Times of Faith Blog

“And this new commandment I give unto you. Be it unto all nations that ye shall commemorate my birth yearly. This shall be done in remembrance of me. And wo unto any among you that do not obey this command, for they shall be cast out and judged with a harsh judgment.” Are you wondering where this scripture is in the Bible? Well, you aren’t going to find it because I made it up. Jesus never asked us to celebrate Christmas. In fact, the Jews of that time didn’t traditionally celebrate birthdays. This was a custom popular among Egyptians, Persians, Syrians and Greeks, but not Hebrews. This doesn’t mean they didn’t ever mark the occasion. A feast was held when a child turned two and was officially weaned. This would be a big deal since the infant mortality rate at the time was 28% before the age of one. So surviving infancy was something to be celebrated. Another milestone was becoming an adult. For young boys this was around age 13, and for girls it was aroun...

How I Reinvented Christmas

A few years ago, I realized that I didn't feel the same joy about Christmas as my 3rd great grandmother did. After reading her journal, I knew I needed to make some changes. To read her journal entry about Christmas, click here. #1- I don’t decorate my home in Christmas colors. I just don’t like red and green, and especially when combined. I gave away most of my Christmas decorations and now I put up a tree in October that I take down in February. I call it my “Winter tree” and it is in my favorite colors of chocolate brown and Tiffany blue. It is covered with snow-themed ornaments and woodland creatures. I absolutely love it. #2- I don’t do Christmas cards anymore. Instead, I strive to write a handwritten note to each family that sends me a Christmas card. This takes me months to get done, and I don’t always get to all of them. I thank them for their card and comment on how much their family has grown (if applic...

God Wants You to Die

A few weeks ago I had a chance to attend a Jewish Shabbat at an Episcopalian Church. It was a true interfaith gathering. Rabbi Joe Charnes, a great friend of the Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, conducted the service. Rabbi Joe has spent his life exploring the comparative study of Christian and Judaism. If you’d like to read his thoughts on attending his first General Conference, click here . Rabbi Joe explained the meaning of the word Shabbat as three letters that mean stop , return , and restore . He said that our Sabbath day should be one where take the time to stop what we are doing, consider what we need to return to, and use the day to restore us. In the last LDS General Conference (October 2024), Bishop L. Todd Budge taught a similar concept. To read his full talk, click here . He taught a Japanese word mui (無為)which means “non doing” or as Bishop Budge explains, “a reminder to slow down and to live with greater spiritual awareness.” As I tho...

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