Community Christmas Devotional

 A community Christmas Devotional was held on Sunday, December 14 with choirs, instrumental music and Christmas messages.  The Belltones Handbell Ensemble rang in the program with a selection of beloved Christmas songs; their performance was a delight.  The audience was invited to participate by singing together that great American spiritual," Go Tell It on the Mountain".   Vocal solos were each sung by Von Winkel and Elizabeth Johnson; Teresa and Monty Mortensen on violin and guitar respectively sang, " When the Son of God is Born". The Dalton family performed "More About Jesus". Becky DeCourten and Jenny Good each playing flute and Conrad Allen playing the piano performed "Carol of the Bells".  There were also four choirs: Littlefield Ward choir, East & West Stake adult choir, a youth choir, and a children's choir. For the closing performance, all four choirs sang together a stirring arrangement of "O Holy Night". 

 President Ryan Toone, East Stake President welcomed everyone. He told about his family tradition of reading a new Christmas book each year. He briefly told the story of “A New Dress for Ella” and how serving a family brings out the Christmas spirit. Another tradition is reading the Christmas story from Luke and he invited Davis, a young boy, to read the story of the nativity from the Bible. President Toone remarked, “The angels heralded the birth of the Savior to shepherds. These first witnesses of the Savior's birth were ordinary people like you and me. I am awed that the Father would entrust his son to ordinary people.” He asked, "Let Him more fully let Him into your lives.” 

President Hollingshead, West Stake president, said, “We have come together as a community and to worship and to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ on the holy night that took place two thousand years ago. "Our theme tonight is ‘O Holy Night’ and I am so glad we could come together a as a community, one in Jesus Christ, to feel of His love, to feel of His spirit and fill our hearts this Christmas season – this is what unites us as a community - Jesus Christ.  As we  read the scriptures in the Bible of his coming, of his teachings and of his miracles,  he taught us was to love one another .We are so  blessed to have this knowledge  that on that holy night when the Savior was born, He  truly was the Savior and Redeemer of the World and  His message is a message of love, and of peace, and of hope.  If we follow him and do those things He taught it changes our life.  

Pres. Hollingshead then told the story a man was on his way home from work when his car started to sputter and died; he was able to coast into the gas station. When he got in the gas station, he propped up the hood and started to look at what was causing the problem and he thought 'You know, I don't know what to do here; I'm going to call a tow truck'.   

 He noticed a young lady that looked like she needed help. He thought - “I need to run over and help her.” She was sobbing and was crying trying to think how she was going to pay for the gas for her old car at $4.95 a gallon.   

Then he asked her a question, " Have you been praying?"  

She was a little bit taken aback when he asked her this question.  

He said, " I not one of those crazy people but I want you to know that you were heard and He sent me."  

He was in the right place at the right time and was able to assist her with filling her car with gas, feeding her children, then sending her on her way to her parent’s home.   Pres. Hollingshead concluded with, “This is a wonderful story of someone who had taken the story of Christmas - that hope, that peace that comes from Jesus Christ and allowed it to change his life so he was willing to go out to help and to serve his neighbor, his friend, his community, anyone that was in need of help. And I hope that as a community we can have that love. That we will go out doing good even as the Savior would; doing goodwill and helping those in need; being good neighbors and being good friends.”  “We have come together to celebrate His birth, His coming that holy night, that promised night as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He is the promised Messiah, God's only begotten son, and He is what unites us together.”