The First Christmas

As I was sitting in Sacrament meeting today, I decided that I wanted to do a little reading. I pulled out my trusty Palm and fired up the scriptures. I thought, since it's the season, that I would read through the Christmas story in Luke 2. Some of the things that struck me were that it basically goes through Christ's whole childhood in one chapter. Most of the things we know about him growing up are right there. I think having a young child during this time of year makes me much more grateful for Mary and Joseph than I have been previously. If it's stressful for me to raise a child in today's environment, I can't imagine having to raise a child that would be perfect and never sin. I also can't imagine having to see my son crucified at 33 years of age. One of the verses that struck me the most was when Mary saw the things that were happening and "treasured them up in her heart". Being around my wife makes me understand this passage much more than I ever could've before I met her. She is very positive and is always pointing out the wonderful things that our son has done or learned. Just as Mary "treasured" things, I think all mothers treasure everything about their children.
When I had finished Luke 2, I thought about people in other places, and what their Christmas would've been like. I turned to the Book of Mormon and read the first chapter of Third Nephi. In it, it tells of the people who were living in the Americas when Christ was born. There were signs that had been prophesied to happen at the birth of the Saviour. Many believed, but some did not. The non-believers gave the believers a deadline for the signs to occur. When the deadline came, the sign was given that Christ had been born. What a miraculous time to be alive that would have been. I hope that I would have been one of those who held out to the end even under threat of persecution or death. I'm very grateful for those who have been faithful in those times and in our current time.
We are living in a difficult time. Sin and hate abound. I'm grateful that we live in a time when we have a living prophet and the teachings that we need to raise our children righteously.