MORMONS PERFORM NATIVITY CHURCH WANTS ITS BELIEF IN JESUS KNOWN.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News

PALMDALE -- Hoping to squelch what the Mormon community believes are misconceptions about its religion, members of Palmdale's Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performed a re-enactment this past week of the Nativity.

The church on Avenue S performed six shows each night, Thursday to Saturday.

About 200 church members participated in groups of about 25, with each group performing three 20-minute shows. The performances also featured three goats, one sheep and a donkey, which Mary rode into Bethlehem.

The re-enactments were performed under bright lights in front of the church and featured a narrative broadcast over loudspeakers, along with music.

``A lot of people don't know we believe in Christ even though our name is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so we just want them to know that we do believe in Christ and we honor his birth and that it's a big part of our lives,'' said Sharon Graham, who organized the event.

Graham said the Antelope Valley is home to about 5,200 practicing Mormons.

``We're presenting this as a gift to the community,'' Graham said.

``We're not proselytizing,'' she said. ``We just want people to know that we believe very strongly in Christ.''

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Church members, right, portray Mary (Rachel Bateson, 17, of Pearblossom) and Joseph (Cody Lush, 15, of Little Rock) with baby Jesus in a live Nativity pageant at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Palmdale. Below, church members portray shepherds coming to see Jesus.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer