Merry Post-Christmas Everyone! We had a wonderful one with most of my children and all of my grandchildren here with us at my home, which I affectionately have dubbed “The Cottage on the Corner.” We were jam-packed with people and things and enjoyed the merry coziness of it all. After thinking about Dickens’ A Christmas Carol after reading the plot summary in this book here and watching the Muppet Christmas Carol (a family Christmas tradition for us), I have enjoyed reflecting on Christmases past, present, and future. Every year I get a little better in preparing for Christmas. Every year I make mistakes as well and learn from them and vow to make next year’s Christmas even more full of sacrifice, generosity, and heartfelt connections to each family member, to friends, strangers, and most importantly, to Christ.

We read the Biblical and Book of Mormon accounts of the Christmas Story as part of our celebration. We also had a Joseph Smith Birthday Party to celebrate the Prophet’s birthday on December 23rd. This is something I started a few years ago when we lived in AZ. We gathered together and had seafood (because he grew up in New England so that’s my excuse to eat seafood, which I love), French fries, and homemade root beer and gingerbread. We ate the last two items because Joseph’s mother sold those two items door-to-door, if I recall correctly. I think I read that in Lucy Mack Smith’s biography of Joseph. We also shared a few stories from his life. I felt the Holy Spirit confirm to me again that the Prophet Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God, chosen by God to restore the true church of Jesus Christ in the latter days.

I am excited that my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is emphasizing the Book of Mormon for our Come Follow Christ study this upcoming new year. I believe what Jospeh Smith said, which is that the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” (see the Introduction in the book here)

I am also excited that the Joseph Smith Foundation is doing a vidcast series this year highlighting how the Book of Mormon is the most important book we can read to prepare for the future events of this earth. As it shows in the two videos at the bottom of this post, the Book of Mormon is a parallel prophecy for our day. The events that happened then are similar to what has happened since the 1400s and what is happening in the future. I am posting a few screenshots from the videos below. I invite you to watch the videos and continue your study with the Joseph Smith Foundation Book of Mormon videos for the coming year.

Those screenshots above give a glimpse of how exciting it is that the Book of Mormon provides a parallel timeline for our day.

Enjoy the videos below! I agree with Hannah Stoddard, the presenter in the videos, that reading the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, will prepare us with confidence to face all the calamities and natural disasters of the future more than another book.