So Good Can Prove Its Purity

Around this time last year, there was a tragic shooting at an elementary school where 26 people were killed; 20 of them young children. It shook each of us to the core – such a tragic reminder that evil exists, even during a time of year when we all try to reach outside of ourselves with a little more kindness. I watched my friends and my family cling a little tighter to each other, and especially their children, as we cried for the families who lost their loved ones. After the tragedies of 9/11, someone said, “What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”

The mother of one of the young girls who was killed is featured on a youtube video, discussing why, in her heart, evil did not win. We all have the capacity to choose what we will do and who we will be. Evil is allowed its place here in our world because we must choose what to do with the time that is given to us. It is the only way we can have true light in the world. In her words, "That's the only way good can be in us - is if we freely choose it over all else."

Last Friday, another school shooting hit the news. A young girl is currently fighting for her life, and my heart and prayers go out to her and her family and friends, as well as the young shooter who eventually took his own life and the pain his family and friends are experiencing. One of the students who was there wrote about his experience in the shooting. They moved the students to a church across the street, and standing under a mural of the Savior, he remembers, “I found myself frustrated at it. ‘Well, Jesus, where the hell are you now?’ was my initial thought. But then I realized He, or whatever deity or mystical force of faith you believe in, was indeed there. He was there in the form of our teachers. Of our students. Of the churches, businesses and parents who immediately came to our aid.”

I love the Christmas season. The smells, the decorations, the lights, the colors, the clothing, the singing. And the food; oh, how I love the food! It’s 4 p.m. and I’ve eaten nothing but cheeseball, veggie dip, fruit dip and cinnamon-covered almonds today. And I love the gifts. I am a master shop-a-holic, so gift giving is my favorite thing to do. There’s nothing like the anticipation of watching someone’s face when they open the perfect gift. I use every lunch break to run to another store and see if I can find that next item on my list that will make everyone so glad that Aunt Amy had their family’s name this year.

But I also love how it truly turns our hearts out to the rest of the world. I’ve heard many accounts of my friends reaching the front of the line only to discover that the person in front of them paid for their food. So they pass it on. Companies make donations. Canned food drives are held. Gifts are purchased for strangers. Time is donated, hearts and hands are touched and lifted. President David O. McKay said: “True happiness comes only by making others happy. … The [spirit of] Christmas … makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service. It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” We cannot afford to have the true spirit of Christmas be something foreign and abstract  in our hearts and our actions. I remember I once asked my mother if Santa was real. She responded that Santa is real every time someone does something nice for someone else. Christ is here in every good action we take towards each other. That is the true spirit of Christmas.

So let it be Christmas everywhere, let heavenly music fill the air. Let every heart sing; let every bell ring the story of hope and joy and peace. . . . Let anger and fear and hate disappear; let there be love that lasts through the year. Let it be Christmas everywhere.