I had a thought this year about Christmas that I have never thought of before. It came as I was reading Bushman's biography on Joseph Smith that was written and published in 2005, as a commemoration on the 200th year of Joseph Smith's birth.
In the book, there is a record, recalled by Lucy Mack Smith, about a dream that Joseph Sr. had. He had a dream just like Lehi had about the tree of life.
So I started to think about the tree of life and how many times references are made to it in the scriptures. I remembered how Lehi saw the fruit, ate it, was filled, and then desired for his family, and everyone else he knew, to partake of the fruit of the tree and be filled as he was.
Later, when Nephi asked about the meaning of the tree do you remember the answer? Most people will quickly say it represents the love of God. But that is not what the angel told Nephi. Rather than answer him, the angel showed Nephi the scene of the Christmas nativity: in the land of Jerusalem, a fair virgin, a child in her arms, etc. Then it was Nephi and not the angel who said the tree represented the love of God.
If I may take liberty, I say then that the tree represents John 3:16. God loves us so much that he provided His Son and the plan of Salvation to help us get back home to His presence.
When Lehi was filled by partaking of the fruit, I thought of another area in the Book of Mormon where partakers were filled: when the Savior administered the bread and the wine in 3 Nephi18.
Those who partook were filled.
Connecting these two things is what makes Christmas special to me.
I think we should decorate a "tree of life" from now on, rather than a traditional Christmas tree. When people ask--including my family, we will read about Lehi's Dream and we will then discuss the interpretation thereof.
We will also talk about how to keep Christmas with us each week: partake of the Sacrament in such a worthy state, that you feel filled by each emblem. Also, upon partaking, each member should look to their left and look to their right. They should ensure their family is there partaking of the Sacrament with them. Members should also think of others who ought to be there too.
I'm sure Adam and Eve felt the same way after leaving the Garden. They probably told their children much about the beauty of the tree of life and were probably tireless in their efforts to make sure their posterity could partake of its fruit.
To me this is Christmas: the feeling that I need to do everything possible to ensure my family and everyone I know partakes of the fruit of the tree weekly, is filled with a hope for eternal life, and lives in a manner that prepares them for the of the return of our Savior---whose first coming we celebrate each year.
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