TJ Hirst

Symbols of the Christmas season already span the shelves at our neighborhood stores. Many symbols resemble more about what retailers are hoping we’ll buy than anything else, some symbols beautifully represent the season and a just a few truly express feelings of faith about the birth of Christ that Christians celebrate.

At our house Christmas decorations and music don’t officially begin until the day after Thanksgiving, but this year I’ve captured a few extra days. Today, I taught the birth of Jesus Christ in Luke 2 to my teenage seminary class, and we’re going to study The Gospel According to Luke right through December. The New Testament account of Christ’s life will be my biographical companion for the season.

Since I’m busy singing Christmas songs in the morning with my students, anyway, I also pulled out my Christmas ornaments a bit early to share them with you. I decorate my Christmas tree as a personal expression of my faith. I am a Christian and a Mormon. Yes, Mormons believe in Jesus Christ—I certainly do. I hope my life is a symbol of my faith in Him.

I didn’t ever understand symbols in literature or symbols in the scriptures until I realized that symbols don’t have one right answer that everyone knows except me. Instead, I’ve come to see symbols as a way to represent or convey meaning about something else, like a particular truth, belief or idea that may be hard to visualize or describe without a physical reminder.

Two years ago, my study and memorization of The Living Christ: The Testimony of The Apostles coincided with the Christmas holiday. At the same time, we opened our home for a holiday benefit house tour. The 17-year-old Fred Meyer glass ball ornaments hanging on our 14-year-old artificial Target tree needed some updating.

I chose each ornament for our new tree to symbolize a particular aspect of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from The Living Christ. Some are well-known symbols like doves for peace, but others represent my own associations and creativity. On Wednesdays through Christmas Eve, I will share my symbolic ornaments from my Living Christ Christmas Tree and what they mean to me.

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Mark 12:41-44

Teaching the account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from Matthew this week highlighted something new to me—replacing fear with faith, especially in moments of spiritual growth.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. . . . And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

Matthew 28:5-6, 9-10

Our class noticed how the counsel given to the women at this holy time is to not fear or be afraid. That fit along so well with these words we then heard:

Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts-these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, “Be not afraid, only believe.”⁴

Through the years we take these important spiritual steps over and over again. We begin to see that “he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”⁵ Our questions and doubts are resolved or become less concerning to us. Our faith becomes simple and pure. We come to know what we already knew.

Elder Neil L. Anderson
You Know Enough

. . . though your sins be as scarlet,

. . . they shall be as white as snow. . .

Isaiah 1:18

During Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth, he performed many great miracles. However, when he taught in the synagogue in his own part of the country, the people questioned his teachings, saying “Is not this the carpenter’s son?”

As a result, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Matthew Chapter 13:58, The New Testament of the Bible.

We did a fun object lesson in our class this week with an apple in a brown paper bag. I announced that there was something in the bag that no human eye had seen. I asked the students if they believed me. Only one student raised his hand. I showed him the contents of the bag and told him quietly that the seeds in the apple had never been seen by the human eye. He believed me and told the other students he believed. Many of the students still doubted that we were telling the truth.

Following that object lesson, we had an thought-provoking discussion about developing faith and how faith grows when we press passed our doubt and choose to believe. When we show forth a little bit of faith, God blesses us to know we were right to believe him.

I love to see that process occurring in life. We can actually look at life experience and recognize the connection between our belief and the ensuing blessing or miracle that transpires. I especially like to see how God’s hand has touched us with blessings that follow extended periods of faith.

Yet, I realize more fully, that I can allow doubt and discouragement to take over, and the opposite will be true.  Just as Christ did no miracles in his part of the land, he cannot do them in my life when I do not believe. “For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.” Ether Chapter 12:12, The Book of Mormon