Sharing christmas, p.16
Sharing Christmas,
p.16
On her way home her heart was very heavy. She was convinced that her children could have nothing for Christmas, and she dreaded our disappointment. She was walking through the snow, head down, when Mark Austin, her good neighbor, said, “Just a moment, Sister Smith. I have been thinking that your expenses have been exceedingly heavy during Brother Smith's long illness, so I should like very much to have you take this little gift and buy yourself something very special for Christmas. I am sure you haven't had anything for yourself in a long, long time.” Mother, choking with tears, tried to thank him. She took the check, folded it, and went home, her heart fairly pounding with joy and thanksgiving. When she entered the house and turned the light on, she found he had given her one hundred dollars, the exact amount that she had paid in tithing.
When that Christmas morning arrived, mother said, “This is really your Tithing Christmas, children,” and she told us the story as the day progressed. Bit by bit the blessing of tithing was thus deeply impressed upon us.
Since that Tithing Christmas, we have spent Christmases in many different lands. Some have been spent in England, some in the United States and in many states within the United States. We have had plentiful Christmases and meager Christmases, happy Christmases and Christmases that have not been so joyous. Irrespective of what our personal sorrows may have been, father has always seen to it that those who needed Christmas, who were not of our particular family, were not forgotten. All of our holiday celebrations at Christmas time have been motivated by the thought impressed upon us in early childhood ... “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In fact, not only Christmas, but every day of our father's life has stressed this philosophy, the practicing of which has made a lifelong impression upon our minds. We believe in Christmas!
WHAT CHILD IS THIS?
W.C. Dix
What Child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping,
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing,
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian fear, for sinners here
The silent word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through.
The cross He bore for me, for you.
Hail, hail, the Lord made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise the song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby, Joy, joy for Christ is born.
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS
Elder Robert E. Wells
It was the afternoon of December twenty-fourth. All Church employees had been given the day off, but I had some business matters that I wanted to finish, so I was still in my office in the high-rise Church Office Building. Helen and the children were expecting me home for last-minute Christmas preparations before our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and family program.
I was hurrying to finish a long and complicated matter so I could go home when the phone rang. It was President Spencer W. Kimball, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve at that time. All he said was, “Robert, are you busy?”
I felt that he must need me for something so my answer was, “Not at all. What can I do for you?” We had developed a relationship over the years when he had stayed in our home in South America and I had traveled with him and translated for him down there. From time to time, now that I was living in Salt Lake City and working for the Church, he would ask me to drive him somewhere or accompany him to a conference. I was always flattered and happy to have the privilege of serving or helping this great man.
His response was as I expected: “Robert, thanks. Could you please meet me by my car?”
I answered, “Yes, of course.” He hung up without another word, so I called Helen and explained that there would be a further delay in my arriving home. I hurried down to the parking level. President Kimball had already arrived and was waiting. We got into his car, and as we drove out he explained, “I have a distant relative with a small son in the Primary Children's Hospital and they have asked me to give the boy a blessing, but the father can't be there. Also I have heard of a child from South America who needs a blessing, too. So I thought of asking you to go with me. Is that all right?”
I assured him that it was perfectly all right and that it was both a privilege and an honor to be his junior companion anytime he could use me. After we gave the two blessings that he had mentioned, he suggested, “Robert, I think there must be some Lamanite children here in this hospital who would like a blessing on Christmas Eve. Shall we go find them?” I was fascinated and delighted. I thought, What a kind thing for this busy servant of Christ to think of doing.
I found myself accompanying President Kimball from nurses' station to nurses' station in that large hospital where we would ask, “Are there any Indian children here? Are there any Latin American or South American children here? Are there any Lamanite children from the islands of the seas? We would like to visit each one and give them a blessing. May we do that, please?” President Kimball was so loving and kind and tender that no one turned him down. The Spirit was with him in a beautiful way.
So we went from room to room and from bed to bed giving blessings. I did the translating when the children spoke only Spanish or Portuguese. I couldn't help much with one young Navajo boy who spoke little English. But it was obvious that he wanted a blessing and that he appreciated the spirit that President Kimball reflected that Christmas Eve.
As we drove back to the Church Office Building several hours later, President Kimball mentioned that his family was waiting for him just as mine was waiting for me. Then he added, “But they will forgive us, I am sure. What better thing could we do than give the gift of blessings of the priesthood on Christmas Eve. Isn't that what the Savior would want us to do?”
I treasure in my memory and in my heart that interlude on a Christmas Eve when this great apostle who would shortly become the President of the Church took some valuable hours away from his dear wife and family so that he could minister to the children in a hospital because that was “what the Savior would want us to do.”
