Sharing Christmas unity with all

I was prayerfully wondering what I could share with missionaries serving in and from our stake and some of my thoughts turned to a concern that I often see around me at this time of year. I helped with the layout of the December newsletter for the village where I live and the editor wanted a suitable picture, with some rose colours, that reflects this Christmas season. I invited Sally to suggest something and she suggested a picture of Mary and Jesus.

The editor rejected that suggestion because it could offend someone who is not a Christian, and so she inserted a picture of an angel. Another person that I assisted with some layout of pictures rejected the same suggestion and put in a picture of Santa Claus for the same reason – being politically correct. Well, full time missionaries mingling with many people of many different belief systems would be experiencing various responses from these people. I wonder why anyone might be offended by a picture of a mother and child but not be offended by a Christmas angel or Santa Claus/Father Christmas...? Ja well, no fine.

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I have reflected a lot on this and it occurs to me that the picture of a virgin and child should be uniting and not dividing of Christians and Jews, and even Muslims. Let me explain what the Spirit whispered to me in this regard.

We have been reading things in the Old Testament that would be beliefs that are shared by all Christians, by all Jews, and even Muslims. I think that it might not be so much what we share, but how we share it. Perhaps we can share an image of a mother and child in a way that will unite rather than divide the potential readers. 

The Jews today, as were those in Jerusalem 2022 years ago, are looking forward to the birth of a child – a son, and ‘the government shall be upon His shoulder, and whose name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this’ (See Isaiah 9:6-7). This child will be born to ‘a virgin who shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’ (See Isaiah 7:14-16). Seeing a picture of a beautiful young woman with a newborn baby should help them to think positively of their hoped-for Messiah. Perhaps it could help them to reflect on all that the promise of their Messiah can mean to them now and for always, and how they can be sure that they are prepared for that Messiah.

The Muslims read a great deal in the Qur’an about Jesus, the son of Mary, who was a great prophet, and who had a really unique parenthood. Jesus and Mary are each mentioned more than 30 times, and Jesus, the son of Mary, is mentioned as the Messiah (See Aal-I-Imraan 45, An-Nisaa 157). They recognise that the birth of Jesus was unprecedented, and that Jesus is unique among all people. Jesus, the son of Mary, constantly directed them to worship Allah, the one God. They hold both Mary and Jesus in truly great esteem, as none other. Seeing a picture that represents this mother and son should help them to strive to draw closer to Allah as Jesus is declared to have taught and exemplified.

We all worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the one God, and Jesus constantly directed His disciples to worship that one God and none else. We all look reverently on Mary, Jesus – that virgin, that child. We can all choose to be uniting and inclusive as we share this image of this mother and child. Satan would grab this, as any other opportunity that is available, to be a cause of dispute, of divisiveness – to turn anyone that he can possibly turn from following that one God, or to contend one with another. There is divine reason to remind all of the unifying symbolism of this mother and child. I love what my parents very often had us read in our Family Home Evenings – 3 Nephi 11:28-30. ‘...And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.’

May we all seek reasons to agree, to be united  – to be Zion – of one heart and one mind. May the Lord bless us as we help Him to gather His sheep. He knows where they are! He will send us, as He did to Elder William Holmes Walker in about November 1853, directing him to leave Cape Town and go to the Eastern parts of the Cape Colony. He spent most of his time (about 72 weeks) in the vicinity of Fort Beaufort as opposed to 35 weeks in the vicinity of Cape Town. While in the vicinity of Fort Beaufort, where there is now no unit of the Church, Elder Walker was instrumental in bringing several people into the Church, and leading a party to Zion, including people skilled in construction, commerce, agriculture, and other professions that contributed significantly to Zion, and to the loss of the community that remained in the eastern part of the Cape Colony. The Lord knows His sheep and guides His missionaries to gathering them.

Blessings on each of you who reads this blog as you seek out the Lord’s chosen and help them to feel one with the Lord, whether they call Him Heavenly Father, Father God, Allah, Jehovah, or whatever. May we help them to feel one and not be offended by symbols such as the mother and son. I hope that these rambling thoughts inspire us in the Lord’s work, or that they might be inspiring to someone with whom we may feel prompted to share them. May we be effective in helping the Lord to gather Zion on both sides of the veil by helping to unite all from any of our many and diverse belief systems.