It's another offering from Ruby and Pearl.
I went to the trouble of writing a Christmas Program script in one day. I am really enjoying it.
Secretly too, I put on a ward program in a BYU ward in Dec 2002 and let's say that I went a little "experimental" with the script then. Actually, there was no script. Just song after song after song. As much as I think the narration might be boring, just ONLY doing music can also get boring. No, not boring. VERY uncomfortable. It was quite embarrassing and I am hoping to redeem myself and learn my lesson with this go-round. I am excited. I think it will also be easy to do a better program than that one. We truly did have a lot of great numbers prepared then, a string quartet being one of them, with some really talented kids playing. We really could have knocked it out of the park with some narration. Yes, I am crazy. Yes, I can't believe other people let me get away with that big mistake. I had a co-counselor and another choir director and everything, and they seemed to be down with my crazy idea.
Hopefully this time will be a lot smoother and it will really come together. So far so good. And if not, eh, the show must go on. Enjoy watching the train wreck.
Here is my narration offering. Seriously I really love it. I hope you will, too. There are a lot of good testimonies borne by the prophets and I figure why not go with the big guns and quote the really amazing prophecies and testimonies? There is so much good out there.
The formatting got a little messed up, indentation and what not. The readability has suffered.
Here is the script:
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Narration for Ward Christmas Program
40 min. expected run-time
Ruby and Pearl
November 24, 2012
Voice 1: XXXXXX (suggest a male voice)
Voice 2: XXXXXX (suggest a female voice)
Song Line-Up:
1) Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus (choir) Free!
2) Once Within A Lowly Stable (primary) - In Children's Songbook, transposed to F maj., which can be done automatically through Lds.org. Free!
3) Silent Night (solo, choir with congregation, guitar, clarinet, flute) - In LDS Hymnal, also was effortlessly transposed to C maj., as requested by the guitarist. Free! And still kind of being arranged.
4) Infant Holy (double quartet) - Will post this arrangement if asked.
5) Good Christian Men Rejoice Free!
6) What Child Is This? or Coventry Carol (harp duet) - Currently being arranged by a friend.
7) O Come Let Us Adore Him / O Come All Ye Faithful (choir with congregation, metallophone) - This is the last song in a Pink Book cantata, will provide more info upon request. Not free.
**After the Sacrament ordinance is finished, the choir will please come to sit on the stand before the narration begins.
Voice 1: [This narration will set up the flow of the program and will be the longest segment of narration, aside from scripture reading.]
“Come, Thou long expected Jesus.
Born to set Thy people free. “
These lyrics, penned by Charles Wesley and published in 1745, sum up all the prophets’ prophecies of old. All prophets leading up to the meridian of time have prophesied of the coming of Christ. And those that came afterward testify of Jesus Christ’s infinite atonement on our behalf. Man is fallen, but through Christ, we shall all live again, and we have the opportunity to live again eternally with our Father in Heaven.
We joy in the gospel. As it says in the Book of Mormon, in the second book of Nephi, chapter 25, “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
In “Testimonies of Him,” a church publication online at lds.org, President Gordon B. Hinckley gave an enlightening testimony of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus was in very deed the great Jehovah of the Old Testament, who left His Father’s royal courts on high and condescended to come to earth as a babe born in the most humble of circumstances. His birth was foretold centuries earlier by Isaiah, who declared prophetically, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
This Jesus Christ of whom we solemnly testify is, as John the Revelator declared, “the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.” He “loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever” (Revelation 1:5–6). “ End quote.
The titles of Jesus Christ remind us of His love for us, His power, His earthly mission, His relation to the Father, His perfection, and His understanding. So many of our modern Christmas songs sing of the titles of Christ, how the Baby Jesus came to earth to grow in grace and save us from our sins. If a song of the righteous is a prayer unto our Lord (Doctrine & Covenants Section 25), it is only natural that we sing Alleluias and Hosannas to His mighty name.
In “Another testament of Jesus Christ,” the Book of Mormon, we read about a prophet that came to prophesy five years before the birth of Christ. He was a mighty man with much faith, a Lamanite prophet that came to preach loudly upon a city wall in Zarahemla.
Samuel spoke to the people of Zarahemla words that are still true for us today: “Nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people. And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. And behold, I was sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings” (Helaman chapter 13).
Samuel knew many of the people would be angry with him for speaking these words, for calling them to repentance and asking the people to believe in Jesus Christ. His mission to the land of Zarahemla had not been going too well, and he had been cast out of many places. He was about to return home when an angel brought him these glad tidings. “Glad tidings” is a wonderful “Christmas” phrase, and we know the angel Gabriel delivered them to Mary to announce her calling as mother of the Savior. The phrase is also repeated in scripture in association with the atonement of Christ and missionary work.
Samuel’s persistence and faith helped him to deliver the message to a sinful people. And we all know of the miracle of Samuel on the wall, that the arrows and rocks from the slings that the wicked people threw could not hit him nor knock him off the wall. Not only were amazing prophetic words of wondrous signs spoken to these people, many of them hard-hearted, but these people of Zarahemla also got to witness a miracle that day. God was protecting His prophet.
The Lamanite prophet Samuel spoke of what it would be like in five years when Jesus would be born. A night would be as day. That unmistakable sign would herald the event of the baby Jesus’ birth across the sea in Bethlehem.
Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus (choir)
Voice 2: [A reading of the Christmas story from Luke chapter 1]
Jesus Christ’s birth was wondrous. As we read in the New Testament, in the first chapter of Luke, the angel Gabriel came to Mary to declare the glad tidings of great joy. Great prophecies were given, and we learn of the many glorious titles of Jesus Christ.
(Luke chapter 1, starting with verse 26.)