SOURCES
“The Gift of the Magi,” by O. Henry, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 140–46.
“Harmattan Christmas,” by Gloria W. Rytting, in A Christmas to Remember (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 68–71.
“The Three Kings,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in Christmas Classics (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995), 59–60.
“Giving, Sharing, and Remembering,” by Carlos E. Asay, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 44–46. Portions of this chapter have been excerpted from Carlos E. Asay, Family Pecan Trees (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992).
“Mary's Vision,” by Marilyn Arnold, in The Magic of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 59–61.
“What Do You Mean, ‘No Room?'” by Graham W. Doxey, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 123–25.
“Christmas Traditions in Mexico,” by Horacio A. Tenorio, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 105–8.
“The Wondrous Gift,” by Spencer W. Kimball, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 129–30. This story is reprinted from The Wondrous Gift, pamphlet (Deseret Book, 1978).
“The Three Scrooges,” by Lael Littke, in The Magic of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 25–29.
“The Gift of One,” by Emily Watts, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 131–32.
“Christmas Alone,” by Marilyn Arnold, in A Christmas to Remember (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 54–56.
“The Night Before Christmas,” by Clement C. Moore, in Christmas Classics (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995), 206.
“The Greatest Gift,” by Dallas N. Archibald, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 27–29.
“In the Spirit of Christmas,” by Hannelore Janke, in A Christmas to Remember (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 104–6.
“The Year Christmas Came to Me,” by Sandra Drake, in I'll Be Home for Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998), 52–53.
“A Christmas Hymn,” by Christina Georgina Rossetti, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 115.
“No Gifts?” by Milton L. Weilenmann, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 101–3. This story was first published in the Instructor, November 1970, 389.
“Joseph,” by Richard Tice, in The Magic of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 17–18.
“Christmas Memories,” by Joseph Fielding McConkie, in A Christmas to Remember (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 89–91.
“Christmas in America,” by Anya Bateman, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 19–25.
“The Gifts of Christmas,” by John A. Widtsoe, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 163–64. This article is reprinted from Improvement Era, December 1935, 752.
“We Three Kings of Orient Are,” by John Henry Hopkins, Jr., in Christmas Classics (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995), 66.
“It Is Better to Give Than to Receive,” by George D. Durrant, in Keeping Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996), 1–4.
“The Worst Christmas Pageant Ever,” by Ann Edwards Cannon, in Keeping Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996), 185–89. This story was first published in This People, Winter/Holiday issue, 1989. Used by permission.
“The Naming of the Lord,” by Richard Tice, in The Magic o Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 94–95.
“The Story of the Other Wise Man,” by Henry van Dyke, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 225–52.
“Christmas Eve,” by Peter A. Danzig, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 204–7.
“Roses Are Red,” by Richard M. Siddoway, The Twelve Tales of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992), 15–23.
“In the Bleak Mid- Winter,” by Christina Georgina Rossetti, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 39.
“The Little Match Girl,” by Hans Christian Andersen, in Christmas Classics (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995), 51–52.
“What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?” by Gordon B. Hinckley, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 1–5. This chapter was adapted from “What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?” Ensign, December 1983. © The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. Used by permission. “Bryan's Gift,” by Alma J. Yates, in The Magic of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 90–93. This story was first published in the Friend, December 1987. Used by permission.
“Angela Ann,” by Richard M. Siddoway, The Twelve Tales of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992), 65–70.
“A Far Greater Gift,” by James M. Paramore, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 36. Adapted from “A Far Greater Gift,” New Era, December 1988, 24. © The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. Used by permission.
“My First Christmas As Bishop,” by Marvin K. Gardner, in The Magic of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 50–54.
“The Gift,” by Emma Lou Thayne, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 133–34. This story is from Exponent II, Fall 1986, and is used by permission of the author.
“Giovanni's Gifts,” by Fra Giovanni, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 99–100.
“A Tahitian Christmas,” by Donald R. Marshall, in I'll Be Home for Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998), 15–19.
“Christmas Giving,” by Gene R. Cook, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 62–65.
“The Least of These,” by Richard M. Siddoway, The Twelve Tales of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992), 43–46.
“Our Giving Christmases,” by Emily Smith Stewart, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 135–39. This story was reprinted from A Story to Tell (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1945).
“What Child Is This?” by W. C. Dix, in The Gifts of Christmas (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 147.
“Christmas Blessings,” by Robert E. Wells, in Christmas Treasures (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 93–94.
Various Authors, Sharing Christmas
