{"id":67950,"date":"2018-12-02T19:59:08","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T02:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=67950"},"modified":"2018-12-02T20:20:22","modified_gmt":"2018-12-03T03:20:22","slug":"entering-into-a-season-of-love-peace-and-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/12\/entering-into-a-season-of-love-peace-and-kindness.html","title":{"rendered":"A journey into a season of love, peace, and kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tissot's<\/a>
The artist Jacques (James) Joseph Tissot had spent considerable time in the Holy Land, and the accurate details in his work show that he had profited from his observations there. \u00a0This scene of the Magi doesn\u2019t look very Christmas-like, at least if you\u2019re expecting Currier and Ives, snow, and sleighs, but that\u2019s the way it really appears, and almost certainly the way it really appeared then. \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

At Christmastime, we sing \u2014 and we dream \u2014 of peace on Earth and good will to all humankind. \u00a0Unfortunately, we mortals aren\u2019t very good at this. \u00a0At Christmas, though, we aspire to do and to be better. \u00a0At least briefly and transiently. \u00a0And we hope that if we\u2019re able to improve a bit during the Christmas season, we can perhaps retain at least a tiny little bit of that improvement during the following months, and ratchet ourselves up each year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyway, it\u2019s a time to give and a time for kindness. \u00a0Here are some quotations on that latter topic that have impressed and inspired me:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was young, I admired clever people. \u00a0Now that I am old, I admire kind people.\u201d \u00a0(Abraham Joshua Heschel)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.\u201d \u00a0(Ralph Waldo Emerson)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.\u201d \u00a0(Theodore Isaac Rubin)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.\u201d \u00a0(Mark Twain)
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKindness, I\u2019ve discovered, is everything in life.\u201d \u00a0(Isaac Bashevis Singer)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best portion of a good man\u2019s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.\u201d \u00a0(William Wordsworth)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As far as giving goes, here are some of the things that my wife and I have come to like, and which I mention here \u2014 again, and not for the last time \u2014 for your consideration:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Liahona Children\u2019s Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Operation Underground Railroad<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And please, please, please don\u2019t forget the opportunities for giving that are provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, including the payment of generous fast offerings and LDS Charities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And I absolutely love this<\/em> novel and creative idea:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNBC, Fox + More Feature the Church\u2019s Giving Vending Machines Filled with Goats, Meals, and Winter Coats\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I share, yet again, one of my favorite quotations from the Prophet Joseph Smith:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLove is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, of course, there\u2019s also the Interpreter Foundation:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/foundation\/donate\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0 \u00a0 At Christmastime, we sing \u2014 and we dream \u2014 of peace on Earth and good will to all humankind. \u00a0Unfortunately, we mortals aren\u2019t very good at this. \u00a0At Christmas, though, we aspire to do and to be better. \u00a0At least briefly and transiently. \u00a0And we hope that if we\u2019re able to improve a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2637,2517,2640,2634,2649,2643,2646],"class_list":["post-67950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-charity","tag-christmas","tag-donations","tag-giving","tag-goodwill-to-men","tag-kindness","tag-peace-on-earth"],"yoast_head":"\nA journey into a season of love, peace, and kindness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    At Christmastime, we sing -- and we dream -- of peace on Earth 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