What Christmas Should Be About

(Note: I started writing this before Christmas but never finished until now.)

I was in a bookstore recently and while passing through the children's section I saw a large wall, centrally located, that was dedicated to Christmas-themed books.  I was struck by the fact that the books, toys, and and other items on the wall universally lacked one crucial element of Christmas.  The one truly important part of Christmas was completely absent from the wall.

Understanding that this is one of those times that I'm going to be disagreeing with most of the world again, here is what should not be the focus of Christmas:

1. Christmas should not be about a fictitious flying fat man in red who encourages greed.  It should not be about mythical elves and reindeer.  These are distractions that help a soda company to sell its product but that don't really enrich or inspire us.

2. Christmas should not be about sleigh bells, trees, chestnuts, romance, or any number of other things people sing about in "Christmas" tunes.  These things are mostly harmless and can be parts of fun traditions for the season, but they're ancillary appendages with the potential, like the fat guy, to distract us and our children.  (We have enjoyed Christmas trees every year, though I was recently shown a passage at the beginning of Jeremiah 10 that seems to condemn the practice.  I'd have to study context more to be sure.)

3. People sometimes say that Christmas is about "learning that it's better to give than to receive".  That statement is true, and Christmas is as good a time as any to experience the goodness of giving to others, but I think that under the surface most people support giving because necessarily, receiving occurs along with giving, and if everybody is engaged in the act of giving everybody is also receiving.  Net result: we get spoiled with a lot of presents.  Christmas should not be about giving or receiving gifts, even if we engage in either or both.

4. People also say that Christmas is about peace, love, and kindness.  To me, this is like saying that a hamburger is about mustard and ketchup, or that Mondays at work are about work.  Peace, love, and kindness only have meaning in that in showing these qualities we emulate our Savior who, through His Atonement, gave us hope, because without him, all of our positive thoughts, feelings, and actions would have been meaningless as we would be eternally lost (see 2 Nephi 9:7-10 and the rest of the chapter).  Also, while December is a great month for peace, love, and kindness, so is every other month, too.

What should Christmas be about?  Christmas should be the celebration of the birth of a man who came into the world to teach us, live for us, suffer for us, die for us, and intercede at the judgment bar of God for us.  We refer to this man as the Christ.

So those of us who care about our religion wonder how we can stay focused on what is important.  Often we try to come up with some sort of Christ-centered activity in addition to our regular traditions such as gift-giving, but in these cases I question whether or not we're really focusing ourselves on Jesus Christ.  Even as we include such an activity, people tend to look forward to other parts of our holiday (a word derived from the words "holy day"; that's what it ought to be if it's about Jesus Christ).  Kids invariably look forward most to opening presents, others look forward to the same thing or any of the other things mentioned above.

If it's what we're looking forward to the most, it's what we're focused on, and I'm quite sure that no one is thinking about Christ while pulling apart pretty wrapping paper to see what toy or treat they get.

Matthew 6:20-21 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Where is our heart at Christmastime?

An Army major I know (a concerned Christian man, who showed me the Jeremiah passage above), determined with his wife a few years ago that his family would not celebrate Christmas at all.  I wonder if we're wrong to do so many distracting things in the name of Christmas, and thus in the name of Christ.  Are we thus taking our Lord's name in vain (Exodus 20:7)?

Do our Christmas traditions deserve reconsideration?

Last thoughts for now:
My wife and I keep re-evaluating our Christmas traditions (and Easter, too, for that matter).  I think I want to severely de-emphasize the gift-giving, and maybe even get rid of it altogether or move it to another day.  I like to give my wife gifts (and the kids, too, though they have lots of toys already), but I don't want our Christmas to be about gifts.  We like our kids' re-enactment of the Nativity each Christmas Eve, and I think I like the idea of spending time together on Christmas and reading or singing about Christ every hour.  While I'm still figuring out all of that, I know that I want to keep some traditional stuff away.  I don't want to lose my focus on Christ.

