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Red Brick Store
© 2006, Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
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By
Marjorie H. Rice
As the twenty women who
gathered in the room above the Red Brick Store took their seats,
removed their bonnets, and spoke in excited whispers, anticipation
swelled. When the Prophet Joseph Smith, John Taylor and Willard
Richards strode into the room, every face turned and a hush settled
over the gathering.
These women had come for a rare event —
to be organized as part of the Church and to learn what the prophet
and the Lord had in mind for them.
After a welcome by Joseph, the group’s
feelings found voice in their singing: “The Spirit of God
Like a Fire is Burning! The latter-day glory begins to come forth.”
John Taylor offered a prayer. And then Joseph shared with this diverse
group of women his vision of their power and potential for service.
Their hearts soared as he spoke of relieving the poor, healing the
wounded heart of the distressed, strengthening community virtues,
and even saving souls. He pronounced the blessings of God upon the
sisters and upon their organization, telling them the angels of
heaven could not be restrained from being their associates if they
live up to their principles.
This scene will unfold for visitors in the upper
room of the Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Ill., on March 15 and 16
when the Nauvoo Re-enactors Guild, a group of local thespians, reenacts
that historic event. The nomination and setting apart of the first
Relief Society presidency, the lively debate led by Eliza R. Snow
on choosing a name for the society, and Joseph’s blessings
and prophetic promises will all be portrayed.
Playing Joseph and Emma Smith for the second
time will be Dallyn and Rachel Bayles, of Orem, Utah, who also portrayed
the historic couple for the past two years in the new Nauvoo Pageant.
Historically Accurate Script
The historically accurate script, interposed
with quotes from the Prophet Joseph Smith, John Taylor, and several
of the women who attended that organizational meeting, was written
by this author for the 2005 Nauvoo 3rd Ward Relief Society birthday
celebration. After performing the re-enactment on that occasion,
the cast decided in 2006 to organize into a community actors’
guild and open their performances to Nauvoo visitors.
(The Illinois Nauvoo site missionaries have
for years performed the Relief Society re-enactment for one another
but are unable to open it to anyone else because of space and time
restraints.) The guild plans to re-enact other historic events as
well.
Last March the guild performed the re-enactment
for the more than 200 women and a few men who attended the first
annual Nauvoo Women’s Conference, a two-day retreat sponsored
by the Nauvoo Family Inn & Suites.
“The Relief Society re-enactment was as
if we had traveled back in time and were unseen visitors at that
sacred event,” said one conference-goer. “The images
of the ladies and Joseph will stay with me forever, and will come
to mind every time the organization of the Relief Society is discussed.”
Joan Howell, the guild’s president, said,
“We love being able to provide this special Nauvoo experience
to visitors. And performing the Relief Society reenactment is as
spiritual for us as for the audience. Speaking the words the early
Saints spoke on that sacred occasion, and singing the hymns they
sang, we feel the same joy and gratitude they must have felt. We
feel very close to them.”
The re-enactment will again this year will be
offered as part of the second annual Nauvoo Women’s Conference,
a three-day retreat on March 15-17.
Meaningful Retreat
Sherry Saint, Nauvoo Family Inn & Suites
general manager, says, “Because we are in Nauvoo we wanted
to provide a meaningful retreat for women in conjunction with the
celebration of the organization of the Relief Society. We organized
the Nauvoo Women’s Conference last year and worked with the
Nauvoo Re-enactors Guild to include the re-enactment as one of the
conference sessions. The women loved it. We are happy to be able
to do that again for the 2007 conference.”
This year’s conference theme is “Claiming Our Divine
Inheritance,” influenced by the words of President Gordon
B. Hinckley, who has said that women have been given a "godly
inheritance" and are the "crowning glory of God's creations."
Each of the seven conference sessions is inspired
by a specific quote from President Hinckley. Sessions include “They
Walk With Us Still — Receiving Strength From Our Early Sisters,”
by popular LDS singer and actress Katherine Nelson, and “Embracing
All of Life’s Seasons” by Kay Lewis, former St. Louis
Missouri Temple Matron and wife of President Neal Lewis, presently
presiding over the Illinois Nauvoo Mission.
President and Sister Hugh Pierce, counselor
and assistant to the matron of the Nauvoo Temple, will present a
slide show and tell little-known stories in “The rebuilding
of the Nauvoo Temple.” Dallyn and Rachel Bayles and other
musicians will provide music for conference sessions.
Dallyn and Rachel Bayles, of Orem, Utah, will portray
Joseph and Emma in the Relief Society reenactment.
On Thursday evening, Bayles, an accomplished
tenor who performed major roles in two Broadway tours, will present
a free concert of inspirational Broadway music in the Joseph Smith
Academy with his wife, Rachel. The Chocolate Bar Pajama Party, a
popular feature of last year’s conference, will be held on
Friday evening in the hotel’s new restaurant, The Summer Kitchen.
Registration fee for the three-day conference is $30. There are
a limited number of seats available for the Relief Society re-enactment
for those not attending the conference. The re-enactment is free,
but you must have a ticket. For more information on the re-enactment
or the Nauvoo Women’s Conference please call the Nauvoo Family
Inn & Suites at 1/800/416-4470. Further information is also
available at www.nauvoofamilyinn.com.
© 2007 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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