Week 4, Day 1: The Spirit of Christmas

These are the fruits of my best friend, Sarah, and I's labor today. Loveliness. Currently, as I blog, I am sitting in the dim Christmas lights and letting the mood and the moment etch itself in my memory and upon my soul.

Whenever I decorate for Christmas, I think back on a comment my mom's sister made to her about the season. She told my mom how much she loves Christmas because of the feeling at Christmas. She does not hold a belief in God, yet she feels the glorious spirit of the Christ-child and his birth upon the earth. As I studied a bit more about this feeling, I loved the following quote from Elder Richard G. Scott in a talk entitled Peace of Conscience and Peace of Mind:

"The Light of Christ is that divine power or influence that emanates from God through Jesus Christ. It gives light and life to all things. It prompts all rational individuals throughout the earth to distinguish truth from error, right from wrong. It activates your conscience."

This is the true Spirit of Christmas. The enlightening and softening light of Christ. The other afternoon as I walked the streets of Salt Lake City, I walked past a rough-looking construction worker just leaving work. My mind was deep in thought, when I heard him call out to me, "Happy holidays!" and I looked up just in time to see a smile. The Spirit of Christ was in that man. It prompts each of us to pull out of our self-consumed lives and think of others. He was a great reminder to me.

This also makes me think of a comment my momma made about a recent flash mob of the Hallelujah Chorus. She was touched by watching the countenances of most everyone present in the room change from hardened, frazzled shopper to listening and curious adorers of Christ. See for yourself:

How grateful I am for the glory of this season and the Light of Christ. I am going to do better at keeping the Light of Christ with me and being an example of the believers. I invite you to do the same.

What a wonderful time of the year!