Traditions

My Dad always likes to say that traditions can be bad. He often points to slavery as an example of a bad tradition. Because of this my whole family has kind of adopted the view that traditions aren't really all that great of a thing. So there are very few things that my family does ritually. The things that my family does are usually more spontaneous than anything and don't tend to continue to be done for very long periods of time.Somehow despite everything my family does to push back against traditions we still have one that we do every year without fail.

It is Christmas Eve day and the whole McConkie family has gathered together to my parents house for a celebration. From about ten o'clock in the morning to six o'clock at night the kitchen at the house will be full of activity. My Mom, my Dad, and my sisters busily work on making nutballs, toffee, fudge, and Norwegian cookies. When a batch of these sweets is finished they are placed on plates and wrapped in plastic. My brother and I then hurry out into the streets with the plates of sweets and deliver them to our neighbors.

Once all of the candy is finished and delivered my parents start work on the real reason everyone has come to the house. Lasagna noodles start to be boiled, sausage is cooked, and the french bread is buttered. All of this is in preparation for the Christmas Eve dinner that night. As the lasagna cooks the rarely used dining room table is set with my Dad's Finnish glass dishes. These dishes come out only once a year and are immediately put away after being washed. Everyone in my house can tell that we are going to have a good dinner tonight.

When the lasagna is finished it is placed on the table with many of the other foods that have been bought and purchased for this special night. My brother and I eat tons of lasagna and down lots of Cherry Seven Up. My Dad shares stories while we eat and these stories have us laughing and crying as we hear them. It is pretty easy to see why my family has waited all day long for this dinner. As we finish the meal my brother and I help clean the table and take the dishes to be washed in the kitchen sink.This is the only time of the year that my brother and I don't care too much about performing this chore.

Once the dishes have been cleaned and my Dad has carefully placed them back in the buffet it is time to go and brave the world. My Mom puts on her large winter coat and the rest of us put on our winter jackets and prepare to head out into the cold December night. We walk down the street from our house towards the courthouse. The whole way we toss snowballs at each other and slide on the ice. At the courthouse we look at the lights and make obnoxious comments about the silly Christmas displays that have been setup. This is just the first part of our trip this night. Once we have had enough entertainment at the courthouse we make the walk to the Tabernacle for our last stop of the evening.

At the Tabernacle my family finds the same old Nativity scene that sits on the lawn of the Tabernacle every year. My brother and I fight to see who can push the button in front of the Nativity. Once I finally am able to push the button a Narration echoes from the loudspeakers and begins to tell the story of the birth of Christ. Lights flash first on Mary, Joseph, and the Babe, then onto the shepherds, and finally upon the Wisemen. As we watch the scene it is hard to forget the true meaning for Christmas and why my family has gathered together this night. Once we have listened to the narration several times my family leaves and heads back to the house to go to bed.

It has always been funny to me that my family has kept this tradition because no other traditions have ever really lasted. But every year on Christmas Eve without fail we find time to get together as a family, to share a meal, and to then go see the Christmas lights. This is a tradition that I don't mind because it helps to bring my family together and to help us reflect on why we have Christmas. We have it for our families and to help remind us of our Savior, Who makes it possible for us to have families. I will always be thankful for Christ and His birth because without it I wouldn't have my family.

The Gift of My Parents

It was nearly thirty years ago that my parents were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. Even though these two college students were married on the darkest day of the year they have enjoyed a successful marriage. I haven't ever and will never doubt whether my Dad truly loves my Mom. The same goes for my Mom because I know that they care about each other and will do anything for the other. My parents have been the best of partners and the greatest example to me and my siblings.

My Mom has always been the kind of women who tries to help everybody no matter what condition she herself might be in. As a child I watched her service to the people in the community. My Mom would spend many hours working and maintaining flower gardens at the local elementary schools. Hours that were already going on top of the many hours she spent working on the extensive vegetable and flower gardens that my family maintained at our home. On top of this my Mom helped to drive kids to school every morning and from the time I was in first grade to my senior year of high school she packed me a lunch everyday.

When I was in elementary school my Mom decided that it was time to return to college. She had been a student at the University of Utah when she and my Dad had met. But when my parents started having children my Mom left her education behind so she could focus on raising her family. With both me and my brother in school the time to finish her studies had come. This time in my Mom's life was one of the toughest that she had ever experienced and a time that made me appreciate my Mom even more.

I can remember my Mom would drop me and my brother off at school every morning and would then make the drive from Brigham City to Logan. She did this pretty much everyday of the year even when the canyon was filled with snow. While at school she filled her time with many studies as she earned her degree in photography. My Mom spent many long nights at the Utah State campus developing film and working on projects that she put her heart and soul into. When she was done with those projects she would then return home to see her family that she loved so very much. Despite everything my Mom was doing at school she still made time to be a Mom and to help out with whatever school projects me or my siblings seemed to be doing. I can really say I don't think I would have passed any classes if it hadn't been for my Mom.

I know that my Mom's return to school was very stressful on my Dad. When he was a student at the University of Utah he had fallen madly in love with my Mom. The two of them had married with the hope of spending their time together. With the majority of my Mom's time being spent at the college my Dad found that he wasn't able to spend time with the redhead he loved so much. Yet my Dad knew that school was where my Mom needed to be and that it was important to her and that he needed to help her out. Everyday my Dad would finish his teaching and coaching duties at school and would hurry home to help take care of his children. For several years it seemed as if my Dad exclusively made all the meals at my home.

