Saturday, July 23, 2016 – Kalamazoo MI Youth Conf., “Go Ye Unto All the World,” The Seventies Hall

This morning while I was cleaning the sidewalks and killing ants, two big tour buses arrived here at the Carthage Visitor’s Center with about 140 people. They are a Youth Conference from Kalamazoo Michigan Stake. Today is their last day of their three days to visit all of the historic sites of Nauvoo and Carthage. Then they leave for their 400 mile bus ride home. 

I’m always impressed with these youth conferences. Before the season is over there will be close to 40 of them, coming here to partake of these sacred places and experience firsthand the sights and sounds of the history of the church. What a blessing for the youth of these stakes to have these church history sites so close they can make the bus trip in less than a day.

This afternoon Sis. Johnson and I drove to Nauvoo to watch another vignette. This time it was titled, “Go Ye Unto All the World” and was staged in the Seventy’s Hall. The actors in the vignette portrayed the Apostles, Heber C Kimball, John Taylor, Parley P Pratt, Wilford Woodruff and Brigham Young as they departed, then taught the gospel in the British Isles and converted thousands.

The actors that portrayed these early great missionaries are members of the Pageant “Core Cast” and they are all professional actors. They did a wonderful job depicting the hardships & sacrifices and the divine inspiration & teaching of these Apostles of the Lord. During the vignette they even portrayed the shout “Hurrah for Israel” given by Heber C Kimball & Brigham Young as they were deathly ill and departing the Kimball home with Heber’s wife also deathly ill. It was a very powerful and moving moment in the vignette.

It was by design that the vignette was staged at the Seventies Hall. In Nauvoo in the 1840’s the Seventies Hall was where the teaching and training for newly called missionaries was held. All men that were called to be Seventies were by definition, missionaries.  As Seventies returned from their missions abroad they brought home artifacts, mementos and curiosities from distant lands. These returning missionaries would teach the Seventies, who would soon be departing, all about those distant lands, how to travel, what to expect, the customs, traditions, etc. In fact the Seventies Hall is referred to as the first MTC, “Mission Training Center” of the church!