Transcript
[MUSIC - MAT & SAVANNA SHAW, "OH, COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL"]
(SINGING) Oh, come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant! Oh, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, Born the King of angels; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation; Sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above! Glory to God, Glory in the highest; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.
Come adore, come adore, come adore. Oh, come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant!
Come adore, come adore, come adore him, come adore him. Come adore, come adore, come adore. Oh, come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant! Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation. Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him. Come adore, come adore, come adore. Oh, come, let us adore; Oh, come, let us adore; Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.
Hi, I'm Sister Tannery. I'm from Bullard, Texas. And I'm Sister Short. I'm from Woodinville, Washington. We are missionaries serving here on Temple Square, and we are so excited to be with you tonight. Every year, thousands of people come to Temple Square at Christmastime to listen to sacred music and to see the beautiful Christmas lights. But many watching tonight have never experienced Christmas at Temple Square. We are so excited to bring this special celebration directly to you in the comfort of your own home. Tonight's musical performances will be performed by different people from all over the world. And throughout the night, we'll hear special messages about the birth of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. And later, we'll take you on a quick tour of Temple Square. We will now have a prayer offered by one of our fellow sister missionaries here on Temple Square, Sister Barker, who will be offering the prayer in her mission language.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. [MUSIC - MARSHALL MCDONALD, "GOOD KING WENCESLAS"]
Aloha spirit I could say is like Christlike love. Just to smile, to wave, to love, to care, to nourish. I think anything aloha is anything with joy. I love "Silent Night," and I love when they sing it whether in, like, Hawaiian or Samoan. I think it's just very precious and beautiful--the language and the Spirit that you can always feel through that song. [MUSIC - "SILENT NIGHT"] [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
Hi, everyone. We would love to show you this beautiful, historic, and sacred place that is Temple Square. We are going to take you inside many of the buildings and tell you about the rich history of their faith-driven beginnings, as well as get to show you the Christmas lights on Temple Square. OK, let's get started. Welcome to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was built in 1911 as the Hotel Utah, the first world-class hotel built west of the Mississippi. Today it houses restaurants, reception rooms, a chapel, and of course it's decked out for the season with this beautiful Christmas spirit. [PIANO MUSIC]
The birth of Jesus Christ was a global event. It wasn't just for us; it was for everyone. He truly is the Savior of the world. There are no exceptions or limitations to the blessings of the birth of Jesus Christ. That is why we have nativity scenes displayed here that represent cultures from all over the world. [PIANO MUSIC]
The Salt Lake Temple was built in 1893, after 40 years of construction. Now it's undergoing a four-year renovation to strengthen the original foundation. Despite the temple undergoing this renovation, we can have peace in knowing that wherever we stand can be holy ground, as long as we focus on striving to become more like the Savior Jesus Christ. [PIANO MUSIC]
This is the beautiful Relief Society building. It is home to the women's organizations of the Church: the Primary, Relief Society, and Young Women. These artifacts were donated by faithful women from around the world. This building reminds us of the power of women when we unite together under Jesus Christ. Now follow us; we're going to take you all over to the Conference Center. [PIANO SOLO]
So this is the Conference Center. It is used for cultural events, concerts, and is home to a worldwide broadcast known as general conference, which is broadcast all over the world in over 90 different languages. This building is over a million square feet and has a 21,000-seat auditorium. It actually sounds like someone's practicing on the organ right now; let's take a look. [ORGAN SOLO]
It sounds like Brian Mathias is playing. This organ has over 7,000 pipes. You know, this is actually my second favorite organ, right after the kidney. [LAUGHS] There are organ recitals held every week. You can find more information on ChurchofJesusChrist.org/events. [ORGAN SOLO]
[PIANO SOLO]
Everything on Temple Square points us to Jesus Christ. Recently, President Nelson has invited us to reemphasize Him as the center of all that we do. Which is why he introduced this sculpture as the new symbol of the Church. The scripture that inspired the sculpture is from the New Testament. It's Matthew 11:28, which says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And I love that phrase, "come unto me." It reminds me that Jesus Christ does not want us to bear our burdens alone. And as we come unto Christ, we will find the peace and healing that we are searching for in our lives. As representatives of the Prince of Peace, we bear witness that all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. [PIANO SOLO]
This is the Tabernacle, home to The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. This choir has over 300 members. They're all volunteers, and they share their testimony of Jesus Christ through song. So, we kind of like to joke that this building looks like a baked potato with the tinfoil still on it. [LAUGHS] But it's shaped like that for a specific reason. The roof is actually made out of bridge frames to provide an echo effect, so when you go inside, the acoustics are perfect. They're so perfect, in fact, that when one person drops a pin from one end of the building, somebody standing on the complete opposite end can hear it. And the acoustics sound especially amazing when there's a Christmas concert going on inside. [PIANO SOLO]
This place is more than spires, organs, and Christmas lights. This is a place of possibilities. Why? Because when we visit Temple Square, we leave wanting to become more like Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ went about doing good, we can follow His example. As we allow the light of Christ to shine through us, together, we can light the world. We invite you to let your light shine this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!
