A tradition has been established that the Holladay North Stake plans, prepares and serves a full-out formal Christmas Dinner for all two hundred of the Utah Salt Lake City missionaries the week before Christmas every year. What an amazing group of people! The committee is made up of parents who have children off serving as missionaries in other parts of the world. It's sweet to see them serve, and it's easy to see how much they love missionaries. To give of their time and talents at such a busy time of year is truly a gift. This year, our Christmas Devotional was held on Saturday, December 18th. We started in the chapel, and our guests were Elder and Sister Richard G. Hinckley, who served as the mission president and wife of this mission from 2001-2004. Elder Hinckley spoke of ten gifts that the missionaries should take home with them from their missions.
1. A testimony of God the Eternal Father and His son, Jesus Christ.
2. A deeper understanding of the atonement.
3. An enlarged understanding of the gospel.
4. A love for the people among whom you serve.
5. A greater love and appreciation for your parents.
6. A love of serving others.
7. An increased measure of poise, self-confidence and refinement.
8. An appreciation for the value of work.
9. The faith and courage to act.
10. The humility to pray.
It was the perfect message for that day. Next, Elder Hinckley's grandchildren marched up front and sang some songs for us. They were just delightful! We finished by continuing a tradition that Elder Hinckley established in the mission ten years ago. We had each missionary who spoke a language other than English sing "Silent Night" in their native tongue. We listened to "Silent Night" in Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Karen, Chinese, Galitian, Catalan, and Creole. Unbelievable!!
The lunch was delicious, and we played a slideshow of the missionaries during dessert. They loved seeing themselves! We followed that with about two hours of beautiful music as our missionaries shared their talents and Christmas music with one another. I cannot imagine a better way to prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Savior. Many thanks to the members of the Holladay North Stake!
1. A testimony of God the Eternal Father and His son, Jesus Christ.
2. A deeper understanding of the atonement.
3. An enlarged understanding of the gospel.
4. A love for the people among whom you serve.
5. A greater love and appreciation for your parents.
6. A love of serving others.
7. An increased measure of poise, self-confidence and refinement.
8. An appreciation for the value of work.
9. The faith and courage to act.
10. The humility to pray.
It was the perfect message for that day. Next, Elder Hinckley's grandchildren marched up front and sang some songs for us. They were just delightful! We finished by continuing a tradition that Elder Hinckley established in the mission ten years ago. We had each missionary who spoke a language other than English sing "Silent Night" in their native tongue. We listened to "Silent Night" in Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Karen, Chinese, Galitian, Catalan, and Creole. Unbelievable!!
The lunch was delicious, and we played a slideshow of the missionaries during dessert. They loved seeing themselves! We followed that with about two hours of beautiful music as our missionaries shared their talents and Christmas music with one another. I cannot imagine a better way to prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Savior. Many thanks to the members of the Holladay North Stake!
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