Last spring at church we had a big ward activity around the theme of The Book of Mormon. Each of the church organizations were asked to put on skits. As a member of the Young Men’s presidency I knew it was our duty to balance any touching, spiritual message of the other plays with a show that would represent what the young men are all about: testosterone and weaponry. We used Nerf swords (popular in my house) and other props (including a People magazine) to pantomime famous battles from The Book of Mormon. We drafted little kids to clank tools for sound effects and play supporting roles of livestock, etc. I was the announcer, which required an over-the-top performance to match the overacting of our players. When somebody guessed the scene right, I tossed Hershey kisses into the sky and quoted lawyer Zeezrom’s famous 82 B.C. ode to witness tampering, “Behold, here are six onties of silver.”
The high point was our scene of Ammon defending the king’s flocks at the waters of Sebus. I cut off some old shirt sleeves, rolled up towels inside them, and taped an inflated latex glove to the cuff to make severed arms — perfectly semi-stiff and lifelike. We tossed them onto the stage with every blow of Nerf steel. We were a hit!
The most exciting part of my preparation was painting a Vaudeville-worthy placard, which remains in my office as a blood-spattered souvenir of our command performance. My three-page script is available for you to relive the memory or imagine on your own.
Despite our exaggerated portrayal, The Book of Mormon is an amazing, true record of ancient American civilizations and their dealings with God. It is a spiritual record written by prophets, intended for our guidance today. Here and there it offers fascinating historical glimpses of what life was like in the Americas thousands of years ago, when struggles between good and evil were often settled on the battlefield.
1 comment:
Awesome activity! The book is a good read as well.
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