Thoughts on Christmas by Bruce-

I receive every Monday morning an email from my brother and his wife who are serving a mission in New Jersey. This email gave me a lot to think about. I asked Bruce if I could post it on my blog and he said sure if I felt I truly wanted to do that. So here is his email. I hope you are able to go away with new perspective as I was. Thanks dear brother, I love you!

Mission Field Notes – Midge & Bruce

December 21, 2008

Some time ago I got interested in Christmases of yore, and started to research what it was like during Joseph Smith’s day. The research did not last for long, mainly because there is not much recorded on that topic, at least, not that I could find. Documents and diary entries that occurred around Christmas make reference, for the most part, to non-Christmas events. Drawing upon some of that information, I share the following:

Joseph and Sidney spent all of December and part of January 1831 doing missionary work, having been called of God to go “unto the world in the regions round about” (D&C 71). On Christmas day 1832 Joseph received the revelation on impending civil war that would break out (D&C 87). In December of 1833 he was occupied with the recent expulsion of Saints from Missouri (D&C 101). December of 1835 was joyous, and the prophet wrote: “Elder Packard came in this morning, and made me a present of twelve dollars, which he held in a note against me. May God bless him for his liberality. Also James Aldrich sent me my note by the hand of Jesse Hitchcock, on which there was twelve dollars due. And may God bless him for his kindness to me. Also the brethren whose names are written below opened their hearts in great liberality, and paid me. …”

December 1842 was spent nursing Emma who was in poor health and soon to deliver a baby. The day after Christmas the Prophet wrote: “She was delivered of a son, which did not survive its birth” (History of the Church, 5:209). That made now five children (as I recall) who had died in infancy.

The Prophet said this about the 1843 Christmas in Nauvoo, his last and probably the best of all: "This morning, about one o'clock, I was aroused by an English sister, Lettice Rushton, widow of Richard Rushton, Senior (who, ten years ago, lost her sight), accompanied by three of her sons, with their wives, and her two daughters, with their husbands, and several of her neighbors, singing, 'Mortals, awake! with angels join,' &c., which caused a thrill of pleasure to run through my soul. All of my family and boarders arose to hear the serenade, and I felt to thank my Heavenly Father for their visit, and blessed them in the name of the Lord. They also visited my brother Hyrum, who was awakened from his sleep. He arose and went out of doors. He shook hands with and blessed each one of them in the name of the Lord, and said that he thought at first that a cohort of angels had come to visit him, it was such heavenly music to him."

It was in the D&C 20 revelation given in April 1830 that Joseph learned that Jesus’ birth was not in the month of December but was in fact the 6^th day of April. So it is likely that this information had a diminishing effect for him in terms of observing the world’s December 25^th celebration. Joseph also believed that the Savior was crucified and died on his birthday. He wrote the following: “On the 6th of April, in the land of Zion . . . met for instruction and the service of God, at the Ferry on Big Blue River. . . the day was spent in a very agreeable manner, in giving and receiving knowledge which appertained to this last kingdom—it being just 1,800 years since the Savior laid down his life that men might have everlasting life, preparatory for the last dispensation.” (HC 1:337)

The celebration of Christmas 2008 in New Jersey got started in early October when the first yuletide goods started appearing in the stores and malls. I don’t recall hearing the Christmas songs that early, but I know that they, too, were on hand well before Thanksgiving. The economy of the world started to collapse in “mid-season,” and was in full swing by early November. World leaders have held their breath hoping for a good 2008 Christmas shopping/buying season in order to salvage any semblance of the “good life.”

It is worth noting and comparing Joseph’s Christmases in this particular year 2008 of fear and uncertainty. By comparison the times of yore were sparse – even paltry in terms of material “gifts.” Even with the economic downturn, people today find themselves challenged in their pursuit of finding the “perfect gift.” Materialism is so rampant that hardly a gift exists that is not already owned by nearly everyone.

On the other hand, the “gifts” of the Prophet were different in their very nature. The things that occupied nearly all his Christmases had to do with building the Kingdom. His was not just the cause of truth, but the very essence of truth itself. You see this phenomenon extant today in the building of temples. When the rebuilding of the Nauvoo temple was announced the result was absolutely electric. The ward and stake temple activities reached record levels, and everyone it seemed got involved doing genealogy so they would have a name to take to the temple. There were all kinds of projects enacted by every Church group from the boy scouts to Elder’s quorum and Relief Society organizations all of which were calculated to greet and celebrate this extraordinary rebuilding of the Nauvoo Temple. Songs were learned, practiced, and sung with fervor, and there was an outpouring of gigantic proportions right through all the dedicatory sessions. For a time, the patrons came from the corners of the earth to enter this special temple. These were all truly efforts in the cause of truth, but in terms of embracing actual truth – well – that has been another thing.

