Like Mormon Miracle, ‘Spirit of Freedom’ reflects vision, tribulation and faith

MANTI—It is a story of angels, both earthly and heavenly, and it began with the Mormon Miracle Pageant as its worthy predecessor in the very same place, the Sanpete County Fairgrounds.

Who can ever forget the closing scenes of the Mormon Miracle Pageant, when hundreds of angels dressed in white danced and sang across the temple hillside in later years? Founder Helen Dyreng always said it was a miracle that the first pageant ever happened in just four short weeks, yet the true miracle of that original pageant was how it brought an entire community together. As Valerie Dyreng, Helen’s daughter-in-law, recently reflected, “The Mormon Miracle Pageant was a way of life. Everyone planned their summer around it.” When it ended in 2019, it left a palpable void. Vacation planning became easier, but the shared experiences and feelings it gave the community slowly ebbed away.

Douglas Dyreng, Helen’s son, serving as master of ceremonies for the Spirit of Freedom Pageant on Saturday evening, celebrated that heritage by sharing the story of how the original pageant began. A famous line from the production says, “A single event puts in motion a chain of events.” On Father’s Day, June 19, 1967, Vern Kunz and R. Clair Anderson visited the home of Morgan and Helen Dyreng in Manti. R. Clair Anderson asked Helen if she would create and direct a program, later to become a full pageant, on July 24 in honor of the 120th anniversary of the pioneers arriving in Utah. He suggested using a booklet titled The Mormon Miracle by Grace Johnson of Ephraim. Helen said yes while wondering how she could possibly get something ready in only one month.

She first envisioned scenes and wrote a simple script from Grace Johnson’s booklet. Then she needed lots of help. She called on her husband, Morgan, to build a stage; Dwayne and Martha Ryan from the Snow College drama department to serve as narrators; Mac Lloyd Erickson and Harry Dean to organize a choir and orchestra; Doug Barton and Craig Larsen to fashion lights out of tin cans; and Roy Cox to construct a handcart. Townspeople were asked to find or sew costumes. Helen conducted practices and coordinated everything in a short four-week window.

On the night of July 24, 1967, the production was ready, but wind and dark clouds gathered and rain threatened. President Kunz prayed that the elements might be tempered; only after the closing scene did the heavens open. It was a success. Helen needed more help, so she called on Jane Anderson Braithwaite to assist her. Jane and Helen directed, consulted and promoted the pageant together for more than 40 years.

Douglas fondly remembers his mother spending most of May and June on the phone. “No one could say no to my mother, Helen, or to her friend Jane,” he said. Now 96 and sharp as ever, Jane once reminisced about how hard it was to recruit volunteers in those first five years. That memory sustained the board of Freedom Through Christ, the nonprofit sponsoring the Spirit of Freedom Pageant, as members reached out far and wide for directors, cast members, writers, seamstresses, costume designers, sound technicians and set builders. They felt what Helen and Jane must have felt: “Can’t people catch the vision of what this could be and how much good it could do for the community and those who watch it?”

On Saturday night, the Spirit of Freedom Pageant honored Jane Anderson Braithwaite as the only living director of the early pageant years. Because of her advanced age, Jane’s family thought she should stay only for the preshow honoring her and the pioneers of the Mormon Miracle Pageant. Being Jane, feisty and determined, she decided she would stay until intermission. “My family began preparing to leave then,” she later explained to the crowd in typical Jane fashion. “I really thought I would fall asleep as I often do these days, but the music and the acting were so good I couldn’t leave.” There could not have been a better stamp of approval than a 96-year-old woman insisting she remain until the end.

The Spirit of Freedom Pageant story captures you in the opening scene: Anne, a recently deceased daughter, now an angel, is nurturing her father in his darkest moments in prison. Throughout the production, we see Anne helping her family endure trials of the worst kind: death, imprisonment, the loss of freedom and hopelessness.

Ned Armstrong, founding producer, songwriter, set builder and visionary behind the Spirit of Freedom Pageant, has spoken often of the miracles that sustained him through years of gathering the people needed to create a new pageant for Manti, one that is nondenominational and more inclusive, yet still built on a strong Christian foundation. He has described feeling weak and being forced to turn to God for strength, much like John Lothropp, the Anglican reverend who refused to violate his conscience in the fight for religious freedom. “When we do all we can do, then we can call on God for help,” Armstrong has often said. It sounds a lot like Jane and Helen in the early years.

Like Anne in the pageant, Armstrong likes to believe that those on the other side who built the original Manti pageant are pulling for this new one. Like any large undertaking, it takes earthly angels in abundance as well as heavenly ones to bring it to life. The Mormon Miracle Pageant began with only about 1,000 attendees. With more than 1,600 visitors in its first year, the Spirit of Freedom Pageant is well on its way to filling the void left by the end of the Mormon Miracle Pageant.

Cast member Tyler Jenkin pointed out, “This pageant does not advocate for any particular Christian religion, only the conviction to worship God and our Savior the way that we feel is best. So, if you’re expecting a Mormon Miracle Pageant, this is not it. It’s more like a Christian miracle pageant.”

Ryan Roos noted, “The feel [of the original Manti Pageant] was there, and it was undeniable. … I hope the Spirit of Freedom Pageant becomes a tradition Manti embraces wholeheartedly because it is truly both a worthy and a professional endeavor worth supporting.”