Advent #7

Luke 1:26-33, 38

 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

 28 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.

 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name ^aJESUS.

 32 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:

 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Sing “Once Within a Lowly Stable” Children’s Songbook p.41

Also, enjoy this song "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant. It is one of my favorites. It is about Mary and her faith and the prayers she must have prayed.

Advent #6

Luke 1:13-17

 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Advent #5

Helaman 14:1-5

1 And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be written.

 2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

 3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

 4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

 5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.

Sing “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful” Hymns #202

This is my absolute favorite "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful." It is performed by Josh Groban and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

Advent #4

Mosiah 3:5-13

5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

 6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

 7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

 8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

 9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.

 10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.

 12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

 13 And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.

Sing “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” Hymns #29

Advent #3

Isaiah 11:2-4

2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Sing “How Great Thou Art” Hymns #86

(I apologize - because of copyright, I couldn't link you to the music and couldn't find a video I wanted to attach, either. Just grab your hymn book and sing!)

Advent #2

Isaiah 9:2,6-7

2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

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.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with distance from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Advent #1

I looked all over the internet and couldn't find an scripture advent that I liked. So, I created my own. I don't know if it is something anyone else is interested in, but I thought I would share it here, just in case. I wanted scriptures and songs, because I find music such a powerful form of worship. Although we will be doing ours in the evening, some people prefer to do theirs in the morning, so I will try to stay a day ahead in my postings. I decided not to begin with a scripture, though, but a quotation from Howard W. Hunter:

"If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments. He will take you by the hand and His promises will be kept." –Howard W. Hunter

Sing “He Sent His Son” Children’s Songbook p. 34

I will be making a bigger effort to bring the true Spirit of Christmas into my life and into my home.