Fairs and Pageants

So, we had our first BYUSA activity and on all accounts, it went really well. We had some funny moments with our "petting zoo" turning out to be 5 animals (a rat, snake, two hedgehogs, and a reptile). We had a bunch of people come out to see that part, but people did have heaps of fun doing other random things. We had water games (yes, I did get dunked in the dunk tank), booth contests (these were really successful), food (free popcorn + candy floss), live music, and an animal show. The event ran really smoothly and we didn't have any major hiccups. We met all of our goals especially with our attendance being over the desired 1500 people we wanted.

I wanted to show this picture of candy floss (cotton candy in American) and the BYUSA shirt that we designed for the coming year. People were screaming for them and the reviews of the design are pretty good so far. I also forgot to mention that the weather turned out to be perfect (as you can see behind me).

Then the next evening, I went with the presidency, Bro. Cox and Bro. Ward to watch the "Mormon Miracle Pageant" in Manti, UT. The organization and show was amazing! The performance helped me to visualize what happened in the scriptures and what happened to the pioneers. My faith in the church and gospel was renewed through the experiences I had in Manti.

We did have a visit from some protesters who came to Manti from all over the United States. I wondered why these people came to 'contend' with us (at Manti and general conference), but did not mobilize their efforts against other religions? Why did they ask their little 10 year olds to convert the Christians to...Christianity? One young man seemed very confused after we told him that we were LDS and Christian too.

Anyway, long story short, I left the pageant (protesters and all) with a renewed commitment to the gospel BECAUSE of the persecution...but above all, because of the spirit we felt. The TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that Joseph Smith did see God the father and Jesus Christ. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God.