The Hill Cumorah Legacy Project

Items

• Lamanite Warrior Headdress
  The headpiece of a Lamanite Warrior costume set. It is a leather skullcap with some animal fur covering it and has two antlers affixed on top. In addition to this are leather weavings along the animal fur and leather strips hanging down its sides. The artifact itself is accompanied by a picture displaying Pageant actors who are wearing the full Lamanite Warrior costume set.
• Prolog: A Tribute to The Founding Fathers
  This play script, produced by Brent Hanson for the Hill Cumorah Pageant in 1976, was a one-time-use prologue created to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States of America. In this prologue, the national anthem is played and actors portraying the Founding Fathers of the United States are introduced as they recite the dialogue contained in the script. The dialogue praises 200 years of sovereignty for the United States and celebrates the United States’s long history with religious freedom. Being a production by the Church of Jesus Christ of The Latter-day Saints, the dialogue additionally celebrates the discovery of the North American continent, which is important to the Mormon religion. A handwritten notecard by Jerry Argetsinger is also included. Note: Optical character recognition (OCR) was used to make the PDF text-searchable, but the scan is not perfect, and it does not capture the script's handwritten notes.
• Speaking Notes from the 1995 Hill Cumorah Pageant by Jerry Argetsinger
  As was a tradition, there would be a speech given to the cast on the opening night once everyone arrived. These are the notes from the speech that Jerry Argetsinger gave to the cast of the 1995 Hill Cumorah Pageant. Argetsinger welcomed the cast and explained how the Pageant will be run in the coming days, as well as show how the pageant has touched the lives of 12 people. He explained the way it changed their lives and their relationship with God.
• King Benjamin Crown
  The crown was worn by King Benjamin in the old Pageant (1969–1987) play. King Benjamin was a character who asked for repentance for the actions. Benjamin's crown was made in 1977 by Gail Argetsinger, who made many of the other costumes in the collection. The crown is very worn, with threads sticking out and beads yellowing, showing its use. It has a large golden fabric braid that goes around the bottom edge. The majority of the crown is made up of intricate beading. The background of the beading is a lush dark purple fabric. On top of the braid in the middle of the hat are hundreds of beads intersecting and weaving through different paths to mimic a king's crown. The beads used are long, small, big (almost like a diamond), yellow circular, and fake pearl beads. The beads' designs make flowers and leaves that go around the full length of the hat. There is a non-braided, straight, large golden fabric that goes around the top brim of the hat. In a dome is a rich red fabric that makes up the top of the hat. It still feels soft and smooth today. In the center on top of the hat is a small donut-shaped golden fabric piece.
• Lamanite Priest Cape
  A colorful cape of green, blue, and yellow macramé cord. Designed to appear like a feather cape from a distance, this cape was originally created for the Lamanite priest in the old Pageant. It was since repurposed for the new Pageant as loot in the "Spoils of War" scene.
• Lamanite Dancer Cape
  This cape was word during the ceremonial battle dances by the Lamanites to emphasize the intent for war. The Lamanite Dancer cape is made out of a rough, rope-like fabric. The colors vary, including black, blue, green, white, orange, and gold. There is a golden eagle located on the middle back area, and gold strings go horizontally through the blue and green-colored areas around the cape. The orange ball-like pieces and white split ends toward the bottom of the cape are to give the audience a vision of feathers from a distance. The colors blue and green on the cape were to add contrast to the “blur” effect for viewers at a distance. The front of the cape was open so the actor could put it on easily.
• Lamanite Princess Headdress (White Feathers)
  This headdress has gold beading designs (in a rounded shape and a line shape), with a black velvet half cap. The beading on the front is in a zigzag pattern, continues to the back, and is secured with a strap around the back of the head. There are white feathers with gold ribbon detailing, which is displayed as a half circle surrounding the head to represent a white or gold aura or halo effect, often seen in depictions of religious figures or people of royalty. There is a bird detail at the top of the front of the head which is made with a half-sheer soft black body with a gold background, silver thread detailing, a woven gold beak with shimmery red eyes and tongue, and silver leather curled feathers.
