Mormon Miracle Pageant

The Mormon Miracle Pageant or The Manti Pageant was run by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was held near the Manti Utah Temple. In October 2018, the Church officially announced that the Pageant would discontinue after 2019:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing across the earth. As this occurs, local Church leaders and members are encouraged to focus on gospel learning in their homes and to participate in Sabbath worship and the Church’s supporting programs for children, youth, individuals and families. The goal of every activity in the Church should be to increase faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to share His gospel message throughout the world. Local celebrations of culture and history may be appropriate. Larger productions, such as pageants, are discouraged.

As it relates to existing pageants, conversations with local Church and community leaders took place in October 2018 to appropriately end, modify or continue these productions.[1]

History of the Pageant

It begins by depicting the events in the Book of Mormon when Jesus Christ came to visit the people of the New World. It then skips forward to the 1800s and tells the story of Joseph Smith's First Vision, how he became aware of the gold plates, the translation of the ancient record, and continues to follow his life until his death. The story then follows the Saints as they move to the West and ends with the story of a fictional couple who find the Church and the blessings of the gospel. With a cast of over eight hundred and an intriguing story the Mormon Miracle Pageant was a must see.

The Mormon Miracle Pageant had its beginnings in 1967, when a small crowd gathered to watch the first pageant. It was a small production with 25 local musicians providing the music and just a few actors. Although the first production was nothing like today's pageant, those who saw it were impressed and more people wanted to get involved. A committee was organized to help raise funds for the pageant. The next year the pageant was moved onto the temple grounds with permission from the temple president and has remained in this area since. The pageant continued to improve each year. More than 100,000 people saw the pageant each year, and It became one of the largest and most attended pageants in the United States.

The pageant was usually performed in June and ran for eight nights. The pageant provided 14,000 seats and the area was open for seating beginning at 6:00. The pageant started at about 9:30 and lasted about ninety minutes. Admission wa free and seats were first come, first serve.

See also LDS Pageants