So our Relief Society Christmas Celebration went off with only minor hitches (readers didn't turn up, our pianist had contact lens issues, one lady brought her husband to make wreaths and another lady had a seizure and had to be taken to hospital). Other than that - a perfect night, after so much stressing all the classes were great fun and we had a good turn out (despite the old lady boycott). Our four classes were:
Edible Centerpieces
We ended with a Christmas Program of readings and musical/congregational items half taken from a program found online and half revamped for purpose. It was a really beautiful program and I was relieved to have met to a measure the expectation I'd set for myself. A good night - and not a Santa in sight!
Mary Had a Baby
Narrator
“This
thing was not done in a corner,” Paul said of Christ’s
ministry and the restoration of the gospel in the meridian of time. Indeed, the
witnesses of the Savior’s birth were many and various. Samuel prophesied to
those in the Americas of the signs of His coming and Alma wrote that the story
of Christ’s birth was heralded by angels to those who were “just and holy.” In the nation of Christ’s birth, the testimony
of his coming went forth in ever-widening circles—especially among those
blameless in keeping the commandments and ordinances of the Lord and filled
with the Holy Ghost.
Gospel
writers Matthew and Luke, describe twelve witnesses to the Nativity. Although
their individual testimonies are remarkable, their collective testimony
constitutes a powerful witness of Christ’s birth. As their stories unfold,
every appropriate element appears in its proper place, which is all the more
remarkable since the two writers each tell different parts of the story. But
it’s not just those who witnessed the Christ child who bore powerful testimony
of his birth, many women spanning the expanses of time, testified of his
divinity and son-ship. Tonight we’ll hear from the women in Christ’s life and
those who preceded him, bearing testimony that Jesus is The Christ.
The
nativity story begins with an angelic announcement within the temple’s Holy
Place to a priest whose prayers on behalf of his nation have just implored for
that very event. With equal propriety, it ends with the announcement of Herod’s
evil designs upon the Christ child’s life. Within the story, we see the heavens
opened to priest and layman, to man and woman, to old and young, to the mighty
and to the humble. We see each called to be an important witness to this, the
most beautiful of stories ever told.
1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Hymn # 209
MOTHER: O
hush thee, my baby, a story I’ll tell, how little Lord Jesus on earth came to
dwell. Long, long ago, before you came to me and even before Mary rocked her
little Jesus, there lived the first mother. Her name is Eve, and she knew that
someday Jesus would come.
EVE:
I am Eve. Of me it is said, “She is the mother of all
living”. Mother of generation after generation of sons and daughters—the
spiritual offspring of God. Among them would come the Redeemer. The Lord spoke
unto Adam saying, “The name of [the] Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even
Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.
Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your
children” and I did.
2. Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains – Hymn # 212
MOTHER:
Another mother of long ago was Sarah. Sarah’s heart was troubled for many, many
years as she suffered a great agony of barren loneliness without a child of her
own. When she finally held little Isaac, her precious long awaited son in her
arms, it was because of God’s glorious promise and the fulfillment of prophesy.
SARAH:
I am Sarah. Even though it seemed as though it could
never be, I share with my husband blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant: seed as
numerous as the stars in the heavens and the sands of the sea. Abraham was
promised great blessings because of his obedience to God’s commands, even
willingness to sacrifice our precious son Isaac. But an angel of the Lord
called unto him out of heaven, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad”. Abraham’s
willingness not to withhold his son was in similitude of God, allowing the
sacrifice of His Son at His coming. “Abraham saw of his coming, and was filled
with gladness and did rejoice”.
3. Joy to the World – Hymn # 201
MOTHER: Moses
was a special baby sent by God to become the deliverer and lawgiver in Israel.
He led the Israelites out of bondage into the wilderness on their way to the
Promised Land. His mother was Jochebed.
JOCHEBED
I am Jochebed. Among the flags by the river’s bank I
hid my baby in an ark of bulrushes that he might be delivered from the edict of
Pharaoh. His life was spared, foreshadowing the deliverance of the babe of
Bethlehem from the cruelty of King Herod. He became Moses, prophet in Israel,
who stood in the presence of God and talked with him face to face. and he bore
record that the Son of God should come and redeem his people.
MOTHER:
Sariah was a faithful mother who bore and nursed little babies in the
wilderness. Through the story and testimonies of her family down through the
ages, the Lord gave us the Book of Mormon, a beautiful testimony of Jesus.
SARIAH:
I am Sariah. In order that a righteous branch of
Israel might be preserved, God commanded my husband Lehi that we should depart
Jerusalem and travel to the Promised Land. It would be there that the Lord
would visit his “other sheep.” In vision Lehi saw “One [Jesus Christ]
descending out of the midst of heaven”. Our sons Nephi and Jacob added their
witness. Nephi was shown by an angel, a vision of the Savior at his birth, and
his mother Mary. He testified, “I looked and beheld the virgin…, bearing a
child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea,
even the Son of the Eternal Father!”. Nephi and Jacob both saw the Lord. Jacob
testified, “he cometh into the world that he may save all men”.
MOTHER:
Through the ages Sariah’s family remembered that they had traveled from a land
far away, and they looked forward to the time when Jesus would be born in their
distant homeland. Alma, a great leader, prophesied, “he shall be born of Mary,
at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a
precious and chosen vessel, who shall… bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of
God”.
4. O Little Town of Bethlehem – Hymn #208
MOTHER: Before
Mary’s child was born, Father in Heaven sent another little babe who would prepare
the hearts of the people. His name was John, and his mother was Elisabeth.
