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"Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.
As we remember that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God,” we will not find ourselves in the unenviable position of Jacob Marley’s ghost, who spoke to Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s immortal "Christmas Carol." Marley spoke sadly of opportunities lost. Said he: 'Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!'
As we remember that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God,” we will not find ourselves in the unenviable position of Jacob Marley’s ghost, who spoke to Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s immortal "Christmas Carol." Marley spoke sadly of opportunities lost. Said he: 'Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!'
"I wear the chain I forged in life....I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it." Marley added: 'Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode?
Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!'
Fortunately, as we know, Ebenezer Scrooge changed his life for the better. I love his line, 'I am not the man I was.'
Fortunately, as we know, Ebenezer Scrooge changed his life for the better. I love his line, 'I am not the man I was.'
Why is Dickens’ "Christmas Carol" so popular? Why is it ever new? I personally feel it is inspired of God. It brings out the best within human nature. It gives hope. It motivates change. We can turn from the paths which would lead us down and, with a song in our hearts, follow a star and walk toward the light. We can quicken our step, bolster our courage, and bask in the sunlight of truth. We can hear more clearly the laughter of little children. We can dry the tear of the weeping. We can comfort the dying by sharing the promise of eternal life. If we lift one weary hand which hangs down, if we bring peace to one struggling soul, if we give as did the Master, we can by showing the way become a guiding star for some lost mariner."
In the office are two desks, a pot belly stove between them, various filing cabinets, a coal
bucket near SCROOGE’S desk, and a hat rack near the door.
NARRATOR: Scrooge never painted out old Marley's name. There it stood years
afterward above the warehouse door¬--Scrooge and Marley. (SCROOGE goes in and
sits at his desk. Enter CRATCHIT from stage left and he crosses over to the office and enters.)
Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley,
but he answered to both names. It was all the same to him. Once upon a time--of all the
good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—Old Scrooge sat busy in his counting house
(He sits down at his desk, then looks down at his meager fire, pokes at it, then goes by
SCROOGE to get another lump of COAL.)
SCROOGE: Waste!
CRATCHIT: Beg your pardon, sir?
SCROOGE: Waste, Mr. Cratchit! Waste! We are here to make money, not spend it. If
you waste my goods you might find yourself without employment!
(CRATCHIT does not get the lump. Instead, goes back to his desk, tries to warm himself
at his CANDLE. Enter FRED from stage left carrying a gift.)
FRED: (Holding out a gift for SCROOGE.) A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!
SCROOGE: Humbug. (SCROOGE refused gift.)
FRED: Christmas a humbug, uncle? You don't mean that, I am sure! (He sets a gift on corner of book.)
SCROOGE: I do. Merry Christmas! What is Christmas time but a time for buying things
for which you've no need nor money. A time for finding yourself a year older and not an
hour richer. What reason do you have to be Merry? You're poor enoughFRED: Come, then. What right have you to be dismal? You're rich enough.
SCROOGE: Bah! (He pushes gift to the floor)
FRED: Don't be cross, uncle! (He picks up gift and sets it back on the table)
SCROOGE: What else can I be when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Humbug!
FRED: Uncle!
SCROOGE: Nephew! Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine!
FRED: But you don't keep it!
SCROOGE: Then let me leave it alone. What good has it ever done you?
FRED: There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not
profited, I dare say. Christmas among the rest. But I have always thought of Christmas
time as a time for forgiving. A charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know when men
and women seem to freely open their shut-up hearts. Therefore, Uncle, though it has
never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and
will do me good; and I say, "God bless it"! (CRATCHIT starts clapping.)
SCROOGE: (To CRATCHIT, scowling.) Let me hear another sound from you and you'll
keep your Christmas by losing your employment! (He gets up and goes to his filing
cabinet to put some papers in. To FRED) You're quite a powerful speaker, sir. I wonder
you don't go into Parliament!
FRED: Don't be angry, Uncle. Come! Dine with us tomorrow.
SCROOGE: Humbug! Dine with you (he laughs) I'd rather dine with the devil.
FRED: It would be a great joy to me and my wife.
SCROOGE: Your wife—yes I heard she was poor.....didn't bring much into the
marriage. Why did you get married?
FRED: Because I fell in love! I love her and she loves me.
SCROOGE: Because you fell in love! That is the only thing more ridiculous than Merry
Christmas. Good Afternoon!
FRED: I want nothing from you; I ask nothing of you; why can't we be friends?
SCROOGE: (He sits at his desk.) You are wasting my time nephew.....Good Afternoon!
FRED: (He starts to leave, but after a few steps, he turns back to SCROOGE. ) I am
sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. We have never had any quarrel, to which
I have been a party.
SCROOGE: Hummph!
FRED: But I'll keep my Christmas humor to the last, so a Merry Christmas, Uncle.
SCROOGE: Good afternoon!
FRED: And a happy New Year!
SCROOGE: Bah, humbug! (Fred walks to CRATCHIT.)
FRED: Merry Christmas, Bob!
CRATCHIT: Merry Christmas, sir. (Exit FRED stage left. Three MISSIONARIES enter
from stage left and cross over to the office. They enter. One of them blows on a tuner to
get their pitch and start singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”)
bucket near SCROOGE’S desk, and a hat rack near the door.
