As you know last week Christmas was on Sunday and I was fortunate to write the Christmas Program. I have included the narrations on my blog.

NARRATOR #1
I'm sure we all recognize the following famous conversation:
“Boy, What day is this?”
“Wot”
"What's to-day, my fine fellow?"
"To-day?" replied the boy.  "Why, Christmas Day."
"It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself.  "I haven't missed it”


Well it is Christmas Day! It's Christmas Day on Sunday!! What a rare occasion!


NARRATOR #2

So “How is your Christmas Day going?”

Perhaps your day can be described by a story from the new testament
“And a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.“And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.“But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.”
“And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42.)
Elder Dallin H. Oaks suggests, “This scripture reminds every Martha, male and female, that we should not be so occupied with what is routine and temporal that we fail to cherish those opportunities that are unique and spiritual. (Ensign, Nov. 1985, p. 61.)
Elder Maxwell agreed that “Martha-like Anxiety” was not reserved for Sisters:
“We can all try to watch out for Martha-like anxiety, which is genderless. It can also deprive us of special experiences if we are too “cumbered about much serving.” Conscientiousness is not an automatic guarantee that we will choose the “good part” which will “not be taken away from us” Luke 10:38-42.)

Sometimes during the Christmas Season we get in such a hurry that we miss the “good parts” of Christmas

Well it is still Christmas Day. It isn't too late to discover or recover the true Spirit of Christmas!

Picture in your mind this scene: a lowly stable in ancient Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary trying to find shelter and a place to bring the Son of God, into the world.

Let's invite the children to sing about the Savior.

(invite children to come up and sing)

PRIMARY SONG: Away in a Manger (2 verses)
PRIMARY SONG: Who is this Child?

(children sing and then leave)


NARRATOR #3

Well maybe you didn't get exactly what you wanted for Christmas this morning.


Listen to the words of the following poem

POEM: True Gift of Christmas by Kelly Silvester

Christmas is lying awake at night
Wondering what will be found in the morning light

Eyes are bright at the glow of the tree
How many presents are there for me?

I open them all and what do I find,
Something is missing in the pile of mine

That wonderful feeling I had last night
Is gone, now I opened every present in sight

Is this the way it was meant to be
Or is it because I’m just thinking of me

The Christmas season is for gifts and for sharing
But the real joy comes from love and from caring

I don’t need a Christmas tomorrow to bring
The real gift of Christmas the birth of a King


Choir Song #1 With Wondering Awe (Accompaniment in hymns of Worship)



NARRATOR # 2

For thousands of years the people of God looked and waited with hopeful hearts in anticipation of the coming of the prophesied Messiah. The wise men knew of the birth of the Savior because they saw the star in the east. And that star became their guide.

The Star of Bethlehem was a sign of the birth of the Son of God. It is most appropriate to call the wise men wise because they not only knew of the importance of watching for the sign of his coming, but they knew what the Star really meant and the direction it was pointing. These three kings followed a star because they followed a prophecy.

The herald angels also understood the eternal impact of Jesus’ birth as they proclaimed “Glory to the newborn King.” It is the same glad news that touches souls the world over and brings them to a knowledge of the truth concerning Jesus Christ.


NARRATOR #3

Surely if you and I had seen that Star we would probably have felt a great outpouring of the Spirit. Many people in our day, in their own unique ways, have seen such a star and felt that Spirit, but have lost the Spirit somewhere along the way.

The Star of Bethlehem was in the heavens. And, as we have recently learned from the words of our leaders, including our prophet. “It is better to look up”

This Christmas you can look up and cheer up. You can feel and know the Spirit of the Lord again.

You can feel and know the Spirit of the Lord again. I know you can.


Consider the words of the following Hymn written by Elder James E Faust

They heard His voice, a voice so mild;
It pierced them through and made their souls to quake;
They saw Him come, a man in white,
The Savior who had suffered for their sake.

They felt the wounds in hands and side,
And each could testify; This is the Christ;

This is the Christ, the holy Son of God,
Our Savior, Lord, Redeemer of mankind.
This is the Christ, the healer of our souls
Who ransomed us with love divine.

