Main Topic: Merry Christmas
- This Special Edition shares a Christmas message from the various scriptural accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ. Also, a special essay on the study of mythology and the practice of religion.
Essay Scripture References:
- John 1:1-3, 14 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/john/1
- Mosiah 3:5-8 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/mosiah/3
- Micah 5:2 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/micah/2
- Isaiah 7:13-14 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/7
- Alma 7:10 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/7
- 1 Nephi 11:13-21 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/11
- Isaiah 9:6-7 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/9
- 3 Nephi 1:12-14 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/3_ne/1
- Luke 2:1-7 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/luke/2
- 3 Nephi 1:21-22 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/3_ne/1
- Luke 2:8-21 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/luke/2
- Matthew 1:22-23 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/1
- Matthew 2:1-2 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/2
- Matthew 2:8-11 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/2
- 1 Nephi 11:33 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/11
- Matthew 20:28 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/20
- Isaiah 53:4-6 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/54
- Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-23 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/76
Music Provided by Jon Schmidt: http://www.jonschmidt.com/
Other music provided by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sound/list
Next Episode: Monomyth-Initiation Defined
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Transcript
Welcome to the Myth Show, where timeless stories are discussed and brought to life. I am your host, Gregory Lemon and this is a special Christmas episode. During this episode I’ll share a special Christmas message based on the different scriptural accounts of the birth of the One we celebrate this season. My goal is to have a show that can be shared Christmas Eve to remind all who listen of the true meaning of Christmas and the “Reason for the Season.”
I believe that it is important when you listen to any show from this podcast, you know where I am coming from. Hopefully this scriptural compilation will share that. After the scripture readings, I’ll share more of my thought on the practice of religion and the study of myths, folklore, and fairy tales.
The opening and closing musical themes for this podcast is provided by Jon Schmidt at jonschmidt.com. Additional music during the scripture reading has been provided by the repository of public domain music which is found at Wikipedia:Sound/list. A link will be in the show notes.
Main Topic: Merry Christmas
Part 1: The Prophecies
From the Gospel of John (1:1-3, 14)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
From the book of Mosiah (3:5-8)
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.
From the book of Micah (5:2)
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
From the book of Isaiah (7:13-14)
13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
From the book of Alma (7:10)
10 And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.
From the First book of Nephi (11:13-21)
13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.
14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?
15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.
16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!
From the book of Isaiah (9:6-7)
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 justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Part 2: The Birth
From the Third book of Nephi (1:12-14)
12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:
13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.
14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.
From the Gospel of Luke (2:1-7)
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 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.
From the Third book Nephi (1:21-22)
21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.
22 And it came to pass that from this time forth there began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen; but notwithstanding these lyings and deceiving the more part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the Lord.
From the Gospel of Luke (2:8-20, 21)
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 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.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
From the Gospel of Matthew (1:22-23)
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
From the Gospel of Matthew (2:1-2)
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
From the Gospel of Matthew (2:8-11)
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Part 3: But Why?
From the First book of Nephi (11:33)
33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.
From the Gospel of Matthew (20:28)
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
From the book of Isaiah (53:4-6)
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are dealed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Part 4: The Promise
From the Doctrine and Covenants (76:22-23)
22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
23 For we saw him, even on the bright hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
Show Explanation:
A while back, I typed “Mythology” and “Podcast” into Google, just to see if I’d show up. Well, I didn’t. After my initial disappointment, I began to look at the results that did come up. I saw the word “pagen” in many of the results next to “mythology”. When I saw that, I was concerned that if I do get a higher Google ranking, I’d be viewed as a podcast about paganism instead of the stories related to myths, folklore, and fairy tales.
I listen to a lot of podcasts and I feel like I know them on a personal level because of the stories and different adventures that they share about themselves or their families. As I started MythShow, I have struggled to determine how much information I want to share about myself and my family. After seeing the Google results, I felt like I should tell you more about myself so that you know where I am coming from.
First of all, I believe that every person has biases. Personally, I like Star Trek more than Star Wars, I’d rather read a Harry Potter book than the Lord of the Rings. I like crunchy peanut butter more than creamy, strawberry jam over grape jelly. Each of these personal preferences, among many others, shape who I am and may or may not influence this podcast.
I feel that there is a matter of trust between podcasters and listeners. You trust me to educate, inform, and (hopefully) entertain with accurate information. I trust you will enjoy yourselves and to forgive any mistakes that I may make. (But please send me feedback if you can’t do either of these.)
Having said that, I want you to know who I am and what personal ideas and religious convictions and ideals influence my daily life and may influence the future episodes. I hope that I share will not drive you away but that this builds understanding.
Regarding personal beliefs, I am a Christian. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I worship the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. I obey God the Father and His Son as the Holy Spirit has brought their teachings to my head and their love into my heart. Regarding organized religion, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One common nickname for my faith is the “Mormons”. I’m not going to discuss the tenets of my faith now and they probably won’t enter into my essays. If there is something to share, like this essay, it will come in a specifically labeled “Special Edition” so you know to skip it if you don’t want to hear that kind of thing.
At my local congregation, I teach a Sunday School class each week. I love teaching Sunday School. I’ve done it for a couple of years now and I hope to continue to teach the class for many more years. This year, my lessons have focused on the King James Version of the Old Testament. Next year I’ll be teaching from the KJV New Testament.
One reason I love teaching Sunday School is because of the wonderful stories that are found throughout the scriptures. In fact, each of my children are named after some of the favorite individuals from the New and Old Testaments.
You may ask “Why would a follower of Christianity and father of young children spend so much time and effort sharing stories about different gods, heroes, and fantastical creatures that he doesn’t believe in?”
Well your right, I don’t worship the ancient gods that I cover. My answer is “There are many sides of a story and you can find what you look for, good and bad.”
Is it silly to believe in fairy godmothers, wooden puppets who turn into boys, or seven small guys who help a frightened girl lost in the woods? Are these silly stories? Well, of course they are! They’re ridiculous, even preposterous. So what? Who cares? I don’t enjoy the myths, lore, and tales I share in this podcast because I believe them to be true. I enjoy them because of what I learn about myself, about others, and other cultures through these stories. These stories have a lot of good lessons in them if we allow them to be shared.
So come and join me on this journey. Let’s see what we can learn together as we explore the different cultures and mythologies of the world.
One Comment
Crunchy peanut butter eater. ACK! I feel such a let down. C’mon, it’s peanut BUTTER!
Let’s hear it for taking the best from the stories and myths that have shaped our cultures and society. I once heard that cultures are judged by how they care for their dead. Perhaps we can change that to how we treat and educate the living instead.