Answer 3rd Day Christmas Past: The “lines” of true treasure are lines in hymns, written lines of scripture, and the fact that Church has no waiting lines and available to all to choose. Congrats to 3rd Day drawing winner, Sara (no last name) posting on our blog, who won Dr. Ron Dennis’ Welsh to English translation of Zion’s Trumpet periodical, Holy Family olive wood carving, & Bethlehem ornament! Please contact MHA office 801-272-5601 or info@mormonheritage.com within 30 days to arrange for how to receive your prize. Story still available on yesterday’s...
Read More2nd Day Christmas Past Winner & Answer
Answer 2nd Day Christmas Past: Elder Groberg’s missionary companion taught him to look for & offer true service when it’s needed. Congrats to 2nd Day drawing winner, Pam Kennedy, who won an Olive wood Holy Family & Bethlehem ornament with Christmas cards from Nazareth Village! Please contact MHA office 801-272-5601 or info@mormonheritage.com within 30 days to arrange for how to receive your prize. Story still available on yesterday’s...
Read More3rd Day Christmas Past Question & Story
On the 3rd Day of Christmas Past, rekindling history to enhance Light the World – “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Question: What “lines” of true treasure can we find in this account of Saints in war torn Europe? To be entered into today’s daily giveaway & FREE tour drawing- Read the story below; “Comment” & “Share” your answer on Facebook or our blog. “Lines of Christmas” By Elder C. Max Caldwell My travels as a member of the Europe Area Presidency have taken me throughout many lands previously under Communist domination and control. In one region, fruits of long-standing imposed atheism and controlled religious behavior and expression were conspicuous. I could not help but notice the marked contrast of countenance between the few who basked in the gospel light and the masses who yet remained in spiritual darkness. So many did not appear to be happy; they did not smile. Their association with each other seemed to be based on doubt or mistrust. In some places, there was an air of callousness in crowds and indifference in individuals. Here I experienced a particularly memorable Christmas season. In this region many people stood in lines, waiting not to buy Christmas presents, but to try to buy milk or some other basic commodity. One missionary said that when he first arrived, he and his companion would get in a line whenever they saw one. While one held a place, the other would inquire why the people were waiting because the missionaries always needed food of some kind, they would wait, hoping to obtain the item being offered at that location. Meanwhile, they talked to the people in the line about the restored gospel and shared their testimonies with those who would listen. And some did. Many lack other things that could make life more comfortable and provide temporal relief, things for which there are no lines. It is not uncommon for people to live without electricity and heat, for example. They know the discomforts of darkness and cold all too well. I met a man whose country had gone through civil revolution. He had experienced arrests, torture, and physical privation of many kinds although he was innocent of any wrongdoing he was forced into a lineup against a wall in front of a firing squad. As his group awaited execution, new orders were received and they were freed at the last moment. Then the missionaries found him. There were no lines in the Church; all were welcome and free to choose. And he did choose the spiritual and eternal gifts that have been freely offered. To receive, he needed only to trust the Giver and His written lines, which require an investment not in time only, but in faith: “Whosoever believeth in him should not perish.” (John 3:16) During my trip, I also attended church...
