Trip to Nova Scotia, Day 18

Our last vacation day! Because it was basically on the way, we headed down to Enfield, CT, home of Lego’s corporate headquarters in the US. This amounted to us taking pictures of large Lego bricks outside a closed office building in the middle of rural Connecticut. However, on the positive side, the rain had held off all morning until we got there, and literally after we had gotten the pictures, it began to pour down. We drove through fairly heavy rain until we reached our lunch stop, where the rain lessened up enough for Mike to make sandwiches. After a little while more on the road, the skies cleared and we were left with a mild summer day as we trekked to Rochester, NY, for the night and for our stop at the Hill Cumorah Pageant. When we went to Palmyra with Hallie’s parents two years ago, we just missed the pageant, but we saw all the sights and sites. This time we just concentrated on attending the pageant. After recuperating from our drive at the hotel and getting a bite to eat, we drove over to the Hill Cumorah, near Palmyra, NY. Mike expected more traffic and people than there turned out to be. It was busy, but not overwhelmingly so. The pageant was due to start at 9:15, and we arrived at about 8 o’clock, found seats about half way back, and enjoyed the visits we had with several cast members before the pageant began at around sunset. The pageant told stories from The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, a companion to the Bible, written in the Americas by ancient prophets and preserved by them for people in modern times. One of those prophets named Moroni (more-OH-nye) came to a young man named Joseph Smith who lived in the area in the 1820s and showed him where the ancient record had been stored for safekeeping. Joseph was given power to translate the record. The Book of Mormon tells how a small group of people left Jerusalem right before the Babylonian Captivity (~600 BC) and sailed to the New World. Here they established a civilization, worshiped God, taught the gospel of Jesus Christ, had wars and so on, and were visited by Jesus after His resurrection and ascension into heaven as recorded in the Bible. The people eventually became wicked and one faction killed off the other faction, which included Moroni and his father, Mormon, the book’s compiler and namesake. Moroni survived long enough to hide the record in the Hill Cumorah and keep it from being destroyed (about 400 AD). As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons because of the Book of Mormon, we believe the Book of Mormon to be a companion to (NOT a replacement for) the Bible that supports the literal reality of Jesus Christ, His life, His teachings, and His resurrection, one that stands as another witness for the divinity and mission of Jesus. I for myself know it to be a true record as a result of my own experiences reading the book and reflecting on its message, and as a family we invite you to read it if you have not already done so. We got back to the hotel at around 11:30 and crashed for the night. All in all we have had a busy nearly three weeks!

The huge Lego bricks that mark the entrance to Lego Systems HQ.
The other sign across the street. Real low key.
The US Sales and Marketing Headquarters for Lego.
Outside the entrance.
More giant bricks. Mike left feeling a little underwhelmed. At least the weather held.
The crowds at the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
Party crashers with their own message to give.
One of the performers in costume.
We met this couple of performers who had come up from Snowflake, Arizona.
Landon burned off quite a bit of steam with his sidekick, Bailey Bear.
Beautiful sunset colors.
Opening fanfare.
Lehi's family finishing their ship to sail for the Promised Land.
The prophet Abinadi suffering a matryr's death.

Christ's appearance to the people at Bountiful.