You have to ask yourself why it is that the Saints so enthusiastically embrace the building and inauguration of a new temple, but not long after it is dedicated and the newness has worn off – why is it – that the subsequent attendance diminishes until it has settled into a steady state of relatively sparse attendance. The off season in Nauvoo is slowly lengthening, and the last year I worked there as a temple worker I witnessed the ordinance numbers slipping below the previous year. The buildings themselves are of little consequence when compared to the life-fulfilling, absolute-truth sustenance of the ordinances and eternal blessings offered and practiced therein. There is a big difference, in plain terms, of engaging the cause of truth versus engaging truth itself. The two are miles if not eons apart.

This was never more evident than the first December that we were called to be temple workers in the Chicago temple. Traveling to the temple in December was different for us, and regrettably, it had never been a part of our Christmas traditions. But as we traveled to the temple that December 21st, it was with anticipation of great blessings and the opportunity of obtaining of new insights about the Savior. He was inculcated into our lives that day, and those sought-for blessings materialized, but too, we discovered something else. I officiated two sessions that day with a combined total of five patrons – three in one session, and two in the other. There were more temple workers there that day than all the patrons combined. People were so busy shopping and preparing for Christmas that they forgot about Christ or at least where to truly find Him.

We learned an absolute truth back then. Absolute truth exists at people’s core, and it is what daily inspires them to do the things they do. Comparatively speaking the cause of truth is fleeting; the trick is that lasting value is measured only by an individual’s core of absolute truth, and that is where people spend their “regular” time.

The interesting part of Christmas lies in the charitable effect it has on people. This never changes. I first encountered this phenomenon in Denmark on my mission. People would cease, for a season, from slamming their door in my face. I spent a lot of time for three winters tracting in very cold deep snow where the sun came up around 10:00am and it was dark again by 3:00pm. During the Christmas season things changed; my companion and I got invited inside a lot. People offered us hot drinks, and in some cases, asked that we stay inside long enough to warm up. But, then, they explained, they wanted us to go because they had no interest in our message. I shall never forget those three Christmases spent in that little land preaching what people were so intent on finding, but slamming their doors on the source of the very thing they so anxiously sought.

We are truly enjoying our time here in New Jersey during the season of such great cheer that is being offered in a time of such anxiety and fear. People see our name tag and on it are the words “Jesus Christ,” and we get an extra “God bless you.” On every side there is joy, hope, and optimism, and the people here go out of their way to be kind and courteous. We look forward to celebrating the life of Him who is our elder brother. It has been interesting to be in our small apartment, which is indeed decorated with a small two-foot tree that automatically lights up every night around 6:00. Last year, we spent a quiet Christmas here at the apartment. and then later that day went out for a drive. We ended up eating a late dinner at the only open restaurant - a Chinese restaurant. It was a very “Ralphie” kind of experience. We were alone with the cooks, and they did everything they could to create an atmosphere of cheer. Maybe this year, we’ll go back. But we’ll never forget our time here, which has been so wonderful.

Midge reports: We have been so busy it’s hard to believe that Christmas is on Thursday. We’ll slip up to Boston to be with Danika and her family if the weather is clear, and we’ll get a phone call from our own missionary. I remember the Christmases when we got something special in our stockings for after Christmas, like tickets to the “Nutcracker” or the Ice Capades. This year the something special is Rick’s baptism on the 27^th. He hasn’t faltered in his determination to be baptized, but said he felt he had “a very small testimony.” We handed him the interview questions, and said, “Are there any of these questions you could not answer yes to? If so, let’s talk about it.” He slowly started reading the questions, and answered, “Yes, I’ve always believed that…” and then would read the next one. By the time he got to the end of the list, he had born his testimony, and broke down in tears. He thanked us for “being willing to walk with him on this journey” and said he was looking forward to doing the same thing for someone else. It was a wonderful moment.

We spent three days last week out of the office, trying to cover the tasks of the senior missionaries that left with no replacements. We moved an apartment of elders on Monday and another apartment of elders on Friday (just before the big New Jersey snowstorm slowed traffic to a crawl). We would go into the office in the mornings to try to “put out the fires” of our office obligations. Bruce would cut a raft of checks and leave them for the mission president to sign, and I would send off as many referrals as I could get to.

We don’t want you to think that our days are just work, work, work, though. The highlight of the week was a Thursday trip into NYC with the CES couples in the Morristown Mission and all the senior couples in the New Jersey Cherry Hills Mission. We began with a session in the Manhattan Temple a la our newer treasured Christmas tradition. We ran into many of our young missionaries both coming and going, and it was wonderful. Later on, we all had lunch at the Stardust Diner, a place where the waiters/waitresses are Broadway wannabes. They sing as they serve you! We then had group tickets for the “Holiday Extravaganza” at Radio City Music Hall. It was amazing, especially the special effects we had to watch with 3-D glasses. Attached (honestly, Bruce promises to attach the pictures this week), you’ll see the pictures of the Lake Hiawatha Seniors looking particularly snazzy in our 3-D glasses taken inside Radio City Music Hall, and the two of us in front of the giant Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center. Consider this our Christmas card for this year…we didn’t have enough time to get real cards out. We wish you a wonderful week, and the very best of Christmases.

Love, Midge and Bruce