I know that the years my Mom spent at college were hard times for my Mom and Dad as they missed the companionship of each other. Yet these times have been a blessing for them and for their family. Me and my siblings grew to love my Mom for the time and effort she spent to help us out even if it meant even later nights than she should have been doing. We also grew to love my Dad for the things he started doing for us in the absence of our mother. Yet the people who were blessed the most were my parents who were able to see just how much they loved each other during those years.

I and my siblings are grateful for my parents and for what they have done for all of us. Because of their brave examples all of us have turned into pretty good kids. My Sisters were both married in the temple and my brother is now preparing to serve his mission. I'm thankful for my parents and for them for raising my family in the Gospel.

Joy to the World

Two thousand years ago in a little town called Bethlehem a birth occurred that would forever shape the world. In the town of Bethlehem was born a little child name Jesus. Jesus was born in a destitute situation. Born among animals to a virgin mother and a father, who was a carpenter. To the world this birth would seem insignificant. No child born in this kind of situation could amount to much and wouldn't be able to change Judea let alone the whole world. But this was the most significant birth ever.

Little did the world know how much of a role Jesus had already played in their history. Little did the world know that thirty-three years from the birth of Jesus would occur the most important event in all the eternities. The birth of the baby Jesus had been looked forward to for millenia. When He came all history was marked from His birth and even today we look forward to His coming again. Everything in our world revolves around this baby, who was born in a stable. But why is He so important?

The first man, Adam and the first woman, Eve both looked forward to the coming of Jesus Christ. Because of their transgression in the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve had fallen. Man was now vulnerable to sin and to physical death. Because of sin man was separated from God and could not on his own pay the price needed to return to God. But our Heavenly Father knowing that the Fall was essential for the growth of man had already provided a way for the redemption of mankind. That way was through His Son, Jesus Christ.

From Adam on down the prophets and followers of God testified of Christ and preached of Christ. They looked forward to the coming of Christ knowing that He must come. The prophet Nephi wrote about Christ so that future generations might know that Christ would come to redeem mankind (2 Nephi 25:26). Can it be too big of a surprise that at the birth of the Son of God that angels appeared to herald the birth? (Luke 2:8-14) Or that a star appeared in the sky and made the night as day? (3 Nephi 1:15) Or that wise men came bearing kingly gifts? (Matthew 2:1-12) It is not when the mission of the Babe is laid before us as it so clearly is in the scriptures.

For the next thirty-three years the Son of God worked in the flesh among the children of men. He performed miracles, the greatest of sermons, and went about doing good to everyone that He met. Yet His own people reject Him and crucified Him. It would appear that the Son of God had failed His mission based on earthly means. He established no earthly kingdom (John 18:36), didn't deliver Judea from Roman oppression, and was killed (John 19:30). But the death of Christ wasn't the end of His mission, it was just part of the greatest event in history, the Atonement. For on the third day after His death Christ rose from the tomb and signaled the defeat of death and sin. He had paid the price for every sin ever committed by mankind. Because He did this man was now able to live again and to be freed from the guilt and suffering that comes with sin. Man was now redeemed.

The mission of Jesus Christ continues today as He continues to strengthen us and allow us to do all things (Phillipians 4:13). We can look to Christ and know that everything will be okay as long as we live the Gospel in our lives and gain faith in Him. To gain a testimony is simple is to read, pray, and then act. That is the message of Christmas as we approach this time of the year. So remember that over two thousand years ago a little baby was born in a stable and that because of Him we can all be happy.

Follow the link to learn more about the birth of Christ.
christmas.mormon.org

Equality

Oftentimes in life it can seem as if things just aren't fair. All of us at one point or another have wondered, "Why is that person blessed with that gift and not me?" We might even say, "If God is a loving God and if He is a fair and Just God, why is He letting that person have it easy, while I'm having such a hard time?" It may appear to us mortals that God plays favorites with His children. In all actuality God loves all of His children equally and doesn't favor one over another.

In a world where there are very poor people and very rich people, people with incurable diseases, and people being treated cruelly and unfairly it can seem as if God doesn't care. But there is nothing farther from the truth,

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Moses 1:39

Everything that our Heavenly Father does is centered around us and about making us better. Just like earthly parents should want the best for their children our Heavenly Father wants what is best for us. And what's best for us is having eternal life and being able to live with Him for forever.

The way that God had made it possible for us to receive eternal life is through the gift of His Son.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:16-17

God gave us the gift of Jesus Christ, a gift that allows all of us to be able to live again and to receive all of the blessings that our Heavenly Father has promised us. 

The gift of Christ is greater than anything else that we could receive and as said before allows us to receive all of our Heavenly Father's blessings. Riches, good health, and popularity as important as they may seem are nothing when compared to the happiness provided through Christ when we live His Gospel. What does it gain us if we own the whole world, but do not live the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does anything matter if we don't have faith in Christ, if we don't repent, if we aren't baptized, and if we don't endure to the end? Nothing matters if we don't have the Gospel. For the Gospel is eternal while everything in this life ends.

Now I can't say why bad things happen to good people and I don't know why it seems as if some people are more blessed than others. But I do know that:

...the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is...

1 Nephi 9:6

So I know  that whatever happens in this life that it will be for my best interest. I also know that all that is unfair about this life will be made up in the next. For remember the greatest gift of God is that of His Son and that gift is available to each everybody. All it takes is to find out more and to live the Gospel. By studying from the Bible and the Book of Mormon we can learn more about this gift and realize how true the words of the prophet Nephi are when He says:

...for [Christ] doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.

2 Nephi 26:33

I testify that this is true in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.