Happy Holidays

In October of 2011 President Eyring gave a talk about bearing witness. In the talk he shared an experience where he was to speak at a graduation at a university. As the date grew near he received a call from the woman who had asked him to speak, she had become concerned because she had learned that Elder Eyring’s responsibility as an apostle was to bear witness of Jesus Christ, she informed him he could not do that in his speech. As the time grew nearer he was more and more troubled over the situation then he says “In a miracle like the Red Sea parting, I found a news article. That university had been honored for doing what the Church has learned to do in our humanitarian efforts across the world. And so in my talk I described what we and they had done to lift people in great need. I said that I knew that Jesus Christ was the source of the blessings that had come into the lives of those we and they had served.”

I know there have been many arguments over the phrase Happy Holidays; I confess I love to hear “merry Christmas” but last year as I thought about the general feelings at this time of the year. I love the whole build up, even starting with Halloween then Thanksgiving and all the excitement as people put up lights, make family plans, get excited about shopping…I just love the whole feel of it. There really is a spirit of Christmas that is in everyone. So as I pondered this last year I decided that the excitement everyone feels, whether believers in Christmas or some other holiday that generates excitement and love is because of the light of Christ that is in everyone, even if they don’t know it.

So if you say Happy Holiday or Season’s Greetings or anything other than Merry Christmas to me I will be glad in my heart because to me that means the light of Christ is in you whether you say you celebrate Christmas or not.