{"id":108349,"date":"2024-12-22T18:16:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T01:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=108349"},"modified":"2024-12-23T09:32:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T16:32:55","slug":"for-23-december-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/12\/for-23-december-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"For 23 December 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/a>
Christmas lights at the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith in Sharon, Vermont
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tomorrow \u2014 Monday, 23 December 2024 \u2014 will be the 219th anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. \u00a0Even among faithful and committed Latter-day Saints who revere his memory, his birthday is almost never noticed \u2014 which is scarcely surprising, especially given its proximity to Christmas. \u00a0(Virtually nothing can escape the powerful gravitational pull of the year\u2019s super-holiday.) \u00a0So far as I noticed, Joseph\u2019s name wasn\u2019t mentioned a single time during my ward\u2019s special Christmas sacrament meeting today. \u00a0Which, of course, is perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s entirely appropriate, though, to give at least a moment\u2019s thought to the Prophet of the Restoration. \u00a0After all, it\u2019s not as if other worthy individuals from both religious and secular history aren\u2019t commemorated throughout the year.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, in the Catholic and Orthodox and Anglican communions, as well as several others, the liturgical year is organized by associating each day with one or more saints. \u00a0Such days are said to be \u201cfeast days,\u201d referring not to a banquet or a large meal but, rather, to a \u201cfestival\u201d or an annual religious celebration. \u00a0Accordingly, 2 January is the feast day of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen. \u00a0The feast day of St. Catherine of Sienna is 29 April. \u00a0St. John Chrysostom has his feast day on 13 September, and 4 December is the feast of St. John of Damascus. \u00a0And so on and so forth. \u00a0Most (if not all) days of the year are significant to the memory of some saint or other.<\/p>\n

Many countries (and perhaps all of them) also celebrate secular holidays in honor of distinguished people of the past. \u00a0Columbus Day, for instance, is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and even elsewhere. \u00a0In the United States, it\u2019s an official federal holiday, marking the anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World.<\/p>\n

Presidents\u2019 Day \u2014 which, officially, at the level of the federal government, is Washington\u2019s Birthday \u2014 is celebrated on the third Monday of February. \u00a0Some celebrate all of the American presidents on Presidents\u2019 Day, while some commemorate only George Washington, or Washington and Lincoln, or Washington and Jefferson.<\/p>\n

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (or \u201cMLK Day\u201d or, officially, the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.) is a federal holiday in the United States that is observed on the third Monday of January each year.<\/p>\n

For that matter, I\u2019ve tried to make it my practice to do at least something special in connection with my late parents\u2019 birthdays, with my wife\u2019s parents\u2019 birthdays, and with the birthday of my too-soon-lost brother. \u00a0A special dessert that they loved, perhaps, or a dish that we associate with them. \u00a0Perhaps a particular story. \u00a0And I aspire to mark the birthdays of some of our ancestors. \u00a0I think such commemorations are valuable reminders and teaching moments, among other things.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, although it\u2019s neither a holiday nor a \u201cfeast day\u201d in some sort of Latter-day Saint liturgical calendar, 23 December \u2014 Joseph Smith\u2019s birthday \u2014 seems to me worthy of note. \u00a0And I intend to note it.<\/p>\n

I here affirm my own personal conviction in the words of Elder John Taylor of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. \u00a0Elder Taylor, a convert from Great Britain, was a close associate of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and he was, himself, gravely wounded in the same despicable and cowardly attack that took their lives at Carthage, Illinois, on 27 June 1844. \u00a0He survived, however, and he eventually became the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>. \u00a0This is part of what he wrote while recovering from his own wounds after the martyrdom:<\/p>\n

Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord\u2019s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated! \u00a0(Doctrine and Covenants 135:3)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In order to illustrate my attitude of respect toward Joseph Smith, I offer a slightly altered text of the opening verses of the New Testament gospel of John, as rendered in the English Standard Version of the Bible. \u00a0I feel and intend no disrespect to John the Baptist in doing so; I want merely to point to the analogous role played by the Prophet of the Latter-days:<\/p>\n

\n

1\u00a0<\/b><\/span>In the beginning was<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the Word, and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the Word was with God, and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the Word was God.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>2\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>He was in the beginning with God.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>3\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>4\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>In him was life<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the life was the light of men.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>5\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n
6\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>There was a man<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>sent from God, whose name was<\/span> [<\/span>Joseph]<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>7\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>He came as a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>witness, to bear witness about the light,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that all might believe through him.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>8\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
9\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>10\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the world did not know him.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>11\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>He came to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>his own<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>his own people<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>did not receive him.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>12\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>But to all who did receive him,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who believed in his name,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>he gave the right<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to become<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>children of God,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>13\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>who<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>were born,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>not of blood<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n

14\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>And <\/span>the Word <\/span>became flesh and <\/span>dwelt among us, <\/span>and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only So<\/span>n <\/span>from the Father, full of <\/span>grace and <\/span>truth.<\/span><\/span>15\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>([Jo<\/span>seph]<\/span> bore witness about him<\/span><\/span>.)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The festive lights at Joseph Smith\u2019s birthplace in Vermont point not to his birthday but to the birthday of the Savior, to whom he himself also pointed. \u00a0Joseph was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. \u00a0And here, as an example of his witness, are his words and those of Sidney Rigdon regarding the magnificent revelation that they received on 16 February 1832 at Hiram, Ohio:<\/p>\n

\n

22 <\/span>And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!<\/p>\n

23 <\/span>For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father\u2014<\/p>\n

24 <\/span>That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. \u00a0(Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah! \u00a0And Merry Christmas to you all!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Tomorrow \u2014 Monday, 23 December 2024 \u2014 will be the 219th anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. \u00a0Even among faithful and committed Latter-day Saints who revere his memory, his birthday is almost never noticed \u2014 which is scarcely surprising, especially given its proximity to Christmas. \u00a0(Virtually nothing can escape the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":38881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6915,380,2905,788,1637,6912],"class_list":["post-108349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-birthday","tag-joseph-smith","tag-latter-day-saint","tag-mormon","tag-prophet","tag-smithmas"],"yoast_head":"\nFor 23 December 2024<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Tomorrow -- Monday, 23 December 2024 -- will be the 219th 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