After my mother recently passed away, my childhood home sold quickly to a local contractor. And just like that, the setting for decades of my memories, had suddenly disappeared.

Helaman 6-12

“If the Book of Mormon came into the hands of the "Mormon" people through their own ingenuity, then men and women ought to investigate it and prove it. If they prove that it did not, then they must acknowledge that it is inspired and came from God, for it is a direct evidence that the Lord has spoken in this dispensation. No man can read the Book of Mormon with a desire to learn the truth and deny the things that are in it. No man can read the Book of Mormon with a desire to know the truth and be honest in his heart without becoming convinced that it is real and that it does come from God. Joseph Smith said that he received it from an angel and that he translated the records into this present book by the gift and power of God. I know of no greater evidence that the Lord has revealed himself in this dispensation or in the latter days than the Book of Mormon” (Samuel O. Bennion, Conference Report, April 1918, p.44).

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” whose opening lines romantically capture the image of a small, quiet town where something wondrous has just happened. Every year around Christmas, families across the world reenact the story of Joseph and Mary traveling the difficult journey to Bethlehem, only to find no room in the inn (see Luke 2). The wise men, too, are remembered for first going to Jerusalem only to learn that it is Bethlehem where the Christ child is actually to be found (see Matthew 2).

2 Nephi 3-5

On Friday, December 20, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released three videos detailing how it uses tithing and donations.

The Lord spoke powerfully about the idea of honor. He said:

INTRODUCTION:

With sheep that far outnumber residents, a cluster of cottages, a handful of farmhouses, and a single train station, Oxenholme, England, seems a strange place for two Latter-day Saint missionaries to live during the summer and early fall of 1978.

Editor’s note: The following sections are excerpted from 175 Temple Symbols and Their Meanings by Donald W. Parry and show how women’s involvement of temple work dates back to ancient Israel and how women continue to be more and more involved in temple work as the years go by.