Merry Christmas from Temple Square

Feliz Natal!

(Merry Christmas in Portuguese)

This is certainly the most wonderful time of the year. The lights are brilliant, the people happy (for the most part), and there should be snow by the end of tonight. I am excited to see what is going on for Christmas here on Temple Square... Sister Inoue is pretty excited about everything that is planned, and Thanksgiving was fun, too.

There are also a lot of miracles because there are some amazing member missionaries out there this Holiday season. For every three or four who just walk past us saying "oh, we're members" we get some real gems. One little boy, who was about three in a green dinosaur t-shirt, had a fun talk with me about being a missionary and giving books of Mormon to people all over the world. He told his daddy to give one to a neighbor, it was really sweet. A pretty good missionary at three, I want to see how much better he will be at 19. Sister Bruno and I also got to take a fun group of 11 year olds through Temple Square. They were all so different, but they all loved stories so I told them how important it is to read the scripture stories... in front of the Nativity here on Temple Square with the wise men.

Think about how much studying and pondering it took for those wise men to find out where Jesus Christ was to be born. Then they had to take up their belongings for a long journey on only the promise of the scriptures. They were probably looked down upon by their peers, they probably had to spend night upon night looking up at the stars for the new star to appear, but it was worth it because in the end they found the Savior. How much effort are we willing to put in to find the Savior in our own lives? Are we willing to study every day? Are we willing to give up prestige or power to seek him out?

I was talking with President Holmes the other day and he gave me some scriptures to read, I thought you'd like to have them as well.

Luke 2

1 Nephi 11

Helaman 14

3 Nephi 1

I am focusing this Christmas on how much I am willing to do to find the Savior and follow his guidance. I hope that this Christmas you can think about how you are actively seeking out the Savior. (It really is the most wonderful time of the year)

Best Regards!

Sister Pielstick