Christmas Nativity Pageant Script for Families

If you reached this post you may want to check out the updated version Pageant for LDS Families and Non-Denominational Pageant. I included the scriptures and made it a little easier to follow!

Here is the Christmas Nativity Pageant Script I came up with to include with the Children's Nativity Costumes. It was always so haphazard in my family. Someone flipping through the scriptures last minute trying to piece together a cohesive story...I like the idea of having it written out and referenced in the scriptures. Feel free to use or adapt to your needs.

The Christmas Nativity Story

Cast of Characters

Angel/s

Mary

Joseph

Innkeepers

Samuel the Lamanite (Book of Mormon Prophet)

Nephite Crowd (Book of Mormon Civilization)

Shepherds

Lambs

Wise Men

Narrator

Scripture Reader

Stage Director

Star

King Herod (opt)

Props

Costumes

Shepherds Staffs

Gifts for Wise Men

Doll for Baby Jesus

Tin foil rocks and arrows

Star

New Testament

Old Testament

Book of Mormon

Hymn Books (if needed)

Piano (if available)

Manger (doll crib or box)

Towel/ball to stuff Mary’s tummy

Introduction

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Christmas Devotional 2008

In our modern world we often think of giving and receiving gifts when we think of Christmas. Although this can be part of a cherished tradition it can also detract from the simple dignity of the season. And distract us from celebrating the birth of our Savior in a meaningful way…The most memorable Christmas’s can be those that are the most humble…It doesn’t take expensive gifts to make Christmas meaningful… The simplicity of that first Christmas foreshadowed the life of the Savior…His life was a model of modest nobility…Though he was a King he cared neither for the honors nor for the riches of men. His life, his words, his daily activities were monuments of simple yet profound dignity. Jesus the Christ, who knew perfectly how to give, set for us the pattern of giving...Through our simple acts of kindness, charity, and compassion, may we fill the world with the light of his love and his healing power.

President Henry B. Eyring Christmas Devotional 2008

[By playing the parts in this pageant may each of us] learn something about the Savior. And why we love him and how we honor him.

The Pageant Narrative

Narrator: The Savior’s birth was prophesied around the world. In the Old Testament, Isaiah foretells of the Messiah.

Scripture Reader: Read Isaiah 9:6

Sing: “Joy to the World”

Narrator: Prophets in the Americas also told of the Savior’s birth. Samuel the Lamanite was scorned and rejected by the Nephites. Unafraid, he stood upon the wall and testified with prophetic power to a disbelieving crowd.

Stage Director: Samuel stands on a chair. Pretends to prophesy, the rest of cast sits on ground and tries to hit him with tinfoil balls. They cannot hit him.

Scripture Reader: (Book of Mormon) Helaman 14:5,8; 16:1-3

Narrator: Mary was a chosen vessel of the Lord. She would be the mother of Jesus. The prophet Nephi saw Mary in a vision 600 years before she would become the Savior’s mother. The angel visited Mary and helped her understand her divine mission.

Scripture Reader: (Book of Mormon) 1 Nephi 11:1, Luke 1:26-28, 30-31, 37-38

Stage Director: The angel speaks to Mary.

Narrator: By visiting Mary, and also Joseph, her soon to be husband, the angel comforted and prepared them for the difficult journey ahead.

Scripture Reader: Matthew 1:20-21

Stage Director: The angel speaks to Joseph

Scripture Reader: (read slowly giving children time to enact) Luke 2: 1, 3-7

Stage Director: Mary is pregnant and she and Joseph knock on innkeeper doors. They are rejected. They move to a manger and hold baby Jesus doll.

Sing: “Away in a Manger”

Narrator: President Thomas S. Monson said: “No room. No room. No room. Ever has it been. Today lovely homes provide rooms for eating, rooms for sleeping, playrooms, sewing rooms, television rooms, but no room for Christ. Do we experience a pain of conscience, when we recall his own words “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.”…Each of us must make time in our lives and room in our hearts for our Savior.”

Scripture Reader: Luke 2: 8-14

Stage Director: The angel stands on a chair and speaks to the Shepherds and lambs. The shepherds act afraid.

Sing : “Far, Far Away on Judea Plains”

Narrator: These shepherds visited by the angel watched the most sacred lambs. These were lambs without blemish, to be offered for sacrifice. President Eyring teaches, “The lambs were following the Shepherds to honor the baby Jesus, born to be the infinite sacrifice. The priceless gift of Heavenly Father to all his children…”Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” The Savior, the lamb of God, was the greatest gift ever given.

Scripture Reader: Luke 2: 15-16

Stage Director: Shepherds and lambs come to see the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They kneel down and worship him.

Scripture Reader: Matthew 2: 1-2

Sing: “We Three Kings”

Scripture Reader: Matthew 2: 7-12

Stage Director: Wise men pretend to speak with King Herod (if using as character). They follow the star to Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. They present him with gifts.

Narrator: President Monson counsels us: “Jesus invites us to give of our selves. Behold the Lord requireth the heart and a wiling mind…As we exchange gifts at Christmas may we remember, appreciate and receive, the greatest of all gifts, the gift of our Savior, and redeemer, that we might have life eternal.”

Sing: “Silent Night”