Cast Testimonies Continued:

I have always envied those who have an unshakable testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Last year, it occurred to me that if Joseph Smith was not a Prophet of God, then the entire gospel must be false. This gave me a very sick feeling inside and I thought about how pointless life would be if that were the case. Then I thought about the reverse – If Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, then the entire Gospel must be true. It was then that I began to pray and fast in order to develop my own testimony specifically of the Prophet of the Restoration. A couple of weeks after my fast, my husband was asked to take a work trip to New York and my son and I had the opportunity to travel with him. We decided to include some church history sites on the way and ended up visiting Palmyra and Kirtland. I was still searching for my testimony throughout this trip and I felt like the Lord was preparing my heart for something, but I did not know what. When finally, in the school of the prophets, in the upstairs portion of the Newel K. Whitney store, I received an unmistakable answer from the Lord that He was aware of me and that He would strengthen my testimony in its weakest area. After our trip, I came home to Texas and discussed with the Cultural Arts Chair about what we could do as a play for the upcoming year. For years I have felt inspired about writing plays based on the lives of the Prophets of study in the Relief Society and Priesthood manuals. I discovered that Joseph Smith would be the next Prophet of study and it became clear to me that we must perform something about him. I searched for a couple of days online to find a pre-written script about the Prophet, but all I could find were scripts about the martyrdom or his time in jail and nothing felt right. So I prayed about it as intently as I possibly could, recognizing the responsibility and the sacrifices that would be involved. A clear answer came to me during the prayer that I should write a play about the Prophet Joseph. This seemed impossible to me, since my testimony was still forming and I am far from a scholar on his life. I then felt a reassurance from the Spirit and a scripture in Genesis (18:14) “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” came into my mind. Nevertheless, I was concerned about the short amount of time we had. It was September of 2007 and I strongly felt like the play should be performed in January 2008 (to kick off the new manuals about Joseph Smith) and the rehearsal period needed to be about 3-4 months. How in the world could I write a play about the Prophet Joseph Smith in the first place, and in the second place, how could I write it before auditions would need to be held sometime in October? Again, the Spirit comforted my concerns and I was clearly directed on how to move forward. I needed to research, read, pray, fast and gather journal entries from those saints who actually knew Joseph Smith and then arrange them into a full-length production about the Prophet. It needed to focus on his everyday life and on his interactions with those who associated with him. And so it began. I read and studied for 2 weeks and then I wrote, arranged, prayed, pondered and prepared during the next 2 weeks. In about a month, Joseph Smith – Lover of the Cause of Christ was written and roughly ready. The Stake Presidency accepted my proposal and I was so grateful. Auditions came, 42 people actually showed up and then the rehearsal process began. Never before in my life have I felt the hand of the Lord guiding and directing me in what to do from one moment to the next as I did during this process. Whenever I allowed pride or contention to enter in my heart, it was as if the gifts He had given me had left, and I was left to myself. I realized early on that I had to have the Spirit of the Lord with me in order to direct this play. From the beginning, we started our rehearsals with singing a hymn of the Restoration, holding a cast prayer, and then listening to the testimony of a previously designated cast or crew member about the Prophet Joseph. The Spirit was there and it led us throughout rehearsals each day. After a few months of rehearsals, I realized that my testimony had grown more than I ever imagined. During January’s fast and testimony meeting in my ward, the actors who played Joseph Smith (Jayd M.) and Parley P. Pratt (Cortis C.) both stood and bore beautiful testimonies about the Prophet to the congregation and I was so touched. I wanted to get up, but I ran out of time in the meeting and so I waited for Relief Society. At the end of the RS lesson, when they opened the meeting up to testimonies, I stood and bore my testimony about Joseph. It was as if my mouth just opened and the Lord allowed my testimony to pour out. For the first time in my life, I had no doubt about the Prophet Joseph Smith, his role in the Restoration, his goodness and his pure intentions. Tears streamed down my face and the faces of the sisters in the room. I had developed the testimony that I had always longed for. I have always felt that the Lord helps us to gain our testimonies in ways that we will best recognize and respond to. The Lord used theatre to help me to better understand His servant Joseph. He allowed me to work for this testimony, so that I would better appreciate it and I now consider it one of my most prized possessions. I will forever be grateful for this priceless gift of my testimony of the Prophet Joseph. -Angie Staheli (Writer/Director)