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
**For with God nothing shall be impossible. **
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her…
“And [John the Baptist’s] father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
We will continue with the Nativity story, but first we invite the primary children to come to the front to sing a song about the Baby Jesus’ humble birth.
Once Within A Lowly Stable (primary)
Voice 1: [A reading of the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2]
We wonder at His humble beginning, a little baby laid in a hay-filled manger in a stable. From the Nativity story in Luke chapter 2, we learn about a pregnant Mary, along with earthly father Joseph, riding miles on a donkey to travel to Bethlehem in order to be taxed by the ancient Roman government, only to deliver her baby in a stable because there were no rooms in the inn. The baby Jesus is heralded by angels singing good tidings of great joy, and the shepherds came to see their Master, the King of Kings, the ruler and healer of us all.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
In the Nativity story, we learn about this joyful Silent Night wherein the infant Jesus was born. He was born to save mankind from the Fall of Adam. He was born to redeem us individually from our sins. This holy infant, tender and mild, would grow to become the way to our salvation. He would be our Savior Jesus Christ. It is no wonder the shepherds would quake at the sight and angels would sing Alleluia to our Lord.
We invite the congregation to join in for the *second* and *third* verses.
Silent Night (solo, then with choir and congregation)
Voice 2: This holy infant was born in lowly circumstances among the animals in a stable. But more was in store. Angels would come to bring glad tidings of great joy, singing Alleluias. The shepherds would hearken to the angels and would visit the little infant Jesus and keep watch, as well as proclaim abroad and share the glad tidings and witness of Jesus they had received:
Rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, “Christ the babe is Lord of all.” And “Christ the babe was born for you.”
An additional prophet and prophetess were able to testify of the infant Jesus when he was but 8 days old. (More from Luke chapter 2)
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb…
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
And Simeon blessed them…
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age…
And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem…
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him…
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
This holy infant would bring salvation to us all, one by one. Redemption would come in the form of a tiny baby, a child who would grow in wisdom and grace into the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ.
Infant Holy (double quartet)
Voice 1: The wise men from the Orient would later come to visit the new king and would follow the sign of His birth for direction. A star would lead the way. Just as the prophecies foretold, Jesus would be our Light and our Salvation. By understanding Jesus Christ’s divine mission and His atonement, we begin to understand that we “need not fear the grave. Jesus Christ was born to save.” We can all be wise men by recognizing Christ’s atonement and that this good News has come that can give us Joy and Peace.
Good Christian Men Rejoice (choir)
Voice 2: What Child Is This? Why lies He in such lowly and mean estate? Can we make room for the Christ child in our lives? Will we honor Him and obey Him? Will we show our love for Him? Can we live as he lived, serving and loving others and keeping the commandments? Can we find healing for our own souls through Jesus? He asks that all men come until Him. Come follow Christ, learn of Him. Learn charity from Christ, and learn to show it. Become meek and lowly, patient, full of love, and humble and teachable as a little child.
What Child Is This? (harp duet)
Voice 1: Let our loving hearts enthrone Him. Let our Alleluias and Hosannas reach His throne. Have we spiritually been borne of God? His burden is easy and His yoke is light. He has already come and paid the price for our sins. Let us exercise our faith in Him, bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. Let us proclaim the good news of the Gospel to all men. Let us proclaim good tidings of great joy. Let us bring peace and joy and hope and love to our fellow brethren and sisters.
President Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of our church, gave some wonderful counsel during the First Presidency Christmas Devotional in Dec 2010. "In looking back over the years, it is obvious that the Christmases I remember best, the Christmases which touched my heart the most, are Christmases filled with love and giving and the spirit of the Savior. I believe that such would be true for all of us as we reminisce concerning our best remembered Christmases. Bringing the Christmas spirit into our hearts and homes takes conscious effort and planning but can surely be accomplished."
"Let it be a time that lights the eyes of children and puts laughter on their lips," President Monson said. "Let it be a time for lifting the lives of those who live in loneliness. Let it be a time for calling our families together, for feeling a closeness to those who are near to us and a closeness also to those who are absent.
"Let it be a time of prayers for peace, for the preservation of free principles, and for the protection of those who are far from us. Let it be a time of forgetting self and finding time for others. Let it be a time of discarding the meaningless and for stressing the true values. Let it be a time of peace because we have found peace in His teachings.
"Most of all, let it be a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds and the worship of the wise men.” End quote.
Let the true spirit of Christmas flow through us until it blesses our lives and the lives of all those around us. “O come let us adore Him” and preach His gospel and His love for us to all the world.
Words from Bishop if needed.
Closing Hymn: O Come Let Us Adore Him / O Come All Ye Faithful (solo, choir and congregation)
The End. Merry Christmas!
Sources and Additional Reading
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. Charles Wesley, Hymns for the Nativity of our Lord, published 1745.
Free Pdf download through website: http://hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/o/m/comtlong.htm
We Testify of Jesus Christ. Gordon B. Hinckley, Testimonies of Him, JesusChrist.LDS.Org.
Website: http://jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/testimonies-of-him/articles/we-testify-of-jesus-christ
Noah, The Great Preacher of Righteousness. Joseph B. Romney, LDS Ensign article, Feb 1998.
Website: Noah, The Great Preacher of Righteousness. Joseph B. Romney, LDS Ensign article, Feb 1998.
A Time To Remember. Thomas S. Monson, First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Dec 2010.
Website: http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/60213/First-Presidency-Christmas-Devotional-President-Monson-2-A-time-to-remember.html
The Book of Mormon, Helaman Chapter 13.
New Testament Luke Chapters 1 and 2.
LDS Hymnal, published 1985.
LDS Childrens Songbook.
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