One of my many summer adventures involved going to Nauvoo, Illinois to be in the outdoor pageant there. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I'd advise anyone who has even considered being in the pageant to do everything possible to get the opportunity. Now you may be thinking..."What?! Karalee was in a play? The girl who likes to 'blend in' during hymns at church?" Yes, it's true. I sang. I danced. I performed. I'm not going to lie, I was not thrilled about the idea to begin with. However, Nauvoo has a special spirit and even just being there my attitude changed and I was able to have an amazing experience with my family. The first week we learned all there was to learn about being in the Pageant. From costume fittings to dancing, singing, and acting practice, we did it all. I'm kind of at that 'awkward' age where people don't know where to put you. I'm too old for Young Women's but I'm too young for the whole Relief Society thing. At college, Relief Society is more of a continuation of Young Women's than anything else. No offense to all the moms and grandmas out there, but Relief Society for me was never meant for young adults! That room still smells funny to me. Anyways, in the pageant I decided to split my time between being in the Young Women's group and Relief Society group. I got the best of both worlds! I got to do all the fun things like jumping over a trunk and twirling around like a little girl to sewing temple panels with the ladies. It's still weird to me that I'm not a teenager anymore. Suddenly I feel more responsible for my future and grown up. So the performing ended up being a blast. I loved the dances best because of all the energy and happiness that just exploded from each of us. It was marvelous. So the second week, we performed every night and got to do what we wanted to do in the morning. It was a much needed break from the three rehearsals daily that we were used to. I loved every night. There was a pre-show each night before the Pageant begins with games, crafts, dancing, and socializing. My family and I were set apart as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we got to walk around during the pre show talking to people. Our goal was to have people fill out referral cards for their friends that may be interested in a soundtrack of the Pageant music for free. It's a great way to share the spirit of the Pageant and just a little piece of the joy we experienced those two weeks. It was hard for me to ask people right away but as the week went on I was a pro. I met a lot of fun people and heard a lot of amazing stories. Nauvoo is an amazing place. The temple there is truly a house of God and it represents so much sacrifice that the early Saints went through. I am so grateful for my ancestors that went through so much so that I could grow up with the Gospel. Nauvoo is one of my favorite places on Earth.