[MUSIC - "ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH"]
(SINGING) Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains, And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heav'nly song? Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo.
In excelsis Deo.
Christmas in Nicaragua is so fun. I think that it is the most joyous Christmas in the world. We have a lot of parties [LAUGHS] and a lot of lights, the same as here. But most importantly is that Christmas in Nicaragua is centered on Jesus Christ. We have festivals that represent the Nativity. So, people walk on the streets and they have the little baby Jesus, and it's really amazing because all the people dress as Joseph and Mary and Jesus Christ. It's really fun.
[MUSIC - "NATIVITY SONG"]
(SINGING) This is the season beloved of the year. Sing a rhyme; Christmastime soon will be here. Tell the true story of Jesus' birth, When, as a baby, he came to the earth.
This is the new star, shining so bright, Lighting the world on that first Christmas night. This is the angel proclaiming the birth, Singing "Hosanna!" and "Peace on the earth!"
These are the shepherds, humble and mild, Hast'ning to worship the heavenly child. These are the wise men who followed the star, Frankincense, gold, and myrrh brought from afar.
See the sweet mother, Mary so fair, Joseph, who guided the donkey with care. See the dear baby of Bethlehem, Little Lord Jesus, the Savior of men. Little Lord Jesus, the Savior of men.
In Norway, the darkest time of year is Christmas. Like, literally, it's so dark; the sun doesn't go up, depending on where you are. But it's dark outside, and that can often affect everybody. And I think God knew that since it's so dark, we needed the brightest celebration that we have in that time. And so Christmas is like light for Norway. The true meaning of Christmas never changes, because Jesus Christ has always been the true meaning of Christmas. (VOCALIZING) "JOY TO THE WORLD" [MUSIC - LIGHT THE WORLD MUSIC GROUP, SOUTH AFRICA, "JOY TO THE WORLD"] [NON-ENGLISH SINGING] Rejoice! Rejoice when Jesus reigns, And Saints their songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING] I can think of times in my life when I've just been in a really, really dark place. And, you know, we get in those moments and we think, "I'll never get out. How am I supposed to get out of this moment?" And it's not until I put Jesus Christ at the center of everything that I realize that He is the light. I love in the Book of Mormon when He visits the Nephites, and the first thing that He says to them is "I am the light." And I've really, really come to gain such a strong testimony that no matter what darkness we're in, He really is there to get us out. And we can think back to those times of darkness, and we don't feel them anymore, because not only does He bring us into the light, but it's almost as if the darkness had never happened. [MUSIC - SALT LAKE TEMPLE SQUARE MISSIONARY CHOIR, "THE LORD IS MY LIGHT"] (SINGING) The Lord is my light; then why should I fear? By day and by night his presence is near. He is my salvation from sorrow and sin; This blessed assurance the Spirit doth bring.
The Lord is my light; tho clouds may arise, Faith, stronger than sight, looks up thru the skies Where Jesus forever in glory doth reign. Then how can I ever in darkness remain?
The Lord is my light, my joy, and my song. By day and by night He leads me, he leads me along.
The Lord is my light; the Lord is my strength. I know in his might I'll conquer at length. My weakness in mercy he covers with pow'r, And, walking by faith, I am blest ev'ry hour.
The Lord is my light, my all and in all. There is in his sight no darkness at all. He is my Redeemer, my Savior, and King. With Saints and with angels his praises I'll sing.
The Lord is my light, my joy, and my song. By day and by night He leads me, he leads me along.
The Lord is my light; the Lord is my light.
He leads me, he leads me along.
[MUSIC - "LUKE 2"]
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
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. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] 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. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] The shepherds heard Him as they heard heavenly hosts testifying of Him. As we celebrate that sacred event, we likewise can hear Him. In doing so, we will find peace and joy amid the trials that surround us. Let us show gratitude for the numerous blessings we have been given this Christmas season, greatest among them our knowledge of the birth of the Son of God. We testify that He is the Light and the Life of the World. Of this we solemnly testify in His name, even Jesus Christ, amen.
[MUSIC - "THE FIRST NOEL"]
The first Noel the angel did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay, In fields where they lay keeping their sheep On a cold winter's night that was so deep. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
They looked up and saw a star Shining in the East beyond them far, And to the earth it gave great light, And so it continued both day and night. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
And by the light of that same star Three wise men came from country far, To seek for a King was their intent And to follow the star wheresoever it went. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord That hath made heav'n and earth of naught And with his blood mankind hath bought. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
Noel, Noel, Noel.