• Nephi the Disciple
  Costume for the role of Nephi the Disciple in the 1988 opening of the new Pageant. The top tunic is a soft turquoise fabric with a less smooth black and bronze pattern encased by a black and white pattern that can be found on the front collar of the piece. Along the back collar of the top, there is a marking stating "3rd Ne." The kilt is a soft caramel fabric with another similar pattern. The cape has a more elaborate pattern using the same colors in the previous patterns. The headpiece is a soft royal blue with suede loops.
• Hill Cumorah Devotional Speech by Jerry Argetsinger
  This document includes notes on a speech and the speech itself as written by Jerry Argetsinger on 8.5'' x 11'' college-ruled loose-leaf paper. The total document consists of 8 single-sided pages. The paper is written in pencil, along with black and blue ink. The blue ink largely contains annotations on the material, most likely written at a later date. The speech recounts the spiritual impact of the Hill Cumorah Pageant and encourages those involved on the benefits of the production. When consulted on the document in February 2022, Argetsinger recounted the impact of international converts in the Pageant, in particular, that of the portrayal of the Virgin Mary by a Japanese woman.
• Lamanite Crowd Costume #4
  Lamanite Crowd Costume (Red): Made for a Lamanite civilian, used in background of scenes with Lamanites. Consists of a hat and cloak, mostly red and gold with silver trim. The cloak has faux-fur trim and macrame feathers. The headpiece depicts a heavily stylized coyote, with highly reflective materials used throughout.
• Prop Master Kyle Mattson's Prop Photo Album
  This is the photo album of Kyle Mattson, who was the prop master of the 1995 Hill Cumorah Pageant. It consists of 41 images of various props, including, but not limited to, flags, weapons, furniture, and animal replicas. This was used to keep track of the props that were used in that year of the pageant. Each individual prop did not have a date attached, which means that not every prop was necessarily made for the 1995 production, but they were all used in that production. These props would have been used in the Orson Scott Card version of the pageant, which was first staged in 1988. All pages that included images are attached in the order that they appeared, but blank pages were excluded.
• Lamanite Priest Headdress
  A headdress with blue/black feathers towards the front and green towards the back. There's an emblem on the front that resembles a sunrise, and circular ear flaps hanging down from either side. Behind the feathers, there's a cone sticking out with braided macrame coming out of it, intended to flow down the back of the wearer. The front and rim are adorned with a shiny gold material. The feathers were likely replaced several times throughout the headdress's life, as opposed to the braided macrame, which was made to look like feathers from a distance, but was easier to clean and reuse. The Lamanites were one of the two warring tribes in the Book of Mormon, typically considered the "bad guys."
• America's Witness for Christ: Script of the First Hill Cumorah Pageant, 1937 [Copy B]
  This entry is a printed paper copy of the 1937 Script of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The title reads, “America’s Witness for Christ,” and the subtitle is “A Pageant in Six Episodes Prepared from the Stick of Joseph Known to the world as THE BOOK OF MORMON.” A handwritten note, "Corrected Copy June 16, 1937," appears above the title. The script is written by H. Wayne Driggs, and it is the original script for the Hill Cumorah Pageant, which was performed from 1937–2019 in Palmyra, New York. The script is annotated with pen markings that change stage direction or change some lines entirely. Some annotations change who the speaker of certain lines is, and other markings appear to get rid of certain monologues. The document is 20 pages, printed on single-sided photocopy paper. The typeface appears to be a Courier-style serif font and is black text on white paper. On the top of the first page of the document, the date June 16, 1937, is written, which dates this to be one month and 7 days before the first production, which was on July 23, 1937. Digital Preservation Note: Optical character recognition (OCR) was used to make the PDF text-searchable, but the scan is not perfect, and it does not capture the script's handwritten notes.Copyright Note: After consulting with the LDS Church History Department about the script's copyright/intellectual property status, we determined that the PDF of the script cannot be made public here as of October 2022. For those interested in consulting the script, please see the following collection at the Church History Department in Salt Lake City.Argetsinger, Gerald Scott, 1946-. Gerald and Gail Argetsinger collection on the Hill Cumorah Pageant, circa 1930-2000. https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/78ed0e52-d180-46f1-9fcb-8f10ba47c34f/0?view=summary.
• Nephite Leather Headdress
  The Nephite leather headdress is made of worn brown leather with side ear straps and includes a light brown suede neck flap. The silver and gold decals along with the gold trim around the edges give a shine while performing on stage. This headdress was created for the new Pageant opening in 1988. Headdress such as these were to be worn by the Nephites, followers of Nephi, while engaging in battle with the Lamanites, the followers of Laman. These two groups loathed on another due to the hatred and betrayal of Nephi by his two brothers Laman and Lemuel. Both the Nephites and Lamanites continued to war against each other for centuries.
