"Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life..."
Alma 5:24

How do we justify adding something this significant to the calendar, drawing further on the time and resources of our members and leadership?


Consider that a theatrical production does not have to necessarily be an “addition” to the calendar. It may be substituted for another event. In the case of the original production, an annual summer concert was replaced for one year with the show. However, we have served for several years in ward and stake leadership positions and dealt with this reoccurring issue on both a personal and church-service level. In the course of that service, we have observed that every family makes their own choices regarding the worth of optional events and programs; whether it would meet their goals as a family. As much as there might be a family or individual who would NOT feel served by participation in a church musical because it "adds" to their scheduling -- there WILL be many more families or individuals whose needs are met in a profound and unique way by this opportunity. And that's what it is: an opportunity. Those who WANT to be involved and are blessed by it - will be. Those who do not want to be involved - do not have to. They can be blessed just by enjoying the production itself when the curtain rises (and the audience, by the way, IS participating and serving as well.) The real impact (and it will be significant) is in the bonding and strengthening that takes place between a cross-section of the members of the stake: old and young, active and inactive, member and non-member, performer and audience.

Those who come forth to participate NEED this particular opportunity – they will even be hungry for it - and you need to have absolute faith that the Lord will lead or bring out-of-the-woodwork, every soul who your project needs, and every soul who needs the project. This has been our experience time and time again, and was especially proven – to the letter and in miraculous ways - at we put together the original production. We have at last developed faith sufficient to offer our help in whatever way the Lord can use us -- and then let Him do His marvelous work. You can too.

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