This summer I was asked to put on the musical/spiritual program for our Pioneer Day ward activity. Leading up to the program I spent a lot of time searching the Internet for help writing the script and I was hardly able to find anything. For that reason, I wanted to post my script here to help anyone that might find themselves in a similar situation. My disclaimer, a lot of the narration is word for word from lesson manuals, talks, and articles I came across on LDS.ORG. I apologize for not being original and for not citing my sources.
SIDE NOTE: This little dude is a lake monster. We had a really hard time getting him out of the water so we could start the program. Having the ward party at a lake was A++ in this kid's book.
WARD PICNIC
PROGRAM
Narrator: This
weekend we are here to celebrate the church’s pioneer history, as July 24th,
1847 marks the day President Brigham Young identified the Salt Lake Valley as
the long-forseen “right place” for the Nauvoo Saints. Why, (170) years later, do we choose still to recognize this
occasion? President Gordon B.
Hinckley stated:
“…We must never
permit ourselves to lose sight of the great and singular achievements of those
who first came to (Utah) in 1847. They came not for riches or gold, but rather
to find a place where they could worship God... They were outcasts, driven and
hounded, persecuted and peeled… We must never allow recognition of their
trials, of their sacrifices, of their tenacity, of their faith and their
prayers in establishing this great community to lapse or be forgotten.”
Today
we can remember those sacrifices made by so many for this gospel of Jesus
Christ. It all began with a 14
year old boy in the spring of 1820.
JOSEPH SMITH’S
FIRST VISION
Narrator: Samuel Smith, one of Joseph’s younger brothers, was the
first person to be baptized after Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and one of
the six original members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Soon after the Church was organized,
Samuel Smith became the first full-time traveling missionary. At twenty-two
years old, he took several copies of the Book of Mormon and started out on foot
to preach the gospel.
Prompted by the spirit, he gave
one of the book to Rhoda Greene, the wife of John P. Greene who was the
minister of another faith. After
being invited to read it, they were both converted, knowing the Book of Mormon
was true. Samuel also gave a copy
to Mrs. Greene’s brother, Phineas Young.
His book later fell into the hands of his younger brother, Brigham
Young. This same copy was passed
on and eventually reached Heber C. Kimball. Within two years these people
and their families all became members of the Church, thanks to the Book of
Mormon and the missionary efforts of Samuel Smith.
CALLED TO SERVE
Narrator: Under the inspired leadership of Brigham
Young, the Saints finished building the Nauvoo Temple, where they made sacred
covenants before they started their arduous journey to their new home in the
Rocky Mountains. Because of increasing persecution of the
Saints and threats from the Church’s enemies, Church leaders announced on
September 24, 1845, that the Saints would leave Nauvoo the following
spring.
PIONEER CHILDREN
SANG AS THEY WALKED
Narrator: The word pioneer can be defined as one who goes before to
prepare or open up the way for others to follow, meaning that all of us can be
pioneers in some ways.
Whether it’s a friendly smile or an invitation to church, we can all
ponder ways to help others and prepare the way for them to enjoy the blessings
of the gospel.
TO BE A PIONEER
Narrator (With melodica or harmonica playing in background): The faith,
courage, and determination of these Saints carried them through cold, hunger,
and the deaths of loved ones. William Clayton was called to be in one of the
first groups to leave Nauvoo and left his wife, Diantha, with her parents, only
a month away from delivering her first child. Slogging through muddy roads and
camping in cold tents wore his nerves thin as he worried about Diantha’s
well-being. Two months later, he still did not know if she had delivered safely
but finally received the joyful word that a “fine fat boy” had been born.
Almost as soon as he heard the news, William sat down and wrote a song that not
only had special meaning to him but would become an anthem of inspiration and gratitude to Church members for generations. The song
was “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” and the famous lines expressed his faith and the
faith of the thousands of Saints who sang in the midst of adversity: “All is
well! All is well!”3 They, like the members who have followed them, found the joy and peace
that are the rewards of sacrifice and obedience in the kingdom of God.
MUSICAL NUMBER:
COME, COME YE
SAINTS
Closing remarks
MUSICAL NUMBER:
PUT YOUR SHOULDER
TO THE WHEEL
- For the last song I had the lyrics printed and handed out to everyone so we could all sing Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel as a ward.
THE END
Grab your leftover potato salad and bribe those kiddies with ice-cream to get them out of that lake. Because the party is over!
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