"That every man might speak in the name of God"

I didn't grow up listening to a pastor or "holy man" preach every week.  I grew up in a church where everyone was expected to contribute, and everyone was expected to keep the commandments.  In hindsight, it's strange to me when I see others' religious experiences in which they are "normal" and some other figure is "holy".  I don't mean to take a shot at other people's faith, but I know what it means to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Every member of the Church has been baptized.  Through that covenant we all have promised to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, keep his commandments, mourn with those that mourn (Mosiah 18:9), and speak with the "tongue of angels" (2 Nephi 31:13-14, 32:2-3).  We are all disciples of Christ who have covenanted to cast off sin and leave worldly ways behind.  We all serve in the Church, and someone who is a mission president one month is a teacher for young children the next.  We all have the same responsibility to have faith and to repent, and if we do so we are all candidates for positions of service that people outside of our religion might see as positions of prominence.  Despite our weakness we are all saints; we are all Latter-day Saints.

I think sometimes we as members of God's Church don't realize what He wants for us.  We are sometimes too content to let others lead.  The truth is that we have all been called to serve and to lead and to be shining examples of discipleship.  No one is inherently better than anyone else; there isn't a division of groups that are meant to be noble and groups that are meant to be prodded along.  Instead, God desires "that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting acovenant might be established; That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers." (Doctrine and Covenants 1:20-23)

What's more, the breadth of Christ's Atonement itself implies that the glory of God is intended for all of us.  "And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.  And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.  And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God." (2 Nephi 9:21-23--a personal favorite)  We all are supposed to benefit from the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and having been given so much we are then all required to do much.  God desires for us all to receive His joy and glory, or as I mentioned in an earlier post, there's "Only One Destination in the Plan".

Last thoughts for now:
We all deserve to have hope, and we all deserve to know the joy of service.  Heavenly Father wants us all to be righteous and holy.  The Church exists to bring the children of God, every one of us a sinner, close to Him.  I hope for us all to better understand Jesus Christ's Atonement and become better servants of the Almighty God.

My Great Life Work

I've had aspirations at times to do great things. Perhaps one day I might write some great work that will inspire others to something truly good. Maybe I'll serve in a public office. Or maybe I'll do something else great and grand.

And maybe I won't.

I'm not always sure I want to. Given my less-than-stellar performance as an Army officer, I sometimes wonder if I really have it in me to do something great anyway. As complicated as the world gets, I sometimes yearn for simplicity. That yearning is generally balanced by a realization that I have the opportunity to do good things, and thus, I have a corresponding responsibility.

At some point, though, I realized that regardless of what else I do in life, there's something to which I aspire that will be more important than anything else I might do. If I can stay faithful and true to my covenants, my great life work will be to be a true disciple of Christ.

I'm sure that many people would be underwhelmed by such a statement. After all, what's obeying a few commandments compared to being a world leader? As for myself, though, I know that truly following God's will is more important than anything else. If I can be an example to others, encourage them to also follow Christ, and help them even a little bit to gain their own exaltation, that will be of greater value than any movie produced or any legislation passed.

Of course my family is important also; my second general life goal, after gaining my own exaltation, is to help my family to do the same.

Last thoughts for now:
I still hope to make myself useful in many ways, but despite any other things I may accomplish, I know what is most important. If I can manage to succeed at it, my great life work will be to live as a true disciple of Christ.

Flawed Heroes

Some of my favorite books are the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. I recently read a review or summary that mentioned "flawed heroes" in the book. It occurred to me that the term "flawed hero" can have two different meanings.

There seems to be a desire these days for flawed heroes, more so than in decades past. I'm not an expert, but from what I know this is seen in comic book heroes among other arenas. Early on, comic book heroes were never seen much to have character flaws. More recently, we have stories including Superman having an illegitimate child. The reason these flawed heroes are more present is because we supposedly can relate to them more. After all, we ourselves are flawed. What the creators of these flawed heroes would have us believe is that these flawed heroes are like us in that they do some bad things in addition to the good (and that it's normal and okay to do some bad things), and that they're different from us in that they have superhuman abilities or are, in the very least, in exceptional circumstances. Otherwise, they would be us. Additionally, we see flawed "heroes" in our everyday life, in the form of adulterous sports stars, corrupt politicians, drug-abusing musicians, and more. People who have the opportunity to show a good example frequently do the opposite, and are excused and even praised for their flaws by many around them.

