We don’t have enough members in our family to put together a reenactment, but we have plenty of hands to help hold up lots of pictures. If you don’t have any on hand to help tell the story, I’d like to recommend some pictures you can print off of the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, as well as cut-outs that can be found at www.ldscatalogs.com. They’re some of my favorite to use, and some of the cut-outs can even be used as Christmas decorations.

Here’s my own retelling of the birth of Christ, based off of account found in Luke chapters 1&2, as well as Matthew chapters 1&2:

Mary had just gone to bed when an angel appeared. He said, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.”

Mary accepted his words, and knew she would be the mother of Jesus Christ. The angel told Mary to go and see her cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was old enough to be a grandma, but never had any children until an angel had come to her husband. They were told their own son would be named John. Before Elizabeth gave birth to John, Mary came to see her. At the sight of Mary, John moved in his mother’s tummy. The Holy Ghost whispered to Elizabeth about the baby Mary carried in her own tummy. Elizabeth said, “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?”

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for many months before going home. When Joseph saw her, it was pretty obvious she was pregnant. He didn’t know what to do. That night as he slept an angel came and told Joseph about the baby Mary had in her tummy. Joseph married Mary as soon as possible.

It was tax time in the land. Both Mary and Joseph were required to go to the city of their ancestors to be counted and pay their taxes. It was part of their Jewish law. So Mary and Joseph both headed out to the city of Bethlehem. The city was very crowded, as many people had returned to be taxed. One innkeeper, whose inn was all full up, told Joseph of a kahn nearby. A kahn was a stable where they could rest their animals and themselves.

That night Mary gave birth to Jesus. A new star appeared in the sky. A ways off a group of shepherds noticed the new star. As they looked upon it an angel appeared and said, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly angels appeared singing, testifying to the birth of the Savior. The shepherds left immediately to go and find the baby. When they found him, they knelt to honor and worship him.

Others had noticed the new star. A group of wise men, or magi, had set out from a distant Oriental land to come and find the newborn Savior. They came to Herod to ask where they might find him. Herod was a wicked man. He wasn’t a Jew by birth, like the people who lived there, but his family became Jews. When a country called Rome had conquered the land they didn’t care about who was rightfully king. Instead they put lots of different people in as kings and rulers, like Herod’s family.

Herod knew of the Jewish prophecies of a king that would be born. This worried him. He didn’t like the thought of a baby taking over his job, so he played a trick on the magi. He told them after they found the baby to come and tell him so that he could worship the baby as well. The magi agreed. They didn’t know Herod was an evil man.

The magi, or wise men, continued on their journey, at last finding the baby. It was a custom in their homeland to give gifts to those of high rank. They offered three gifts to the baby Jesus: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Remember, they didn’t offer any gifts to Herod. They didn’t think he was a man of high rank. But even as a baby they believed Jesus to be a great leader.

When the magi prepared to leave, they had a dream warning them not to return to Herod. They obeyed and took another way home.

It is important that even though this happened tons of years ago, we remember the miracle of baby Jesus, the new star, and how we need to remember Him all year long and not just at Christmastime.