January 2, 2016 - Saturday in Nauvoo

It is hard to believe that we are in the middle of the winter season here in Nauvoo!  Today we had temperatures in the low 20's.  This morning, the stars were shining, and later today, the sun came out strong.  The temperatures reached into the higher 30's and is was a gorgeous day!

Mom and I began our morning with our devotional and prayers.  We had  some time for exercise before breakfast, but this entire month of January, we have the cleaning assignment at the Stake Center at 7:15am.  Our entire Zone participates together, and we had over 40 people helping for our first week in January.  Imagine that in our home wards!  How much time it would take to complete the assignment with that kind of turnout??  We were done within 45 minutes and the Stake Center is a huge building....

Our work assignment had us at the Visitors Center where we welcomed about 30 or so guests.  We worked from 9:00am until 1:00pm and then went to the 2:00pm temple session.  By 4:15pm we were back home and enjoying a quick nap before our Rendezvous Play tonight.  

Even though it was a crisp and clear night, mom and I walked down to the Cultural Hall for Rendezvous.  It is about a three block walk and we arrived about 25 minutes early to get the room warmed up.  I thought the play went very well and mom and I did our big parts tonight.  We both felt good about the show!

I saw this news release last week and thought that I would share this with our cast tonight.  We all take turns to share a spiritual thought and this effort caught my eye and I decided to record it here;

A Savior Is Born’ Video Ranked in Top 10 Holiday Campaigns of the Year

22 DECEMBER 2015 — POSTED BY Jenny Gordon 

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Christmas campaign, “A Savior Is Born,” was ranked ninth most viewed by Advertising Age in the top holiday campaigns for 2015.
“Perhaps the least expected member of the list, in a season dominated by commercial messaging, is a campaign sponsored by the Mormon Church,” said Advertising Age.
The 2015 initiative, “A Savior Is Born,” focuses on finding, knowing and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The two-minute video features children in locations around the world, including Israel, Los Angeles, New York and Utah, quoting Isaiah (see Isaiah 9:6 and Handel’s Messiah) and expressing their personal belief in Jesus Christ.
The “A Savior Is Born” video has received more than 45 million views worldwide since its release on November 29. The video received over eight million views this week and was also featured in Advertising Age's weekly viral video chart as the fourth most watched video this week.
While all of the other Christmas campaigns on the list focused on retail, Advertising Age called the Church's video "one bona fide spiritual message."
“We live in a world where the power and influence of God in our daily lives are downplayed and dismissed and where the need for a Savior is ignored and even mocked,” said Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the December 2015 issue of the Church’s Ensign and New Era magazines. “For those who are devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, there has never been a greater need for us to profess our faith in our Savior, privately and publicly.” 

 

For mom and I, we had the privilege of sharing this video in the Visitors Center.  We have probably watched it over 100 times, and I never get tired of seeing it.  And to see how well it was received by this advertising company, was inspiring.  We got to share it and testify of it so many times in December!  In fact, I am still showing the video in January, before each movie we show in the Visitors Center!  

 

I have to repeat Elder Oaks last sentence here;  “For those who are devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, there has never been a greater need for us to profess our faith in our Savior, privately and publicly.”  It is a Samuel the Lamanite moment, where we need to embrace the true principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and be counted as one of His Disciples in these perilous times!  

 

Wherever we are, and whatever we are engaged in doing at this time in our lives, we must stand and be counted!  Our families need it, our friends and folks we come in contact with must see it, and our Savior and our Heavenly Father need to know where we stand as these last days unfold!