Twenty Virginia Reels

“When you think of Christmas, what cherished memories come to mind? For me, this time of year always brings memories of Christmas celebrations from my childhood. I can still remember many of the gifts I received: a football and a basketball, toys and clothes. Most of those gifts are now gone and forgotten; the clothes are worn out and outgrown. But what I remember most of Christmases past—my most poignant and favorite memories—are not about what I received but what I gave. Let me explain. Each year, on the Saturday before Christmas, the youth of our ward gathered at our church. We filled baskets with oranges, bananas, and homemade cookies and cakes to deliver to widows who lived nearby. We went to their homes, sang Christmas carols, and gave Christmas baskets. I still remember their grateful smiles. I will never forget the warm feeling this embedded in my heart.” – Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Lady of the Lake

The winter of 1777 – 1778 was by all accounts a brutal one.  The Continental Army was fighting for the newly formed country of the United States of America during the Revolutionary War.  As they were camped at Valley Forge (a few miles from Philadelphia) on December 29th, 1777, George Washington asked the army’s chef to prepare a meal that would fill the men’s bellies, warm their bodies and boost their morale.  The chef rounded up some peppercorn, small bits of meat, tripe and other ingredients and called it Pepper Pot Soup. His dish was very well received. It’s a well-known fact that spicy foods can elevate your mood. If you’d like to sample “the soup that won the war,” you can find several versions of the recipe online (most of them without the tripe) under the name of Philadelphia Pepper Pot Soup.

Sixteen Virginia Reels

David O. Mackay was president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November 1968 when he announced a new temple to be constructed in the Washington, D.C. area. Though the ground breaking ceremony was held just a few weeks later, construction wasn’t completed until November 1974. President Spencer W. Kimball was there to dedicate the white marble temple. So was I. As a teenager I went a few times with family and friends to do proxy baptisms at the D.C. temple. The last time I visited was forty years ago today; the day John and I were married. As a church, we build temples to draw closer to the Lord. In them we perform sacred ordinances for ourselves and for those who’ve gone before us. The greatest blessing of the temple is that we can be joined together as families forever, so that our relationships with those we love can last through eternity.

Rolling Stone

I mentioned a few months ago this year’s block-of-the-month class has become a book club. In September we read Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. In October it was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Last month’s book was The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. This month we read The Messenger by Markus Zusak. I managed to finish it, but I can’t begin to tell you how much I hated this novel. If it was a movie, it would be rated R for violence, language, substance abuse and sexual content. But somehow this awful book has earned critical acclaim as children’s literature. Those who praise it call it “inspirational.” I can’t imagine what they’re comparing it to - certainly not the works of Lois Lowry (who actually wrote a book called Messenger), Ursula K. Le Guin, Rick Riordan, Cornelia Funke, Richard Peck, J. R. R. Tolkein, Kate DiCamillo, Brandon Mull, J. K. Rowling, or next month’s author, C. S. Lewis.

A Dozen Northern Stars

“What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic."  - from Cosmos, Part 11: The Persistence of Memory by Carl Sagan

Christmas Cardinal

“We are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” ―Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” ―Norman Vincent Peale

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others.” ―Bob Hope

“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.” ―Andy Rooney

“Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.” ―Washington Irving

“Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves.” ―Eric Sevareid

“Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today’s Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday.” ―Gladys Taber

Five Geese Times Four

“On both sides of the veil a heavenly host broke into song. ‘Glory to God in the highest,’ they sang, ‘and on earth, peace among men of good will.’ But except for heavenly witnesses, these three were alone: Joseph, Mary, the baby to be named Jesus. At this focal point of all human history, a point illuminated by a new star in the heavens revealed for just such a purpose, probably no other mortal watched—none but a poor young carpenter, a beautiful virgin mother, and silent stabled animals who had not the power to utter the sacredness they had seen. Shepherds would soon arrive and later, wise men from the East. Later yet the memory of that night would bring Santa Claus and Frosty and Rudolph—and all would be welcome. But first and forever there was just a little family, without toys or trees or tinsel. With a baby—that’s how Christmas began.” – Jeffrey R. Holland