Sacrament Service
Christmas Program
Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Hymn
Bring the real, sincere love of Christ to others all year round.
The true spirit of Christmas is revealed when we drop the last syllable and it becomes the spirit of Christ.
1 Nephi 19:12
12 And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.
1 Nephi 20
2 Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.
1 Nephi 21:26
26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
“Jesus Christ is also the light of the world because his example and his teachings illuminate the path we should walk to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “‘The Light and Life of the World’”, October 1987 General Conference)
Mark 10:14
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
The primary children sang, “I’d Sing You a Song”
Christ’s return will be announced by angelic trumpets
“Glory to God in the highest” - (Hymn - “Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains”)
Two young women sang “Still, Still, Still”
The choir sang “Away in a Manger”
Christ condescended that we might be lifted.
Mosiah 14
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
See also Isaiah 53.
The choir and congregation sang “What Child Is This?”.
Isaiah 7
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
The name Emanuel is a promise. God is with us and will always be with us.
“the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You”, April 2016 General Conference)
“My friends, my fellow disciples on the road of mortal life, our Father’s beautiful plan, even His ‘fabulous’ plan, is designed to bring you home, not to keep you out.” (Elder Patrick Kearon, “God’s Intent Is to Bring You Home”, April 2024 General Conference)
3 People sang “Oh Come Oh Come, Emanuel”.
Luke 2
7 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.
Isaiah 9
6 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.
Romans 8
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
We invite His presence to be part of us and He invites us to be His presence in the world.
“As this Christmas approaches, let us do more of what matters and much less of what doesn’t.” (Elder Patrick Kearon, “Bringing Christmas Into Focus”, 2019 Christmas Devotional)
The choir sang “Come Lord Jesus Come”.
Gift giving is one of the most widely practiced parts of Christmas.
With all of the gifts that the Lord has given to me, what can I give to Him.
The Lord rarely refers to His followers as Christians. He more often refers to His followers as Saints. He did not call His church the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Christians.
DnC 115
3 And also unto my faithful servants who are of the high council of my church in Zion, for thus it shall be called, and unto all the elders and people of my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, scattered abroad in all the world;
4 For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We must forgive all, no matter what they did or did not do.
The congregation sang “Joy to the World”.
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