Spirit of Christ

Merry Christmas Eve! I began posting my Christmas messages the last day of November, and this will be the last of them (then I'll go back to my socialist views of religion).

I wanted to bear my testimony of Jesus Christ, his birth, life, message, death, and literal resurrection. I believe in a living Jesus, one who knows you and me personally. We can gain a testimony of him through prayer, study of His words and deeds, seeing His principles in action - and, ultimately, through faith. When I say "I know" that something is true, it is knowledge through faith. I don't claim to have seen Him, but I have felt the Holy Ghost whisper to me that Jesus Lives, and loves me. For my final post, I'll share two things with you: this video from the Mormon messages channel (which I loved), and the story of Luke 2, which my family reads every Christmas. To spice things up a bit, I've included the New International Version of the bible, which has slightly different wording than the standard King James Version that we often read.



"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Gaililee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with mar, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." when the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." (Luke 2:1-20)

Truly, this is a season of "Glory to God in the Highest!" Peace be with you, and Merry Christmas!

Tracking the Big Guy

In case you were thinking that modern technology wasn't good for anything, I was reminded today that NORAD tracks Santa as he delivers gifts on Christmas. It's pretty awesome, eh? Here's the link for the Santa Tracker:

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html

I hope you all were good this year and you don't get a lump of coal in your stocking!

Christmas Music!

While I've already talked about a few Christmas songs, the truth is that I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC. Maybe next year I'll do a Christmas song a day (a bit more manageable that putting coherent thoughts together everyday). So, without further ado, here is a playlist of great Christmas Music. I have to admit, I even love the pop Christmas music - I can't help but tap my toe to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

Wise Men (and Women!) Still Seek Him

The wise men in the story of Jesus' birth are interesting. We don't know if there were three wise men, or more than that. We know this:

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 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. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 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. 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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. (Matthew 2:1-12)

The journey of these wise men has always fascinated me - where were they from these mysterious men of the east? Why did they seek the fulfillment of an obscure prophecy? What happened to them after they found the baby Jesus?

Henry Van Dyke wrote a great short story about "the other wise man" - you can read the full text online. It's about a wise man who doesn't get to see Christ personally, only through the people he serves. Here is my favorite quote, when the wise man, Artaban, seeks out a Hebrew priest who tells him:

"And remember, my son," said he, fixing his eyes upon the face of Artaban, "the King whom thou seekest is not to be found in a palace, nor among the rich and powerful. If the light of the world and the glory of Israel had been appointed to come with the greatness of earthly splendour, it must have appeared long ago. For no son of Abraham will ever again rival the power which Joseph had in the palaces of Egypt, or the magnificence of Solomon throned between the lions in Jerusalem. But the light for which the world is waiting is a new light, the glory that shall rise out of patient and triumphant suffering. And the kingdom which is to be established forever is a new kingdom, the royalty of unconquerable love.
"I do not know how this shall come to pass, nor how the turbulent kings and peoples of earth shall be brought to acknowledge the Messiah and pay homage to him. But this I know. Those who seek him will do well to look among the poor and the lowly, the sorrowful and the oppressed."
Christ did indeed come to establish a kingdom of the royalty unconquerable LOVE.

Mary You Did Know

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." (Luke 1:26-28)

Let's give it up for Mary! I really don't mean that flippantly - you've gotta admire a woman (or in today's world, a girl) who has the courage to respond to an angel who tells her she's going to be mother of the Son of God, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." She had faith enough to tell Joseph the news, without being sure he would back her up; eventually make a long journey via donkey while very pregnant; give birth in a stable without modern medicine; flee to Egypt with her young child; raise a child who was probably a tad different, and eventually live to see the death of her son in a very violent manner. The scriptures don't say much about Mary, but reading between the lines we can see a Daughter of God who was selfless, courageous, and faithful. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is an example to me, and Christmas wouldn't have happened without her faith and devotion. Mary did know, and did the impossible through faith in God.

Dog Days of Snow

Today we got slammed with what has variously been described as a "Snowpocolapse" "Shopper-stopper" or "Obamasnow" (I don't quite get that last one - is it a tribute or a mocking name?). Anyways, the long and the short of it is that we have 22 1/2 inches of snow here. My dad and I spent parts of the afternoon going out to shovel - not that you'd really notice, since our sidewalk and driveway are still covered in snow. Church is already canceled for tomorrow (and I'm rooting for work to be canceled Monday).

Since I was going to teach a Sunday School lesson on the "Pure in Heart," I've had "Zion" on the brain recently. Now, at first glance, the concept of Zion may not seem to have much to do with Christmas. But in our current understanding of Zion, Christmas brings out what I would call the "Zion moments" in people.

Mormons in general are a little weird in our concept of Zion. When I think of zion in a non-mormon context, it's generally an idea of cults. In our scriptures, it's a concept that has evolved through time - it began as a place (Jackson, Missouri) and has evolved to a concept that includes anyone who is "pure in heart." I think of Zion as a striving to live the spirit of Christmas and giving. I noticed in studying for the lesson that Zion is usually accompanied by living the law of consecration - "having all things in common" - this applies to the saints in the New Testament in the book of Acts, saints in the book of Mormon after Christ's appearance to them, and to saints in the early years of the Church in the 1830's and 1840's. Obviously we don't live in a time where the law of consecration is in full operation but we still have opportunities to give to others.

I am really excited that it was recently announced there will be an addition to the "3-Fold Mission of the Church" - caring for the poor and needy. While this is already part of a true Christian life, I hope including this principle prominently in the church will lead us to "do many things of our own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness."

So here are some "Zion moments" I've noticed, today with the snow and all during the week:

- It was nice that in the coverage of the storm, all the news anchors were reminding us to check in with our elderly neighbors and see if they were ok - I thought that was truly kind and charitable, and I've never noticed it before during a storm.
- My dad helped dig out a van from our street, a family was trying to get home
- Our home teacher picked up my brother from the Metro (after his plane ride to Newark and train to Union station) so that he could be home for Christmas

Along with that, I had the opportunity for Zion moments to serve others this week. I won't tell you what I did in response (suffice it to say that I regret my response in some circumstances).

- Seeing a co-worker carrying two heavy boxes, a laptop, and purse through the hallway, and knowing she needed help, despite the fact that I was running late
- Seeing a salvation army bell ringer at the mall, but not by the entrance I was going in, and knowing that I should donate because I had cash and I don't usually have cash with me
- Being prompted that I should go into a client site early (before training at another location) to do some work so someone else wouldn't have to
- Getting a great Christmas gift idea for a co-worker that I don't really know that well, but feeling strongly I should give it

I love this quote about giving:
"We are all both givers and receivers. President Marion G. Romney has said, 'There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. The process of giving exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process, both are sanctified" (Ensign, Nov. 1982, p. 93). No one is exempt from giving to the impoverished. The counsel is: "And again, I say unto the poor...I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give. (Mosiah 4:24)" No one is exempt from receiving. To the rich, the reality is: "For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God,...calling on his name, and begging for a remission of our sins" through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ? (Mosiah 4:19-20)
- Bishop Robert D. Hales, "Welfare Principles to Guide our Lives: An Eternal Plan for the Welfare of Men's Souls," Ensign, May 1986, 29.

If you're reading this post, you are likely wealthy in the eyes of the world. What more can you be doing to create Zion and care for the poor and needy?

Whoops...

So I just realized that I was so engrossed in the book I was reading (and finishing...in one day) that I didn't post something! Not that anyone would notice. But since we here in the D.C. area are expected to get 10-20 inches of snow, enjoy "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" despite the anachronistic fact that Christ's birth was likely not accompanied by snow.