Read More2nd Day Christmas Past Question & Story
On the 2nd Day of Christmas Past, some history to enhance Light the World – “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Question: While Elder Groberg was on his mission in Tonga, what did he learn from one of his missionary companions? To be entered into today’s daily giveaway & FREE tour drawing- Read the story below; “Comment” & “Share” your answer on Facebook or our blog. “The Gift of Service” By Elder John H. Groberg “December is warm in Tonga, where I spent several Christmases as a young missionary in the 1950s. Despite the hot, humid weather, the Christmas spirit is beautiful. What a blessing it is when people think more about others and less about themselves! There was not a lot of physical gift giving in Tonga, as there were not a lot of things to give. People were poor in terms of worldly possessions, but they gave marvelous gifts of love, service, and kindness. During the warm evenings around Christmas, many singing groups and bands went around serenading. Even with the oppressive heat the feeling of peace and good cheer seemed to permeate everything. A few months before Christmas one year we had been asked to raise £500 so we could start building a new brick chapel in Pangai. We made an assessment of £50 each to ten separate families, with the request that they have the money by January 1. Most of the families had completed their allotment, but one older couple was still struggling. They were a faithful grandparent couple whose children were all married and gone. The grandfather originally had some sources in mind where he could get the money, but one by one those sources failed, and he realized he would need to go to his plantation on another island and make copra to sell. (Copra is used commercially for soaps and oils.) Making copra involved gathering coconuts, cutting them open, extracting the meat, drying it in the sun, and selling it to the mataka (copra board) to get needed money. He was determined to meet the January 1 deadline, so two weeks before Christmas he left for his plantation. Shortly after he left, a nine-year-old granddaughter came from Tongatapu to spend the holidays. Her arrival was unannounced but welcome by her grandmother. The grandmother and her granddaughter had a good time together, but a few days before Christmas the granddaughter became very ill with a high fever. Even though her grandmother put her to bed and cared for her well, the fever seemed to get worse. The grandmother asked my companion and me to administer to the girl, which we did. I felt she would be all right and we continued about our other activities. The day before Christmas, one of the missionary schoolteachers and I visited several families to wish...
Read More1st Day Christmas Past Winner and Answer
Answer 1st Day Christmas Past: The temple worker helped the young man give the most wonderful gift you could ever give anyone – Completed temple work for his father, making it possible to be a forever family. Congrats to 1st Day drawing winner, Janet Harris, who won an Olive wood Holy Family Carving with Christmas tree ornament! Please contact MHA office 801-272-5601 or info@mormonheritage.com within 30 days to arrange for how to receive your prize. Story still available on yesterday’s...
Read More1st Day Christmas Past Question & Story
On the 1st Day of Christmas Past, some history to enhance Light the World – “Blessed are they that mourn.” Question: What gift did a temple worker help a young man give? To be entered into today’s daily giveaway & FREE tour drawing- Read the story below; “Comment” & “Share” your answer on Facebook or our blog. “A Child’s Gift” Jean Mathews and her husband, John, served a mission in the Manila Philippines Temple, where this story took place. “On the day before Christmas, my husband was supervising the [Manila Philippines Temple] baptistry with my help. We were both very busy, but my husband felt a tug on the sleeve of his white suit coat. Looking down—he is 6-feet 4-inches tall and towers over most Filipinos—he saw a little boy who looked about 9. He wasn’t surprised, as many 12-year-olds there are about the size of 8- and 9-year-olds in the States. This little boy was dressed in worn but clean jeans and a T-shirt and was holding up a tattered piece of paper. John squatted down to look into his big, sad, brown eyes. “How can I help you?” he asked. “Can I be baptized for my dad?” “Is he dead?” John asked sympathetically. “Yes, he died two years ago. My mother told me to be baptized for him today.” John’s thoughts immediately filled with concern that the boy’s request couldn’t be filled without the necessary information, so he asked, “Do you know his full name and his birthday and where he was born?” The boy offered the piece of white paper again. “My mother wrote it down on this.” There, on that worn and soiled fragment of paper carried so carefully in his pocket, was the name of his father and his birth and death dates. Hoping the boy knew any additional information that would be needed, John pointed him to the temple office. “One of the ladies there will help you. Then come back with the blue slip of paper she will give you, and we will baptize you for your father.” Because John could not leave his responsibilities in the very busy font, he watched as the boy made his way toward the office. It was an hour before John thought about the boy again and wondered where he was. Shortly thereafter, he felt another tug on his coattail, and the little boy appeared holding a blue slip of paper, which he held out. We found a very small white jumpsuit for him. We had to roll up the pant legs and sleeves. When it was his turn to step into the font, he paused and announced in great seriousness, as if it were the most important thing to ever happen in his entire life, “I’m getting baptized for my dad.” He had the full attention of everyone there. After he was immersed, he was...
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