Chris and I talked in church last Sunday. He talked about his favorite Christmas hymn "I heard the bells on Christmas day." He got a little choked up when quoting it. That meant something to me. I gave the following talk. I want to remember the stories so I am posting it here. It is a very cold, - 30s, very busy week getting ready for Christmas. Almost there, just a few more gifts to get. But I baked Christmas cookies with the kids today, washed the floor, put up more lights and folded lots of laundry. The spirit of Christmas is in our home. Merry Christmas everyone!
Good
morning brothers and Sisters. Chris and I did not have a lot of time to prepare
our talks. I hope our thoughts come out clear and that you can learn from the
Spirit what you may not be able to learn from us.
Chris and I are
speaking on the scripture in 2 Nephi 2:25. Adam fell that man might be and men
are that they might have joy. So simple but so true. I am so grateful for the simplicity of the Book
of Mormon. Studying the Old testament this last year has been hard. I joke that
it is like reading Shakespeare. Hard to understand and quite harsh at times. It
was hard for me to see the love of God over the harshness of God in the old
testament. I have to admit it. I enjoy studying the Bible, but
the Book of Mormon has made the Bible, and its description of a perfectly
balanced loving and just Heavenly Father more clear to me. Without it, I am not
sure where I would be.
I am going to
let Chris talk about the first part of 2 Nephi 2:25. I just want to talk about
Joy. I need to reflect on it. I think we all do. I want to talk about three
stories on my mind as of late.
Story #1). Have you ever seen the
play the Forgotten Carols. I saw it once in Idaho Falls when I was going to
school at BYU-Idaho. And I like to watch it every year at Christmas and listen
to the music. I like the music. I like the simple story. It is about a Nurse
who lives what I would call a melancholy life. She works all the time, she
is very serious and does not seem to find joy in life. She is alone
in the world. She is haunted by her past. Her mom and dad had passed on and her
mom was very stern with her. She didn't know her dad. She is sent to take care
of a friendly older gentleman at the home he is living in. She is pretty cold and
distant at first but eventually, through songs called "forgotten carols"
about the Savior and the beauty in the world, she warms up to him. He
helps her see the beauty in Christmas and in life. I used to think this musical
was a little silly because the carols in it are nothing like the
carols we sing that are centuries old and very well known. But the story is a
beautiful story. It taught me that there is beauty in the little things in
life. If you have not seen this musical, I recommend it.
It is on youtube. And we have a copy if you want to borrow it.
Story # 2) The beauty in the
little things in life reminds me of my own life when I was a missionary. I was
in Guayaquil Ecuador 16 years ago for Christmas. It was my first Christmas away
from home. I remember going to sleep on Christmas eve in my plain ordinary bedroom
that I shared with my companion. I remember there was blue paint chipping off
the walls, windows with bars on them like many house had in that big city. I
probably fell asleep on my knees at the side of my bed as I often did on my
mission. My simple bed had but a single sheet as the weather was still hot and
muggy at that time of year. It was always hot and muggy and dirty. My parents
had sent a few small presents. I woke up in the morning, Christmas day, and
went into the bathroom to open my few gifts by myself. Some of my companions
didn’t get as much as me and I wanted to be alone. We spent the day singing
Christmas carols in Spanish. We went to an investigator family that evening and
spent some time with them reflecting on the birth of the Savior. They lived in
a old scraped together house with few belongings. But I remember they were
happy. I remember their smiles and we talked and sang songs. It was not the
Christmas I was used to but it was beautiful because the focus was on the
Savior. The focus was always on the Savior during my mission. It was supposed
to be. And through all the struggles I had on my mission, I saw his hand in my life,
time and time again including that simple joyful Christmas day.
Story # 3 is a favourite of mine) Lately
I have been wanting President Monson back on the earth to tell us Christmas
stories. He really is our Christmas prophet and I miss him. One story he told,
not at Christmas, but one that has stuck with me is called Yellow Canaries with
Grey on their wings. President Monson starts “Some thirty-seven years ago, I
was called as a young man to serve as the bishop of a large ward in Salt Lake
City. The magnitude of the calling was overwhelming and the responsibility
frightening. My inadequacy humbled me. But my Heavenly Father did not leave me
to wander in darkness and in silence, uninstructed or uninspired. In his own
way, he revealed the lessons he would have me learn.
One evening, at a late hour, my telephone rang. I heard a voice
say, “Bishop Monson, this is the hospital calling. Kathleen McKee, a member of
your congregation, has just passed away. Our records reveal that she had no
next of kin, but your name is listed as the one to be notified in the event of
her death. Could you come to the hospital right away?”
Upon arriving there, I was presented with a sealed envelope which
contained a key to the modest apartment in which Kathleen McKee had lived. A
childless widow seventy-three years of age, she had enjoyed few of life’s
luxuries and possessed scarcely sufficient of its necessities. In the twilight
of her life, she had become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Being a quiet and reserved person, she revealed little about
her life.
That same night I entered her tidy basement apartment, turned the
light switch, and in a moment discovered a letter written ever so meticulously
in Kathleen McKee’s own hand. It rested face up on a small table and read:
“Bishop Monson,
“I think I shall not return from the hospital. In the dresser drawer
is a small insurance policy which will cover funeral expenses. The furniture
may be given to my neighbors.
“In the kitchen are my three precious canaries. Two of them are
beautiful, yellow-gold in color and are perfectly marked. On their cages I have
noted the names of friends to whom they are to be given. In the third cage is
‘Billie.’ He is my favorite. Billie looks a bit scrubby, and his yellow hue is
marred by gray on his wings. Will you and your family make a home for him? He
isn’t the prettiest, but his song is the best.”
