Review
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Title: Witnesses of Christmas: A Musical Journey through the Nativity of Jesus Christ
Author: Jason F. Wright and Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four
Publisher: Ensign Peak
Genre: Christmas/Devotional/Music
Year Published: 2023
Number of Pages: 56
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781639931712
Price: 25.99
Reviewed by Ivan Wolfe for the Association of Mormon Letters
I’ll just cut to the chase: The first half of this book is basically the script for the traveling Christmas show Joy to the World: A Christmas Celebration, with music by Jenny Oaks Baker (daughter of President Dallin H. Oaks) and her four children (The “Family Four”). It is explicitly a devotional work aimed at celebrating Christmas and instilling devotion to Christ.
Basically, I am fairly sure you (whoever you are) already know if this book is for you. It is very nicely bound, has a ribbon, has plenty of attractive interior art with various pictures and icons celebrating the Savior, and includes QR codes to access performances of the musical numbers (with included sheet music for most numbers, in case you want to perform it yourself or sing along).
The second half of the book expands on the script, with mini-devotionals (with QR codes for music that fits the theme) on emulating various Christ-like attributes (Benevolence, Forgiveness, Patience, Prayerfulness, and Faith).
The only (minor) criticism I can have of this book is that, as the script for a stage show, it was not modified for reading at home (even though the book explicitly says it is for use at home), so some of the line readings don’t quite work for private home use (such as when, near the end, it somewhat goes “meta” and the narrator – who has taken the role of a shepherd named David for the show – admits “My name isn’t David . . . I’m not even a real shepherd . . . I’m just a narrator”). But this is such a minor critique and easily handled by anyone with even the smallest amount of mental flexibility, I only bring it up to have something to say besides “it’s really nice, attractive, and useful.” Otherwise, the book is exactly what you would expect – a devotional Christmas work, and an excellent example of that type of book. If you are looking for such a book, it will serve you well. There’s not much more to say than that.
Merry Christmas!