Elizabeth was a pure vessel who recognized the special nature of
her own son, she raised him alone in the wilderness after her devoted husband Zacharias
was slain by the alter of the temple.
ELISABETH
I am Elisabeth. What a privileged blessing to bear a
son, filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb. My special son went before to
prepare the way for the Messiah. Even before his birth, John was leaped in my
womb at just salutation of Mary, as she carried the Christ child. John went
before the Messiah in spirit and in the power of Elias to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
5. Who would imagine A King?
Elizabeth:
I testified and bore witness of the divinity of Mary’s
son, crying: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” I
knew that all things which had been prophesized would come to pass and that
Christ, born of Mary, would do all things which pleased his Father in Heaven
and redeem his people from their sins, giving them life everlasting through His
Life, obedience and Faithfulness to the will of the Father.
6. Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful – Hymn
#202
MOTHER: The
angel Gabriel was sent by God to Mary. He said, “thou art highly favored, the Lord
is with thee: blessed art thou among women…. Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
found favour with God. …Thou shalt… bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest…. And he
shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be
no end”.There could be no
more perfect mortal witness of Christ’s divine sonship than his mother, Mary.
From Gabriel she received the promise that she would conceive in her womb “the
Son of the Highest.” Following that marvelous event, she testified, saying, “He
that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.” Truly Mary was, as
Gabriel told her, “highly favoured” and “blessed … among women” to have
witnessed these miracles and to have given birth to the Savior of The World.
MARY:
“My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his and maiden: for,
behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is
mighty hath done to me great things; …and I will magnify his name. For his
mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. …He hath helped
his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to
Abraham, and to his seed forever.”
MOTHER: The long-awaited glorious time arrived. Mary and Joseph, her husband, had traveled far to Bethlehem. The scriptures tell us that Mary “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”
7. A King is Born
Mother: The time of Jesus’ birth was a time of rejoicing.
Angels sang, shepherds came, wise men presented him with gifts. When Mary and Joseph brought the Christ child to the
temple—Simeon took the child in his arms. “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word,” he declared. “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.”Joseph and Mary marveled at those things which were
spoken of the child. And Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her
heart
8. When Mary Sang Her Lullaby
Mother: Simeon’s declaration reached far beyond the understanding and hope of those of his nation, for he saw the universal nature of Christ’s ministry. He bore witness that Jesus was Savior to Jew and Gentile alike. The marvelous testimony of Simeon was not to stand alone. Joining his special witness in the temple of the birth of Christ was Anna, The Prophetess.
ANNA:
I lived with my
husband just seven years before her died, I am but an aged widow of eight-four
years. My name Anna means “full of grace”, and I was blessed to see The Christ
child, a privilege I looked forward to many years, departing not from the
Temple, I was known in the Holy City to all those who sought the coming of
their Redeemer. I was a devout and saintly woman, all those years waiting and
watching in worship, fasting and prayer to my Heavenly Father both day and
night faithfully seeking the coming of the Messiah. When I beheld the holy
family in the temple that day, Mary there to perform the ritual of cleansing
and Joseph to pay the tax necessary to redeem the firstborn from priestly
service— My eyes looked upon Salvation and I bore testimony of the Messiah to
those in Jerusalem who “looked for redemption”. Giving thanks to my Father in
Heaven for allowing me, to behold the precious babe and to worship in
thankfulness for the Love of God and the divine gift of His Only Begotten Son.
MOTHER: Even
though little Jesus was born a wee baby, just like you, the prophets told that
he came to earth to be king over all the earth. “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, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace”.
There were many women who bore witness of the birth
and life of Jesus, many who loved and worshiped and served him throughout his
life. My dear child, I love to tell you about Jesus, the Tiny King. Mothers
have been telling their little ones this wondrous story from the beginning of creation—because
it is true, He lives and has truly redeemed his people.
9. O Holy
NightNarrator:
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.The nativity story
mentions twelve witnesses of the birth of the Savior and illustrates the
pattern by which the knowledge of God is to be restored and to go forth once
again among all the nations of the earth.
How will it go forth?
By special witnesses—witnesses called and prepared in the councils of heaven.
Who will they be? The old and the young, women and men, the learned and the
unlearned—those who walk “in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless,”
those who dream dreams, entertain angels, and are filled with the Holy Ghost.
So it has ever been, and so it must ever be.
We are witnesses of
Christ, we have taken His Sacred name upon us, it is His name written in our
hearts, during this season and throughout the whole year. This time of year is
so easy to get lost in, the lights, the presents, the traditions and stories
are so available and broadcasted to us in Technicolor advertising. Heavenly
Father didn’t send an old man in Red Suit and a liking for Cookies, he sent us
a Redeemer, A Savior, The Messiah, even a babe in a Manger. The simplicity of
his birth, is the simplicity of his message to The World, Love one Another –
Look To Christ, speak of Christ, teach of Christ, Prophesy of Christ, for there
is no other name given under heaven by which man might be saved.
I leave you my
witness that I know that Jesus is The Christ, that this is His Church and this
season is the celebration of His Birth, the birth of The Son of God.
“Glory
be to the Father”—first, for rearing such an Incomparable Son. Second, “Glory
be to the Father” for allowing His special Son to suffer and to be sacrificed
for all of us. Glory be to The Father in the Name of Him whose birth we
celebrate, whose Gospel we teach, whose love we feel as sisters in this Relief
Society, even the name of Jesus The Christ. Amen.
10. “Silent Night” (Hymns, p 204)
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