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and this also shall be a sign unto you."
I would like to believe that I would have had the faith and the whispered assurances of the Spirit so that I could have answered the critics and the mockers. I would have wanted to say, "Yes, I believe Samuel has spoken under the direction of the Holy Ghost and that this sign will come."
The people's faith will be tested to the last rays of the setting sun.
There is that moment when the sun hangs trembling at the brink of the horizon. It slips out of sight. There is a moment of hesitation, watching, hoping, and questioning. "Is it getting dark? Are our lives forfeit?" Then there is that moment when the realization enters our hearts that the darkness is not gathering. It is getting, on the contrary, lighter and lighter.
If we can picture that moment, if we can transport ourselves past barriers of time, place, and culture, we will hear a sound. It is the sound of Christmas. It is the sound of weeping, the sound of gratitude, the sound of joy and triumph and faith renewed and vindicated. It is the sound of mankind receiving with a love beyond words the incomparable gift of the Son of God into the world. It is the true spirit of Christmas which isn't the spirit of giving at all, but the spirit of receiving, receiving the love of our Father and His Son, and in its reception with thankfulness giving God the only gift He seeks, that of a broken heart and contrite spirit. What a moment and what a sound that is! May its sound ring through all our Christmases. May we hear it again and again.
There is that moment when the sun hangs trembling at the brink of the horizon. It slips out of sight. There is a moment of hesitation, watching, hoping, and questioning. "Is it getting dark? Are our lives forfeit?" Then there is that moment when the realization enters our hearts that the darkness is not gathering. It is getting, on the contrary, lighter and lighter.
If we can picture that moment, if we can transport ourselves past barriers of time, place, and culture, we will hear a sound. It is the sound of Christmas. It is the sound of weeping, the sound of gratitude, the sound of joy and triumph and faith renewed and vindicated. It is the sound of mankind receiving with a love beyond words the incomparable gift of the Son of God into the world. It is the true spirit of Christmas which isn't the spirit of giving at all, but the spirit of receiving, receiving the love of our Father and His Son, and in its reception with thankfulness giving God the only gift He seeks, that of a broken heart and contrite spirit. What a moment and what a sound that is! May its sound ring through all our Christmases. May we hear it again and again.
What a night that would have been! With what "wondering awe" would we have searched the sky as the hours passed and the light grew as bright as noonday. We would have gathered our children around us and reverently taught them the meaning of a night with no darkness. We would have gathered in small groups of joy and happiness, almost not daring to believe what our eyes testified was true. Perhaps we would have sung the hymns of our belief. It would have been a night never to be forgotten.
With what emotion would we have greeted the rising sun after long hours of rejoicing? And when the star appeared, our wonder would have been born anew. I do not believe that an unlearned farm boy from New York could create such a story. I do not believe any kind of fiction could describe in such simple and undramatic language a moment, a time, a test, a faith, as sublime as the Nephite Christmas story. There was such a night of wonder and gratitude.
As a child I felt the wonder of Christmas in a worldly way. As a man the wonder has turned to a deep appreciation and reverence. It is my hope that we may feel this wonder all of our lives, especially on those nights when we watch the sunsets that settle the world into darkness.
S. Michael Wilcox
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