I'm sorry to say that we didn't get a Christmas card sent this year. We are so blessed to have many loved ones in our lives, and I want you all to know how grateful we are and how much we love you. Maybe we'll shoot for a family valentine. :) It's just been a crazy, fast month. I'm sure most of you feel the same. Even with all the hustle and bustle of the season, I'm so grateful for this time of year that helps us remember our Savior. I know that he truly is the light and the life of the world, and that through him we can all have peace and joy at Christmas time, and always.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
The Light of the World
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Erin
stood on Temple Square in Salt Lake City looking at life-sized statues
of the nativity scene and waiting for the music and story to begin.
Christmas lights twinkled all around her. But it didn’t feel like
Christmastime.
“Are you all right?” Mom asked her.
Erin nodded, but she wasn’t so sure.
Only a
few days ago, a boy from Erin’s class at school had died in a car
accident. She had seen a lot of people crying at the funeral, and she
had cried a lot herself. She hadn’t known the boy that well, but Erin
knew his family loved him as much as her family loved her. She felt scared to know that something like that could happen to someone her age.
Now she
didn’t feel excited for Christmas. She felt worried all the time—scared
to get in a car, scared to be apart from her parents, scared to leave
her house in case something bad happened to her while she was away. All
the Christmas lights on Temple Square couldn’t erase the worried feeling
inside her. How could she be happy in a world where she wasn’t always
safe?
“It’s about to start,” Dad said. He pointed to the nativity scene.
The
loudspeakers crackled to life, and a voice began speaking. Music played,
and spotlights shone down on statues of shepherds, Wise Men, Mary, and
Joseph. Erin listened to the familiar story. The baby Jesus was born and
laid in a manger. Angels sang. Shepherds worshipped. Wise Men rejoiced.
Erin
looked at the faces of her parents and the crowd gathered around the
nativity scene. They all seemed happy. But why was everyone so happy
about the baby Jesus if His birth didn’t stop bad things from happening?
Erin didn’t like the question circling through her head. All she wanted
was to stop feeling afraid.
The
story ended, and a recording of the prophet’s voice came over the
loudspeaker. He bore his testimony and read a scripture from the Bible: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Erin’s heart beat faster. She said the words again in her mind, trying to remember them. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
The scripture said that everyone
would die—young people, old people—everyone. Erin knew that, of course,
but she hadn’t thought about it much before. She thought she was too
young to think about such things. But she wasn’t too young to have a
testimony of the truth: because of Jesus Christ, everyone would live again. That’s why the shepherds and Wise Men rejoiced. They understood what Jesus had come to earth to do.
Erin
looked from the little stable to a window in the visitors’ center behind
the nativity scene. Inside the building a light shone on a large statue
of Jesus stretching out His scarred hands. Erin thought about the
little baby in the manger and how He grew into someone who had all
power. And yet He chose to sacrifice His life for her. He had been born
so she could live again. No matter what happened, Erin could feel safe
in Jesus’s love.
Peace
washed over her. She couldn’t quite explain how, but her worry
disappeared. When she looked at the statue of Jesus Christ, shining
brighter than twinkling Christmas lights, she barely noticed the dark
night sky. She was too busy feeling the warmth of hope flickering inside
her.
“Jesus Christ
is … the light of the world because his example and his teachings
illuminate the path we should walk to return to the presence of our
Father in Heaven.”
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Light and Life of the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 64.
