Merry Christmas 2008

Carly gave a talk last week in Sacrament meeting, in it she used a quote from Elder Pinnock. I thought it was so beautifully written I wanted to share it on our blog.

"We need to understand what Christmas is and what Christmas isn't. Gifts, holly, mistletoe, and red-nosed reindeer are fun as traditions, but they are not what Christmas is really all about. Christmas pertains to that glorious moment when the Son of our Father joined His divinity to our imperfect humanity. It is about His 33-year ministry of teaching mankind how to live, and His journey to the garden and then to the thorns and the cross. It is about a rocky hill where He died that we might live with joy. It is about a garden tomb promising a new world in which death has no dominion. It is about His ascension and subsequent visit to the Nephites and Lamanites, His other sheep. It is about a new life for those who will accept His gift. Christmas is not just about a baby in a manger. It is also about a loving older Brother who came down to be with His brothers and sisters in the world. It is about the eternal differences that His ministry has made. It is about all the manifestations of His love since that day, including the glorious visions in the Sacred Grove and the Kirtland Temple."