I read His words, the words He prayed
While bearing sorrow in Gethsemane;
I feel His love, the price He paid.
How many drops of blood were spilled for me?

With saints of old in joyful cry
I too can testify; This is the Christ;

Choir Song #2 Star of Bethlehem

NARRATOR #1

So how is your 2011 going?

Has it been a trip to paradise or a pioneer trek?
Has it been as calm as a summer day or has it been your own Zions Camp?

Remember Jacob Marley appearing to Ebeneezer Scrooge? Remember Scrooge asking Marley about the chains that were draped about him?

Marley replied: “These are the chains I forged in life.” Link by Link, yard by yard”

The scriptures describe chains like these as: the fetters and chains of hell.

There is a lesson about how the ghosts of our past and the chains in our lives create fears.

Walking the cold streets of 19th century London, a distressed writer, named Charles Dickens, was under pressure to produce another novel. Haunted by childhood memories of his own poverty, and worrying that he would put his own family in financial peril, his writing was at a paralyzing impasse.

As he walked, worrying about his own financial problems, he came across a tattered looking young boy who was walking home from a factory workhouse. It was very late at night. When Dickens asked for whom the boy worked, the boy replied, '"for people like you".

This chance encounter with the boy was transformative for Dickens. Dickens realized that his destiny was in his own hands. The epiphany motivated Dickens to get back to his task of writing, and, as a result of these events, Dickens completed perhaps his greatest classic work A Christmas Carol.

This true story is an excellent example of how, when faced with a block, we tend to focus on the impasse itself, which hampers our ability to move forward.

Regarding this Elder Marvin J Ashton said:

Sometimes we spend so much time trying to determine what we did wrong in the past to deserve the unpleasant happenings of the moment that we fail to resolve the challenges of the present. Og Mandino wrote in his book The Greatest Miracle in the World, “If we lock ourselves in a prison of failure and self-pity, we are the only jailers … we have the only key to our freedom.” (New York: Frederick Fell Publishers, 1975, p. 61.)
Elder Marvin J Ashton also said “We can let ourselves out of such a prison by turning to the Lord for strength. With His help we can use our trials as stepping-stones. The keys are in our hands.”
Recently Elder Boyd K Packer said in conference, “If the adversary should take you prisoner due to misconduct, I remind you that you hold the key that will unlock the prison door from the inside. You can be washed clean through the atoning sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ.”
With Christs help, we can get past our past and on with the future.



Choir Song # 3 Christmas: A Hymn Medley (includes Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger with Allison Parker doing the solo, And Angels we Have Heard on High)
NARRATOR #3
In the last general conference Elder Curtis spoke of stories of redemption. The Story of The Nativity is central to the story of redemption.
But anyone looking at the manger scene and looking at that babe must have thought:

“How could this baby save my soul.? How could this infant redeem all mankind?”

Elder Legrande R Curtis Of the Seventy, quoted the The Apostle Orson F. Whitney who said this


Savior, Redeemer of my soul,
Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,
Whose wondrous pow’r hath raised me up
And filled with sweet my bitter cup!
What tongue my gratitude can tell,
O gracious God of Israel.
Never can I repay thee, Lord,
But I can love thee. Thy pure word,
Hath it not been my one delight,
My joy by day, my dream by night?
Then let my lips proclaim it still,
And all my life reflect thy will.
(“Savior, Redeemer of My Soul,” Hymns, no. 112)

Choir Song # 4 Still, Still Still

NARRATOR #2
We believe in the living God, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who begot His Son, his only begotten in the flesh, and that Son grew from His birth into His manhood and developed into the very image and likeness of His Father, insomuch that He declared on one occasion that "he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father”

And God so loved the world that He chose to send His perfect son to die for the world that the world through Him might be saved. He is the Light and the Life of the World.

