I’ve received so much input and requests for the “Draw Near” slide show I did several years ago for a silent Christmas lesson, I decided it was time to see what more I could do to share it more completely.

So the good news is with new tools and resources, I’ve been able to find more ways to share this so anyone can enjoy it - including music! I’ve also created a second slide show, “Come Unto Him” which is more general on Christ’s life and mission. While I think the first one has its own merits, I’m personally happier with the new one. *wink* Both run just under a half hour in length. (The files are going to be large so be patient with download times.)

The bad news is it’s still not perfect. While I can generate movie files from the presentations, the timing doesn’t stay true to the original. *frown* It still works, but it speeds up each action just enough that each slide ends with some blank time while music finishes. However, it requires no special tools and it just works. You can even download it and put it on a CD or DVD for viewing if you wanted.

I have created three ways to enjoy the slide shows. I’m listing them in order of greatest satisfaction, with explanations of why and tips.

1. Download the slide show file and use it with the same program it was generated with (Keynote software for the Mac.) Use a projector and big screen for presentation. Believe me, the difference is well worth the efforts.

To download, right click on the image and save the file to your computer.



2. Easiest Option Download the movie file. View, save, move to other media like CD or DVD for projector or TV viewing. You can use the view tools of Quick Time or other media player to adjust the size of the presentation. Draw Near starts in full screen mode, just press the esc key to exit to the standard/normal size window. Incidentally, if you just click on the images they will open the file in a browser window, to save the file you need to follow the download instructions.

To download, right click on the image and save the file to your computer.



3. Download the slide show file converted into a Power Point format, tweak the conversion problems and use the projector and big screen for presentation. I list this last because it means work for anyone using Windows, PCs and Microsoft software but at least you can open the file in that program and make edits, using the movie files as your guide you can likely make the Power Point file work like the Keynote file. Under these file links I will also share the errors in conversion that were reported so you know right where to look and tweak. (If anyone tackles this, would you kindly let us know so we can share it here?)

To download, right click on the image and save the file to your computer.

For any interested, the original Silent Christmas lesson and presentation details can be found here. The notes in this file will be helpful, there are also three copies of paper silent lessons included. The primary problem with sharing this first work was copyright permissions for music making it difficult for people to secure their own copies to go with the show. The “Draw Near” show on this page has been edited with new music that is free to share under the Intellectual Reserve copyright of the Church, Sally Deford’s generous site and copyright and one free download from a LDS music site (Power in His Touch).

The newer show, “Come Unto Him” uses new and old artwork under the same Intellectual Reserve copyright making it legal to share for personal and church use, it also contains only scripture references, one page of quotes from Elder Holland and the music from the seminary section of the Church music site.

Enjoy!