Sunday, April 5, 2020

My First Vision documentary



The past several years, I have researched, traveled, interviewed, written, recorded, voiced and produced long radio pieces for General Conference weekend.  For example, Women and PerfectionForgiveness & Health, The Saints in St Louis, and The Haiti Temple.

I stress, I lose sleep, I work lots of overtime, and I pray over every part of them. I swear I will never do it again. Then I cry a little when the last line plays on air.

This time, I went to Palmyra, New York, to learn more about Joseph Smith's First Vision during this Bicentennial year.  In this piece, The Hill Cumorah Pageant gets a spotlight, too.

This one was perhaps the most stressful to put together. I was in New York as the country started to shut down for coronavirus. I missed my family and worried about them. I was next to the teary senior couple missionaries when they got the word the historic sites would close the next day. I flew home during uncertainty. I was editing the whole piece under chaos at home when we suddenly had to homeschool all our children and not go anywhere.

But it got done!

Take a listen to the podcast version below, and thank you to all who gave me encouragement and support. 

https://kslnewsradio.com/category/podcast_player/?a=b0a01dfb-5919-4a2b-a1e6-ab9001464e8c&sid=2057&n=Conference+Conversations

There's also a write-up here: https://kslnewsradio.com/1922635/first-vision-joseph-smith-bicentennial/


My interviews:
Kerry Muhlestein: BYU Professor of Ancient Scripture/author of "I saw the Lord"
Steven Harper: author/BYU Church History Professor, Joseph Smith scholar
Anthony Sweat: artist/painter/BYU Church History Professor
Spencer McBride: Church Historian w/ Joseph Smith Papers, host of First Vision podcast
Elder Marc Clay and Sister Kathleen Clay:  Church Area 70 for North America Northeast 
Hill Cumorah Pageant President Neil Pitts and Sister Beverly Pitts 
Ward Wright: Hill Cumorah Pageant battlemaster/assistant director
Ken and Summer Johnson and their 3 children: Live in Rochester area, Involved in pageant for years 
Melissa Smith: early-morning seminary teacher in Rochester NY 
Justin Bennett: church member/member of Cayuga tribe in NY and participant of pageant
Riley, Jennette and Sean Cooney: a family visiting the church history sites
Sheena Perron, lives in Idaho, Founder of Facebook group Seek Christ Daily 
Jennifer Doyle: Provo mother/artist who made a huge hooked rug of the First Vision

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I love when you come on the radio after conference and I say "kids listen it's Mary" well done. Your amazing. What a blessing to work on pieces that build your testimony and draw you closer to the spirit.

Rachelle said...

Amazing!!! Congratulations on a fantastic job, and hooray for the relief of it being DONE!