Holidays
Did You Witness the First Christmas?
When we feel the “spirit” or “magic” of Christmas, what are we really feeling?
Derek Sainsbury
December 17, 2021
When we feel the “spirit” or “magic” of Christmas, what are we really feeling?
Many Latter-day Saint congregations have experienced deep conflict over our varied perspectives on COVID-19. This presents a teaching opportunity for Latter-day Saint families; the healing of divides in our congregations begins in each of our homes.
It’s hard for most of us to resist the sheer momentum of America’s consumerist Christmas. But once you’ve witnessed precious families just barely surviving—like Joseph and Mary of old—it’s impossible to celebrate Christmas the same way.
Does Christ have to be in our very midst for us to feel the joy of His presence?
Compared with adherence to specific rules alone, the proactive pursuit to align our lives with the higher truths of the gospel is far more soul-stretching and demanding. Maybe that’s why Jesus encouraged the latter while cautioning against the former.
Believers talk a lot about seeking and following Christ, but do we want Him more than all the other many delicious offerings around us? Not always so much.
Selectively choosing to end the life of a fetus out of concern for that baby’s future presumes the very notion that many abortion advocates often deny: that is, that this fetus is, in fact, a person—and someone whose quality of life (and existence itself) matters as much as it does for any of us.
A conversation with Francis Chan—the extended version of an interview that appeared in Deseret News Magazine.
Our own religious lives can be enhanced by seeking out good wherever we find it—including through religious pluralism.
It’s not easy to know how to answer some of the challenging questions coming up about LGBT+ issues in America today. Here are some summary responses that might be a helpful guide for believers surrounded by the fraught conversation.