However, as I said earlier, there are two types of "flawed heroes". Taran, the main character of the Prydain Chronicles, can rightly be described as a flawed hero, but of a different sort. His flaws are clearly illustrated; he is impetuous and foolish, sometimes petty and jealous, and makes many of the mistakes that we all do as he learns. His mistakes, though, come from a lack of maturity and growth, and not from acceptance of doing things he knows are wrong. This flawed hero experiences shame and regret, and then resolves to be better. Over the course of five books we understand that he matures and overcomes his flaws. When we relate to his experiences, we gain hope that we can overcome our flaws and become the people we desire to be.

That's the sort of flawed hero we need.

We should expect to often see flawed heroes; after all, the only true flaw-less hero to whom we can look is Christ. The rest of us are flawed. When we look at other people, either real or fictional, what is important is that we gain hope through the virtues they display and through the difficulties they overcome, including their own character flaws. What this life is largely about is overcoming sin through the Atonement of Christ. What will stop us from accomplishing this is if we accept sin, if we look up to others and say, "Even he does these bad things, so it's okay if I do some bad things also," or in other words, accepting our flaws because our heroes accept theirs. What will bring us to accomplish our goal is becoming a hero despite our flaws.

Last thoughts for now:
Our goal remains the same: exaltation in the kingdom of God. We ought to make sure that our "heroes", our role models, are people who instill in us a desire to accomplish that goal. If we look up to people and through their shameless wrong actions they discourage us from overcoming our own difficulties, well, they're not heroes at all.

The Most Important Consequences

Twice in the last week, I've had religious conversations with another soldier while at work. In each case I thought to bring to light a certain point. It begins with a question:

What are the most important consequences of our actions?

It should be obvious that the effects and influence of what we do extends into a great many areas. If we steal a pack of gum, if we beat and rob someone, if we shovel a neighbor's snowy sidewalk, or if we donate money and time to a worthy cause, there are always obvious direct and immediate consequences to the world around us; however, the most important consequences are what our actions do to us. Whenever we act, we become better or worse. At every moment of every day we thrive, fester, or just stagnate.

That doesn't mean that every moment has to be fast paced. We can wear ourselves out quickly if we try. (I'm not in danger of that myself, though; personally, I need to be more fast-paced sometimes.)

Despite all we may do to better ourselves spiritually, what really makes exaltation possible? The Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without Him, we would have no hope.

I don't think I can say much more at this point than Elder Oaks has said in his talk "The Challenge to Become". Here are the audio and text (see Saturday Afternoon Session): http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-138,00.html

Last thoughts for now:
I have yet to fully understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ and what it does for me, how it helps me to become like God. All the same, I know that there is no time when I can sin without consequence and impact on my eternity. I hope I can remind myself of my unceasing obligation to act righteously.

Paradise and Prison

I've never been certain about the barrier between Spirit Prison and Paradise. Is it two different locations, with an actual barrier or separation that keeps those who have not accepted the Gospel from those who have? Or is it just a distinction between two states of being? We certainly live in heaven or hell right now depending on what kind of people we are.

I tend to think it's probably an actual separation. When Christ was in the Sprirt World for three days, He only visited the righteous, that is, those who had truly accepted Him. But a commonly held perception of Hell combined with a distinct feature of temples gives me cause to wonder.

Many people with Christian backgrounds are told that "Hell" is a fiery, hot place, and that "Heaven" is in the clouds. The Church makes specific efforts to build temples such that fonts for proxy baptisms are located underground. Theory: the barrier between Paradise and Prison is the surface of the earth. The core of the earth is molten; anywhere under the surface is obviously dark. I think it would suffice as a place to let people suffer the pains of their own sins. When baptisms and confirmations are perfomed for the dead, the spirits would pass through the barrier in temples.

The bridging of the barrier also occurred simultaneously with the rupturing of the earth's surface (see 3 Nephi 8:18).

One might say that the classic version of "Hell" is of no importance, and I would say they're probably right. However, bits of truth, like pieces of a shattered mirror, can be found all over. Take Masonic symbols, for example.

One might also say that the location of temple baptismal fonts is just symbolic, and maybe it is. That's a lot of work for the sake of a single symbol, though, particularly when baptism already carries a lot of symbolism anyway. What symbolic meaning is really added?

Last thoughts for now:
I don't know of any prophetic statement that directly adresses this topic. It remains uncertain to me.