• Postcards
  Throughout the Hill Cumorah Pageant’s history, the only items produced and sold for the public to buy as souvenirs were postcards, each year adhering to a specific theme. These postcards feature notable locations in the history of The Church of the Latter Day Saints, themed as “Historic Mormon Country.” These locations include the Joseph Smith home, the Hill Cumorah Visitors’ Center, the E. B. Grandin Building, the Peter Whitmer home and reconstructed log home, the Martin Harris farm, the Fayette Chapel and Whitmer Farm visitor’s center, the Angel Moroni Monument, the Sacred Grove, and the Hill Cumorah itself. Each postcard features a glossy photo front with a descriptive caption on the back.
• America's Witness for Christ: Script of the 1937 Hill Cumorah Pageant [Copy A]
  This item is a paper photocopy of the 1937 Script of the Hill Cumorah Pageant titled "America's Witness for Christ," written by H. Wayne Driggs. The original script was typewritten and heavily annotated for sounds and music direction. This includes which records to play during each part of the Pageant and timing for other sound effects. The records are noted as belonging to "Victor" for music records and "Gennett" for sound effects records. It is not recorded who annotated the script. The script is 24 pages long on single sided pages. The photocopy is in good condition, with some minor wear on the edges and no noticeable tears. Digital Preservation Note: Optical character recognition (OCR) was used to make the PDF text-searchable, but the scan is not perfect, and it does not capture the script's handwritten notes. Copyright Note: After consulting with the LDS Church History Department about the script's copyright/intellectual property status, we determined that the PDF of the script cannot be made public here as of October 2022. For those interested in consulting the script, please see the following collection at the Church History Department in Salt Lake City. Argetsinger, Gerald Scott, 1946-. Gerald and Gail Argetsinger collection on the Hill Cumorah Pageant, circa 1930-2000. https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/78ed0e52-d180-46f1-9fcb-8f10ba47c34f/0?view=summary.
• Nephite Armor
  This resource consists of the various components that make up the armor of a follower of Nephi. Known as Nephites, this group serves as the protagonists of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The armor consists of a dark red breastplate made of leather, with metal studs in a star-like formation surrounding two disks on the lower and upper half and along the outer neck piece. In addition, the costume comes with dark red boot spurs also with metal studs, and a dark brown leather kilt. Finally, there is a red cape which consists of black and white patterning.
• Hill Cumorah Pageant Staff T-Shirt
  The cast t-shirt is a white shirt with a red and black logo placed in the middle of the front of the shirt. The logo is circular. In the inner circle, there are three people playing the trumpet overlapping one another; this was the Pageant’s contemporary logo. The people in this part of the logo are drawn with black lines, and the background space is colored in red. Around the inner circle, the shirt says “Hill Cumorah Pageant” in black letters. There is a red border around all of this, encircling the shirt design. Underneath the main logo of the shirt, it says “STAFF” in black lettering. On Jerry Argetsinger’s caption card, it says: “Official T-Shirt available to purchase by the cast & crew. This is the 1988 version commemorating the Oscard Production.”
• 1988 Hill Cumorah Pageant Press Release
  The 1988 Press release is a white laminated folder filled with information on the Hill Cumorah Pageant of that year. On the front in white embossed letters, it says "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." When you open the folder, there are 3 sets of stapled documents in the left sleeve and several staggered loose-leaf sheets of paper on the right. The 3 sets of documents on the right are brief articles titled: "54th Hill Cumorah Pageant to be best ever!," "Hill Cumorah Pageant Creates High-Tech Theater on a Hillside," and "Technical Directors from the Hill Cumorah Pageant are Pros from Movies and TV." In the right sleeve are 5 pieces of paper of increasing heights; this allows the title of each sheet to show above the sheet on top of it. The 5 sheets are titled: “Organization,” “Direction,” "Script – Staging,” “Music,” and “The Facts.” The first 4 sheets overview and have laminated photos of the people in charge of each part of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The last sheet, “The Facts,” along with 2 more loose sheets behind it, give more general information on the Hill Cumorah Pageant in 1988. On the outside of the right sleeve, a business card is attached that gives contact information for the Press Office and Visitor’s Center. The back of the folder is blank.
