followers of my faith [Mormon Monday 63]

It's no secret that "Silent Night" isn't exactly my favorite Christmas song. Part of it is definitely that no one understands it and we always sing it wrong, and part of it is that I'm not one of those people that never gets tired of singing it at every musical function.

We sang it in our ward Christmas program yesterday. We also sang it at the stake Christmas fireside last night. And we've sung it every week in some meeting or another. And I am so tired of it.

But last night, raising my voice with 250 members of my stake, I decided to have a better attitude. I was worried the stake president was going to ask me to bear my testimony (hazards of him knowing my name) and I didn't want to go up there with nothing to say because the Spirit had left me because I hate a beloved Christmas carol.

So I thought about our Christmas program and the scriptures we'd read. The one that came to mind was Alma 7:10-12.

And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

Around that time we sang the third verse of "Silent Night" and my mind echoed with "Son of God, love's pure light radiant[ly] beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace"

And I thought, He was born to die. He was born to perform the Atonement, and the light of love shone from His face with the promise that His birth was the start. The dawn of a life that would redeem all of us through grace.

It was really nice to gain a new appreciation of this song. And the stake president didn't call on anyone, least of all me, which is good because I was already planning to write a blog post.