In the days that followed, I learned much more about Kathleen
McKee. She had befriended many neighbors in need. She had given cheer and
comfort almost daily to a cripple who lived down the street. Indeed, she had
brightened each life she touched. Kathleen McKee was much like “Billie,” her
prized yellow canary with gray on its wings. She was not blessed with beauty,
gifted with poise, nor honored by posterity. Yet her song helped others to more
willingly bear their burdens and more ably shoulder their tasks. She lived the
message of the verse:
Go visit the lonely, the dreary;
Go comfort the weeping, the weary.
Oh, scatter kind deeds on your way
And make the world brighter today.
The world is filled with yellow canaries with gray on their wings.
The pity is that so precious few of them have learned to sing. Perhaps the
clear notes of proper example have not sounded in their ears or found lodgment
in their hearts.”
So what do these 3 stories have
in common? Well, they each talk about a woman navigating experiences in life
and perhaps turning a hard situation into something good. But furthermore, they
talk about how Joy is found in the simple things in life. And that is where
true Joy is found. Not in how much you have or where you have traveled or the
big things you have accomplished. True joy is found in knowing the Savior by
following his example in thinking of and serving others.
As implied in President Monson’s story, we are all yellow canaries
with gray on their wings. I think the grey on my wings and maybe that of my
husbands at the moment is trying to balance everything on our plates, from work
to kids. Just yesterday I had to miss most of the ward party because the time
changed and I had to work. We struggle with balance and I do not know if we
will ever find the exact balance in this life. Sometimes it affects my mental
health. Perhaps you have some grey on your wings as well. Whether it be
physical or emotional ailments, trials that you are working through or imperfections
that you are trying to overcome. I guess like President Monson said in his
story, the pity is when we dont learn to sing during difficult times. We can
find the joy in every moment, we can learn to sing in every situation. That is
what Kathleen McKee did in the story. Her life was simple, uncluttered, tidy,
and good. She did not leave a lot behind but her song helped others bear their
burdens. She truly found true joy and beauty if life and shared that with
others. Back to a few days ago in my life, As I was struggling to know what to
do about the ward party, a friend I look up too texted me “Life is too
wonderful to get bogged down in guilt.” Although it is hard to feel sometimes,
I know what she said is true.
Life is wonderful …hard… but wonderful and we can see the joy in it
daily if we choose to do so. Remember, it is a choice to find joy even if it is
hard to make that choice. Some have it harder than others making that choice. And
in some circumstances, it seems or will impossible to make that choice for a
while. We lost a brother this summer because of his inability at the time to
choose joy and life over misery and death. I want to make it clear that I know
there is hope in the next life for him and there will be joy for him if he
accepts it upon having a clear mind. Our Heavenly Father is truly a loving
father.
So how do we choose joy when life seems complicated and cluttered?
I think many of us can find ways to declutter our lives so that we can see the
beauty in it. Maybe we need to find a balance in our home and work lives, which
Chris and I are forever seeking for, maybe we can prioritize what is important,
like scripture study and prayer and pondering. Maybe we don’t need to attempt
to do everything or have everything. Maybe we can take a leap of faith in
changing some of our habits and routines, to allow for more room in our lives
to fill with the simple joy of the Gospel. What do you need to do to have more
joy in your life? I think this is something we can all ponder on today and
everyday.
The Gospel is Good News. That literally is what it means. It is about
joy and I am so grateful that the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day saints has clarified that for me. We truly believe, as latter day
saints, that everyone is a Child of God, whether you are a member of the church
or not. That is our doctrine. And it means the world to me. We were all made in
the image of God, he loves each and everyone of us. Although he allows us to be
in different circumstances that may cause different experiences in life,
including those of pain and suffering, and although he lets us deal with the
consequences of our own actions and those of others, which can be good and bad,
he also gives us all hope not only in this life and but in the eternities to
come. As we accept the gospel and the atonement of Christ, as we use it to
change and become better, as we follow in Christ’s footsteps and go on the path
to becoming more like him and our Heavenly parents, we truly see more and more
of the pure eternal Joy that God wants for all of us. He will give us eternal joy
no matter what our circumstances are and he will give us as much as we are
willing to accept. That joy comes from hope in his perfect love and mercy for
this life and the next. And that is something that everyone can strive for and
enjoy in this life and the next. I have a strong testimony of this.
I think my favourite Christmas carol is Silent night. But my
favorite non hymn Christmas carol is Have Yourself a Merry little Christmas. I
might sing it for you, but thank goodness it would probably not be appropriate
for sacrament meeting. So I will spare you that. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 musical Meet Me in St. Louis. These were world war 2 times and songs
like Have yourself a Merry little Christmas and Im dreaming of a White
Christmas which was written in 1942 were written for those times. Im dreaming
of a White Christmas which was a favourite of my Grandpa Selman who served in
world war two, and songs like it helped people like my Grandpa get through
those hard times. Have yourself a Merry little Christmas goes…
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on
Our troubles will be out of sight
Have
yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yule-tide gay
From now on
Our troubles will be miles away
Here
we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more
Through
the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now
I know that because of the carol Silent Night, or in other words the
Birth, life and Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can focus on the carol I just
read to have ourselves a merry little Christmas. Our hearts can be light.
Because of the hope of the gospel, One day our troubles will be out of site,
and faithful friends who are dear to us, even those who have passed on, will be
together with us again. And we can have Joy this Christmas and in everyday. If
we seek eternal joy in eternal things, we will find it.
I pray that you will all have yourselves a Merry little Christmas and
a joyful life as you keep the message of Christ in your life.