NARRATOR: Scrooge never painted out old Marley's name. There it stood years
afterward above the warehouse door¬--Scrooge and Marley. (SCROOGE goes in and
sits at his desk. Enter CRATCHIT from stage left and he crosses over to the office and enters.)
Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley,
but he answered to both names. It was all the same to him. Once upon a time--of all the
good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—Old Scrooge sat busy in his counting house
(He sits down at his desk, then looks down at his meager fire, pokes at it, then goes by
SCROOGE to get another lump of COAL.)
SCROOGE: Waste!
CRATCHIT: Beg your pardon, sir?
SCROOGE: Waste, Mr. Cratchit! Waste! We are here to make money, not spend it. If
you waste my goods you might find yourself without employment!
(CRATCHIT does not get the lump. Instead, goes back to his desk, tries to warm himself
at his CANDLE. Enter FRED from stage left carrying a gift.)
FRED: (Holding out a gift for SCROOGE.) A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!
SCROOGE: Humbug. (SCROOGE refused gift.)
FRED: Christmas a humbug, uncle? You don't mean that, I am sure! (He sets a gift on corner of book.)
SCROOGE: I do. Merry Christmas! What is Christmas time but a time for buying things
for which you've no need nor money. A time for finding yourself a year older and not an
hour richer. What reason do you have to be Merry? You're poor enoughFRED: Come, then. What right have you to be dismal? You're rich enough.
SCROOGE: Bah! (He pushes gift to the floor)
FRED: Don't be cross, uncle! (He picks up gift and sets it back on the table)
SCROOGE: What else can I be when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Humbug!
FRED: Uncle!
SCROOGE: Nephew! Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine!
FRED: But you don't keep it!
SCROOGE: Then let me leave it alone. What good has it ever done you?
FRED: There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not
profited, I dare say. Christmas among the rest. But I have always thought of Christmas
time as a time for forgiving. A charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know when men
and women seem to freely open their shut-up hearts. Therefore, Uncle, though it has
never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and
will do me good; and I say, "God bless it"! (CRATCHIT starts clapping.)
SCROOGE: (To CRATCHIT, scowling.) Let me hear another sound from you and you'll
keep your Christmas by losing your employment! (He gets up and goes to his filing
cabinet to put some papers in. To FRED) You're quite a powerful speaker, sir. I wonder
you don't go into Parliament!
FRED: Don't be angry, Uncle. Come! Dine with us tomorrow.
SCROOGE: Humbug! Dine with you (he laughs) I'd rather dine with the devil.
FRED: It would be a great joy to me and my wife.
SCROOGE: Your wife—yes I heard she was poor.....didn't bring much into the
marriage. Why did you get married?
FRED: Because I fell in love! I love her and she loves me.
SCROOGE: Because you fell in love! That is the only thing more ridiculous than Merry
Christmas. Good Afternoon!
FRED: I want nothing from you; I ask nothing of you; why can't we be friends?
SCROOGE: (He sits at his desk.) You are wasting my time nephew.....Good Afternoon!
FRED: (He starts to leave, but after a few steps, he turns back to SCROOGE. ) I am
sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. We have never had any quarrel, to which
I have been a party.
SCROOGE: Hummph!
FRED: But I'll keep my Christmas humor to the last, so a Merry Christmas, Uncle.
SCROOGE: Good afternoon!
FRED: And a happy New Year!
SCROOGE: Bah, humbug! (Fred walks to CRATCHIT.)
FRED: Merry Christmas, Bob!
CRATCHIT: Merry Christmas, sir. (Exit FRED stage left. Three MISSIONARIES enter
from stage left and cross over to the office. They enter. One of them blows on a tuner to
get their pitch and start singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”)
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!"
Ebenezer Scrooge
“Anger, resentment, and bitterness stunt our spiritual growth. Would you bathe in impure water? Then why do we bathe our spirits with negative and bitter thoughts and feelings? You can cleanse your heart. You don’t have to harbor thoughts and feelings that drag you down and destroy your spirit.”
Joseph B. Wirthlin
“Forgiveness is a personal attribute, not just a decision we make from time to time when we feel we should. To have a forgiving heart is to see the world in a different light. It is to forsake the tendency to judge, condemn, exclude, or hate any human soul. A forgiving heart seeks to love and to be patient with imperfection. The forgiving heart understands that we are all in need of the atonement of Jesus Christ.”
Roderick J. Linton
“The great thieves of joy are envy why can’t I be like you? and pride why can’t you be like me?… Comparing is measuring, and it destroys joy. And to mock another’s weaknesses cannot be acceptable to the Lord.”
Barbara Workman
There’s Christmas in the home and church,
There’s Christmas in the mart;
But you’ll not know what Christmas is
Unless it’s in your heart.
There’s Christmas in the mart;
But you’ll not know what Christmas is
Unless it’s in your heart.
The bells may call across the snow,
And carols search the air;
But, oh, the heart will miss the thrill
Unless it’s Christmas there.
And carols search the air;
But, oh, the heart will miss the thrill
Unless it’s Christmas there.
Thomas S. Monson
“The real Christmas comes to him who has taken Christ into his life as a moving, dynamic, vitalizing force. The real spirit of Christmas lies in the life and mission of the Master.”
Howard W. Hunter
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