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<\/a>Here are a few of the columns that I\u2019ve published during previous Christmas seasons. \u00a0Maybe you\u2019ll find something of value in one of them:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the appeal of Christmas beyond Christian believers?\u00a0The birth of a baby \u2014 any baby \u2014 is a moment of hope and the inauguration of virtually boundless possibilities, and Christmas powerfully reminds us of these things once more each year\u201d<\/a>. (19 December 2019)<\/p>\n \u201cChristmas after the Protestant Reformation\u201d\u00a0<\/a> (22 December 2017, with William J. Hamblin)<\/p>\n \u201cChristmas and Christ\u2019s \u2018mortal tabernacle'\u201d<\/a> (21 December 2017)<\/p>\n \u201cFor first time in nearly 40 years, Hanukkah and Christmas Eve are on the same day\u201d\u00a0<\/a> (23 December 2016)<\/p>\n \u201cChristmas and the ultimate restoration of all things\u201d<\/a> (22 December 2016)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Book of Mormon at Christmas\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (16 December 2016)<\/p>\n \u201cJesus the shepherd, and the shepherds\u201d\u00a0<\/a> (10 December 2016, with William J. Hamblin)<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed Christ to become one of us\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (24 December 2015)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Nativity according to Luke\u201d\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0(11 December 2015, with William J. Hamblin)<\/p>\n \u201cHe was the son of God, and \u2018one of us'\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (25 December 2014)<\/p>\n \u201cA modern witness to the baby born in Bethlehem\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (18 December 2014)<\/p>\n \u201cWho were the \u2018wise men\u2019?\u201d\u00a0<\/a> (13 December 2014, with William J. Hamblin))<\/p>\n \u201cLooking again at one of the greatest of all stories\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (19 December 2013)<\/p>\n \u201cCharles Dickens and the invention of Christmas\u201d\u00a0<\/a> (15 December 2013, with William J. Hamblin)<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Pleased as man with men to dwell'\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (5 December 2013)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Savior can change dark to light\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (20 December 2012)<\/p>\n \u201cAdvent refers to Christ\u2019s 2nd Coming\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (15 December 2012, with William J. Hamblin)<\/p>\n \u201cPure love led Christ to descend the courts of glory\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (22 December 2011)<\/p>\n \u201cTemple attendance is a Christlike gift\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (8 December 2011)<\/p>\n \u201cChristmas in the Holy Land \u2014 somber, yet triumphant\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (16 December 2010)<\/p>\n \u201cChristmas celebrates part of divine plan\u201d\u00a0<\/a> (9 December 2010)<\/p>\n<\/a>
The Lamanite prophet Samuel had prophesied that, in five years, there would be a day, a night, and a day without any darkness, and now the time had come for the fulfillment of that prophecy. \u00a0But those who hated the Church and the faithful were eager to punish the believers, planning to execute them on the day that the prophecy would come due \u2014 if, as the haters hoped, it proved false.<\/p>\n
Sadly, too, many of the people who believed began to doubt. \u00a0They began to be \u201csorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass\u201d (3 Nephi 1:7). \u00a0The difficult principle seems to have held in this case, too:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n