited the Americas. It also tells the story of the pioneers coming across the planes, and a couple that joins the church, and comes across as well. The two best parts of the Pageant are when its talking about Angel Moroni- It shows several Moroni's at different stages, like him finishing the book of Mormon, and burring them, When he is an angel and appears to Joseph Smith when he finds them, and him on the top of the temple (The Manti temple is one of the few temples that do not have a statue of Angel Moroni on top)The hill and temple are dark at this time, then there are spotlights on each Moroni, and then the temple Becomes a little brighter, and there is a man up on the temple spire, sounding his trump. it is AWESOME to see. The Other best part of the pageant is the Couple that joins the church. Robert and Mary start. They are around when Joseph Smith is hearing about all the different churches. The couple has questions like "Why am I here" " What happens when we die" Etc. we see them again when they are coming west, and the wife dies. In her last words, she says she will be waiting for her husband on the other side, and will take him by the hand when its his time. Then we see Robert die a little later on. as he is surround by people, and "The spirit of God" plays softly and then becomes loud. you see a man in pure white stand up, and a girl walking towards him in white. they are reunited, and they walk the steps of the temple, towards the wall, where the cast is all dressed in white, singing Hosanna. and the temple becomes SO bright. Anyway, That is the Manti pageant in a nut shell. I was emotional from the national anthem, but I really lost it at the Angel Moroni part, a part where a pioneer woman has to bury her baby on the planes, and of course, the end with Robert and Mary. That was the part I really wanted Rob to see. I was so glad we got to go down there, and it was fun hanging out with Tony and Loni before they move to New York. Here are a few pictures. (Please ignore my goofy smile by the gas station- I was eating a purple slushier and my mouth was purple. ha ha)