More than 1,000 people traveled back 2,000 years at the weekend to witness the birth of Jesus Christ in a Bethlehem manger as the English-speaking members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presented their eighth annual Christmas pageant at the Tianmu amphitheater.
Sitting on a horse led by her husband, Leone Grimley, who played Mary, said the experience was a bit uncomfortable and made her wonder what it must have been like for Mary to travel so far on a donkey while pregnant.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into when I said yes to the part. But I do feel the spirit whenever I am playing the character,” she said, explaining the feeling of the spirit as a “warm and fuzzy” feeling in her heart.
Ross Chiles, the bishop of the English ward and an entrepreneur, said the pageant is a wonderful reminder for people that “Christmas spirit is not found in a shopping mall.”
“The story of the nativity and the birth of the Savior is what Christmas is really all about,” he said.
Chiles said that for many foreigners in Taiwan the pageant is a slice of nostalgia of what the holiday is like back home.
“I was so touched when everyone sang the Christmas carols together. It was a wonderful feeling to listen to the beautiful music. This is the first time I have really heard the story of Christmas and I am so glad I came,” said Deng Mei-li (鄧美麗), a member of the audience.
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