Ministering Sisters

            The birth of Jesus Christ happened over 2,000 years ago, which is more than enough time for truth to become entwined with tradition.             Truth: There are over fifty scriptural prophecies foretelling the birth of Jesus Christ. Two examples: “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son” ( Isaiah 7: 14 ; 1 Ne. 11:13-20 ); and “Out of Bethlehem shall come forth a ruler in Israel” ( Micah 5: 2 ). (You can read more than 50 other prophesies at: lds.org/scriptures/tg/jesus-christ-prophecies-about?lang=eng .)             Truth: Historical records document that these prophesied events happened and played out in real life to Mary who was espoused to Joseph.             Truth: The prophet Nephi saw Mary in vision and said she was “most beautiful and fair” ( 1 Nephi 11:13, 15 ). The angel Gabriel said Mary was “highly favored” that the Lord was with her (see Luke 1:...

            The Church Almanac is a compilation of a boatload of interesting but not necessarily useful information. For example, I never thought about what the most common first name in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is. Have you?             Quoting the 2013, Almanac: “A careful analysis of the top, say, 10 million first names in the Church, revealed a not-too-surprising result among avid first-name watchers. The top first name in the Church is … Maria!             “Maria, the identification word for nearly 400,000 individuals, is the most frequent name by a 200,000-name margin over the next top name in the Church.             “The second top name is the most frequent male name, Jose. About 100,000 names below that is the next most frequent name, David, that is followed more closely by other male names of Juan, Michael, and Luis. Male, because the...

            Have you ever done something nice—really, really nice—for a group of people and had only one of them thank you? If you have, you are not alone. Jesus Christ knows how it feels to be unappreciated.             Jesus “entered into a certain village, and there met him ten men that were lepers…. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests…. and as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks…. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine” ( Luke 17:11-17 ).             Have you ever taken the opportunity to share a gospel truth with someone in the sincerity of your heart and had the person reject the pr...

            A nice way to end a Christmas family home evening is with the choral reading that juxtaposes scriptures from the Bible and Book of Mormon. Each family member who is old enough to read is given a copy and the group is divided in half. One group reads the Bible scriptures and other reads the Book of Mormon scriptures. A narrator reads the bold, italicized headings. (Citations are not read.) The Christmas Story on Two Nations A Star  From the Book of Mormon : There shall a new star arise such an one as ye never have beheld ( Hel. 14:5 ). From the Bible : When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy ( Matthew 2:9-10 ). Mary From the Book of Mormon : The Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. And behold, he shall be born of Mary ( Alma 7:9 ). From the Bible : The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a virgin whose name was Mary ( Luke 1:27 ). His Name From the Bible : And she shall bring forth a son, ...