Cast Testimonies Continued:
Participating in the play gave me a wonderful opportunity to really understand what it would have been like to have a relationship with the Prophet Joseph. Through this play, Joseph became a real person to me in a way that would not have been possible through any other experience. I watched as the entire cast worked so hard to become better acquainted with the people whom they were portraying. I saw the Spirit touch each one of us. It was visible, tangible. Once I felt that Spirit there was a sudden new commitment to the effort. It no longer mattered how many hours we had been there, I was willing to be there more. The more we worked and rehearsed, the more I felt an amazing desire to express a love for the prophet, a love that only could have been had by those who had known him personally. I felt the early saints, whose stories we were telling, share their testimonies through us. As we spoke the words of the people we portrayed, we spoke as ones who had also come to know the Prophet. We came to know him as we worked so hard to illustrate his love and compassion, his wisdom and humility, his life. My testimony is that Joseph Smith was a servant of God. He did all that he was asked to do, even to the giving up of his life for the cause of the restored Gospel. He loved his fellow men, and desired all to learn the truths of the Gospel. I know he was a true prophet of God.
- Kim W. (Margarette Burgess, Anna Bibbins Fordham)