• "A History of the Hill Cumorah Pageant (1937–1964) and an Examination of the Dramatic Development of the text of 'America's Witness for Christ.'"
  A blue book that contains Charles Walker Whitman's PhD dissertation on the history of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The book was written between 1967 and 1968. Some of the features in his book are 7 chapters of how the Pageant came about, illustrations that show how the Pageant looked, and what items were used in the production. This book shows the Pageant in both a visual and contextual description. This book is important because it gives a description of how the Pageant was created and how it would look at the Pageant.
• The Hill Cumorah Pageant Soundtrack, 1988
  This is the CD/music for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It was composed by Crawford Gates in 1988. There are a total of 13 songs on it with a total run time of 1 hour and 18 minutes. The cover of the CD has a photo from a scene of the play. On the back, it has the title of each of the 13 songs and the run time. It also states that this is from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with a website that is also listed to get more information. This CD is important as it houses the whole soundtrack that has been used for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
• 1955 Hill Cumorah Pageant Script
  Folder: Yellow Folder containing the printed script of the 1955 Cumorah Hill Pageant. The Cover contains the text "Hill Cumorah Pageant Circa 1955." The word Cumorah was originally misspelled; an "o" has been crossed out and replaced with a "u" just above it. Script: Each page is one sided, with the photo-copied text of the script printed out. Some pages contain annotations and hand-written notes about the running of the play like "lights out" and "music." The one handwritten note is in cursive and reads, "Script change about 3 years ago. Pageant would begin with epilogue." Counting the epilogue, there are twenty-eight pages total included in this version of the script. Note: Optical character recognition (OCR) was used to make the PDF text-searchable, but the scan is not perfect, and it does not capture the script's handwritten notes.
• Lamanite Headpiece
  This headpiece was used by volunteers in the performance of the pageant. In the pageant, it was used as a piece for ceremonial and celebration reasons to lead up into a battle. It is a helmet-like headpiece stylized to look like an eagle. It consists of gold and black fabric with red cotton ball eyes and a fluffy top piece. The beak is mostly gold with the rest of the helmet being black with gold threads to add texture to the piece. Below, there are black straps for the wearer's head to be placed and rested. The first four and eighth photos were taken with the helmet on a stand. The first of the four taken with it facing right, second facing left, third facing towards the camera, fourth facing away from the camera, and the last from above. The fifth and sixth images depict the helmet not on the stand facing right and left, respectively. The seventh image depicts the helmet from below, where the performer's head will rest.
• Lamanite Crowd Cape and Headdress, Worn Over Tunic
  A cape and headdress depicting a Lamanite, intended to be worn by a crowd actor. Both the cape and headdress consist of unbraided red, black, and white macrame rope, which gives the cape a feather-like appearance and fur-like texture. The headdress has an effigy of a llama built into the forehead of the headdress, along with matching ears on the scalp. This effigy is made of silver and gold lamé and has an aesthetic reminiscent of Native American civilizations from Central America. The first picture shows the costume in its entirety.The second picture shows a side view of the headdress, complete with ears on the far left of the image in gold outline.The third picture shows braided macrame rope used to make the costume and hold it together.The fourth and fifth pictures show alternate views of the headdress and costume as a whole, respectively.
• Photographs of Mormon Missionaries in the Late 1940s
  These photographs depict a group of male missionaries attending and being in the cast of the Hill Cumorah Pageant sometime in the late 1940s. The first photo shows two men posing in their costume attire. They both play soldiers in the play. The second photo shows Hill Cumorah in Palmyra, New York. You can see the roadway at the bottom of the hill and a large monument on top of the hill. The third photo shows a group of males, all wearing white shirts and slacks. They are posing for a photo next to props for the Pageant. The fourth photo has a group of males posing for a photo surrounding a pickup truck. They are smiling and are outside of someone's home. The fifth photo shows a group of males fooling around. Two of them have grabbed a third man, while a fourth pours water on him. They are all laughing. The sixth photo is similar to the fourth, with a group of males posing for a photo around a pickup truck, possibly the same one. This time, some of them are inside the cab, and some are in the bed of the truck. The man in the driver's seat is wearing a large silver metal bowl on his head.