The production Savior of the World: His Birth and Resurrection is a powerful testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ. Through music and drama, the production recounts the historical events leading up to the birth of the Messiah and the events following His glorious Resurrection. Because of its scriptural basis, the production provides opportunities for the Spirit to testify that Jesus is the Christ. Consequently, inviting the Spirit into all aspects of the production is a vital part of preparing for a performance in which the Spirit can testify to both audience and participants.

Additional information for production leaders can be found under Learn More at the bottom of the page. Directors may particularly want to review producing a staged production, portraying the Savior and angelic messengers, and casting. All of this material can be downloaded in PDF form for reference.

Planning the Production

Plan to meet priesthood purposes.
If Savior of the World is presented as a Church activity, production decisions should based on spiritual purposes identified by the priesthood leaders responsible for the production. These may include the purposes of Church activities listed in the Church Handbook of Instructions (book 2, page 271), such as strengthening the family, building testimonies, fostering personal growth, creating unity, and reaching out to less-active members and friends of other faiths. Keep the specific purposes of your priesthood leaders in mind while planning all aspects of the production, and consult with them often to ensure that their inspired vision is achieved. A priesthood representative may wish to attend planning meetings and rehearsals.

Select an appropriate type of production.
Select a format based on the purposes and resources designated by priesthood leaders. Savior of the World: His Birth and Resurrection can be produced in its entirety as a fully staged production, or the two acts can stand alone as individual presentations: Act One for Christmas and Act Two for Easter. See Casting for additional notes and suggestions. The production can also be adapted to other formats, such as a readers’ theater or a musical fireside with narration. Prayerful consideration will help you use the production to fulfill priesthood purposes and make use of available talents and resources. Under the direction of priesthood leaders, several wards or stakes may choose to combine efforts.

Prepare well in advance.
Depending on format, preparation will require from 3 to 18 months. Planning well in advance will help ensure that priesthood purposes are met and that rehearsals do not put undue hardships on families.

Seek inspiration from the Spirit.
Seek the guidance of the Spirit to meet the unique challenges you will encounter in the process of preparing your presentation.