Luke 2:30-32; “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”
In Eager Anticipation
Every year Vancouver, BC hosts a Kristkindl Mart that my family and I try to attend. We start talking about it in August, synchronize our calendars, and by the time December rolls around we’re like little kids on Christmas Eve awaiting Santa’s arrival.
The yearly event never disappoints with booths offering bratwurst, German candies, stöllen and the smell of hot pretzels filling the air. The Christmas fest gives us the German fix we crave without having to fly to Bavaria.
And each year during this time I can’t help but think of Simeon. I’ve tried to imagine waiting all my life for one single moment to arrive, and try as I might, my mind wanders off to other topics. In my little world I find it hard to wait on the yearly Christmas fest in British Columbia…
What about you? What do you look forward to? Can you imagine waiting your entire life for something like Simeon did that’s mentioned in Luke’s gospel?
Do we wait in eager anticipation for the time in our day when we can fall on our knees to worship the King of Kings? Do we see it as a gift from God or another chore? The way we approach our alone time with Him is indicative of our devotion to the God we worship.
Simeon waited with patience to lay eyes on the salvation God promised to deliver. He hadn’t done this for a year or two; no, Simeon waited all day, every single day for his entire life. The old man finally received what the Father guaranteed and must have gone through a myriad of emotions seeing God in action. Imagine the look on his face and the reaction of Joseph and Mary when he prophesied of Jesus’ future!
As short as my attention span is with some topics, one of the things I can remember is what it was like being a Mormon at Christmas. The contrast couldn’t be any sharper as I recall Sacrament meetings filled with stories of what the latest prophet said, and some years if Christmas just so happened to fall on a Sunday, we’d hear about Jesus and Joseph Smith.
I suppose if you’ve never been Mormon you wouldn’t know what they do, but for some reason I’m always surprised to see our websites inundated with visitors looking for info about Mormons at Christmas.
In light of that we’re listing a few of the most read articles so you can get an idea of how Mormons view Christmas, what they focus on during the season and what if any celebrations they hold at this time of year. To be sure, their activities reflect a much different scenario than those in the Christian community.
Advent, for example, was a new concept for me after I became a Christian. I’d never heard of families lighting a candle every week to give thanks for the birth of the Savior. In Mormonism there isn’t anything in the ward building resembling what a Christian would recognize as a sign of Christian worship. A baby Jesus might adorn a nativity set on occasion, however, nothing past what you’d see at a Wal-Mart setting is there. It’s virtually non-existent.
One of the worst things I’ve seen from the Church about this subject is when the leaders blather on about Joseph Smith during the Christmas season. At times it takes effort to remember who it is they’re talking about. A good example of this is found in an article written by the late prophet Gordon B Hinckley –
Ensign, ‘A Season for Gratitude,’ December 1997; “This is a season for giving and a time for gratitude. We remember with appreciation the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, which is celebrated this same month of December, two days before Christmas…
Great is his glory and endless his priesthood.
Ever and ever the keys he will hold.
Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom,
Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.
(“Praise to the Man,” Hymns, no. 27)
…We stand in reverence before him. He is the great prophet of this dispensation. He stands at the head of this great and mighty work which is spreading across the earth. He is our prophet, our revelator, our seer, our friend. Let us not forget him. Let not his memory be forgotten in the celebration of Christmas. God be thanked for the Prophet Joseph.” – Gordon B. Hinckley
Quite frankly, I was nothing less than shocked by reading what he had to say and have often wondered since then how much damage he caused in the hearts and minds of Mormons like my mother.
Like Mr. Hinckley, for many Mormons the lines of separation are blurred. Because Smith’s birthday happened to be two days before Christmas, you’ll often find dual celebrations taking place at their weekly gatherings. Unfortunately, with the way they venerate this guy and celebrate his life around the same time Christmas is celebrated, it has the makings of a spiritual nightmare. As you gather info, please, don’t forget to pray for them!
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
1 Cor 1:18
Moroni for Your Christmas Tree
‘Tis the Season for Smithmas; Whom do You Worship?
Holidays Celebrated by Mormons
Advent is the Waiting. We also think of the Second Coming of Jesus and are waiting for this. Christmastide is 12 days from Christmas to Epiphany, Jan. 6th. There we think of Simeon and Anna, the Prophetess, talked about in the Bible. (Luke 2:25; Luke 2:36-38)
We wait in hope the Jesus will come again quickly. But wait! God is not slow in coming as we think. He is waiting for all people all over the world to hear about Him. Not that they will believe in Him or that Jesus was sent to live, died and rise again, but that all will hear about Him. (2 Peter 3)
WE are sharing the Christmas Story to all as Jesus commanded us to do. HE will send the Holy Spirit upon the people who hear. The Holy Spirit will cause some to come to Him who are sorry for their sins and want to know the Living God. We ‘sharers’ cannot get people to believe. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. We just share to story. (Matt 28: 19-20)
We you come to this website, believe that is all we Christians are doing, just sharing the story as Jesus told us to do. We are not bashing ‘Mormons’ but just sharing the story and pointing out errors. Believe us when we say we do this in love. We, like God, want all people to believe in the TRUE Jesus so that they may, too, be saved from eternal death.
What is eternal death? The complete absence of God. That means no end to the sorrow and suffering. We want you to experience Eternal Life that begins the moment that the Holy Spirit comes into your life and causes you to believe in Jesus. It is wonderful to know that God causes it all to happen through the reading and hearing of His Word from the Bible. (John 3:15)
Remember then, we are just the ‘sharers’ we have no part in whether you believe or not. But we, like God want you to come to Him. We want Jesus to come quickly. That’s the Christmas Story that we tell all year. You can read it in the Bible, Chapters in the Book of Luke.
Jesus, not Jos. Smith, is the sole author of life and salvation unto Heaven. Not us. Not a church. NO one. That’s the reason we can celebrate. (Rev. 22:20)
A Blessed Advent and Christmastide to you all.
I liked this last year – and I wish I could “like” it again! Wonderful.
2 Timothy 4:8
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.
I remember as a young Mormon missionary in 1976, baptizing my first converts in the David River, outside the City of David, in the country of Panama. One of the senior Elders had chosen to sing “Praise to the Man” on the occassion at the river side baptism. I remember hearing the refrain “Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren; millions shall know Brother Joseph again” and thinking, how blasphemous it was to select this as a baptismal song. Were we welcoming these new converts into the fold of Christ or of Joseph Smith?
Now don’t get me started on Christmas celebrations. Regardless of the denomination, 95% of Christmas traditions and celebrations are traced directly to the Greco-Roman celebration of Saturnalia.