The Foolish Virgin

Last night we attended the annual birthday dinner commemorating the founding of Relief Society in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois.

It was the best dinner program I've ever had the pleasure of attending!

The evening began with a one-hour musical play based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the book The Ten Virgins by Emily Freeman.  My daughter Sarah portrayed Adi, one of the foolish virgins.

Adi suffered from low self-esteem and tried to make herself feel better by spending her money on fashionable clothes and jewels rather than buying oil for her lamp.

In the end, she was unable to follow the bridegroom into the wedding feast becasue she hadn't prepared wisely.

Part of Sarah's performance required her to sing a solo.  She was very nervous because, although she is talented musically, she does not have a soloist voice.  I was impressed that she accepted the invitation to participate in the play despite her fear, but she has always been one to take on a difficult challenge and do her best.

She did an excellent job!  She had all her lines and the words to the songs memorized, and she performed without any hesitation or visible nervousness.  Her voice was sweet and on-key.

At the end of her solo, she and her friend Emmi (as wise virgin Gabriella) joined their songs in a lovely duet of the song "More."  By this time, most eyes in the room were a bit misty and the sounds of sniffling abounded!

Behind the performance, a wall of cloths were draped across the center of the cultural hall, blocking the other side from our view.  Scenes of Israel were painted on the cloths, and on the center cloth was painted a wide, wooden door. 

When the play ended, the two halves of the "door" were pulled open and we were bade to enter.  On the other side we found decorated dinner tables and a full wedding feast!

Wedding cake and hand-dipped strawberries.

A fountain of white grape juice and ginger ale punch.

We were served an amazing wedding feast by the men of our ward, although of course Sarah and I had to decline and instead eat the chicken salad we had brought to keep us true to our diet.  It was an amazing evening!

And here I am with my angel Sarah at the dinner.  She is no foolish virgin!  I believe that when the Bridegroom finally comes, Sarah will be found with her lamp filled to the brim, with oil aplenty to spare, and she will joyfully enter into the wedding feast!

The YouTube videos below are from a performance of this musical in New Zealand last September.  They will give you a taste of the music we enjoyed.  Thanks to Jill for teaching me how to embed YouTube videos in my blog!

If you'd like to enjoy these videos, you can turn off my blog music by scrolling down to my playlist at the very bottom of the page and clicking on the "stop/play" symbol.

In our program, my friend Wyndie sang "The Shopkeeper on the Hill."  Wyndie has an incredible voice!

This is the song "More," which was sung by Sarah and Emmi in our program, as Adi and Gabriella.  Gabriella sings first.

My favorite has to be this song at the end of the play, "When He Comes for Me."  If fills me with hope and a desire to try harder to fill my lamp with the oil He provides.  May we all find our lamps full when He comes for us!