The Savior’s life and His teachings are the light that shines in a dark world. He leads the way, and if we do as Peter said, and take head and follow that light, the light of Christ that is in us from birth, will grow and our Heavenly Father will bless us with more light until that light becomes as bright as the perfect day.
A worthwhile attitude for all of us could well be, “Help us, O Lord, to remember thy love for us and help us to be fortified by thy strength when our eyes are blurred with tears of sorrow and our vision is limited.”
Help us to look up.
The answers will not come in presents or parades. The answer will come by a still small voice.
But we must open our hearts to receive it.
NARRATOR #1

Dickens knew, all those years ago, an amazing truth: Hearts CAN change.

Oh the power and healing that comes from repentance! Scrooge like Alma, went about destroying peoples lives. Scrooge like Alma, had an extraordinary visitation. Scrooge like Alma, was racked by the pains and horrors of his sins. Scrooge like Alma, had a Change of Heart.

It is never too late to change, and that is the marvelous thing. That is the message of Christmas!

Hugh B Brown said: A righteous person is one who is repenting; a wicked person is one who is not repenting. A righteous man is not one who is all good. There is no such person at all. We have all this mixture. And a wicked man is not one who is all bad.

If you are repenting, it's like being on a stairway. A person at the bottom of the stairs facing up is better off than the person at the top of the stairs facing down, if it's the way of repentance.

Elder Bruce C Hafen wrote ”The great Mediator asks for our repentance not because we must ‘repay’ him in exchange for his paying our debt to justice, but because repentance initiates a developmental process that, with the Savior’s help, leads us along the path to a saintly character” (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 149; emphasis in original).

As far as the three ghosts are concerned, Let us repent of the past, have faith in the future, and live today fully.

Choir Song # 5 Silent Night: (choir & congregation)

NARRATOR #3 So where is our heart this Christmas Day? Maybe the question we need to ask isn't what did we get for Christmas, but what did we give?

May this year be the year we learn the great secret about Christmas: It is better to give than to receive

But what are we giving?

The wise men brought gold frankincense an myrrh, to the babe in Bethlehem. But we don’t need fine gifts to bring to the Savior’s feet, what we need to give Him is our heart. The greatest gift we have to give we may not have even given yet. We can give our hearts to Heaven.

We can give our heart to God by giving our hearts to each other. Giving up the bitterness, giving up the hate.

We can truly mend the broken fences between brothers & sisters, fathers, mothers, neighbors friends, husbands and wives.

We can give the gift of forgiveness. We can give to God the gift of a contrite heart this Christmas.

When the real reason for the season resounds in our hearts, we want to give, we want to love.

The essence of Christmas is love.

We can know that there is a God in Heaven. His our father. He loves every one of us.

He loves us so much He created a plan for us to be with Him forever.

He loves us so much He created a world where we could come and gain a body and gain knowledge

He loves us so much that He gave us agency

And when our agency fails us He provided a way.

For God so loved the world that he gave His Only Begotten Son.

I know that His son is Jesus Christ.

I know the Savior took upon Himself the sins and sicknesses and sorrows and sufferings of everyone who ever lived.

How could any being, swallow so much for us.

Even amidst all the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, I know that it was Christ’s love for us that made it all possible.

He loved us so much He did not to turn from the bitter cup

He loved us so much He bled from every poor.

He tread the wine presses alone. For He was left all alone, as even the God in Heaven withdrew

He did all of this for us so we could sing the song of redeeming LOVE.

Christ loves us so much He restored His church, the church where He still stands as the head. He restored the true and living church to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

I bear testimony the Joseph Smith was and is the great Prophet of the restoration. That he loved truth and light that he was a defender of the truth to his death.

I know that the Holy Ghost is real and confirms these truths to our hearts. On this very day Did not our hearts within us burn?

I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, for Prophets of old who protected these sacred truths so that they could come forth in our day and bless our lives.

I am grateful for Prophets today who loves us. I am grateful for President Monson’s love.

May we manifest our love for the Lord in all that we do and say.

May He encircle us in the arms of his Love.

And in the coming day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that “Jesus is the Christ”


This is the Christ, the holy Son of God,
Our Savior, Lord, Redeemer of mankind.
This is the Christ, the healer of our souls
Who ransomed us with purest love divine!



On this special day, to one and to all,

Merry Christmas!