December 3 - Flight into Egypt

Flight into Egypt

When Jesus was young, an "angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother,and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him".

Obeying this command, Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt, traveling at night. When Herod died and the danger had passed, an angel again appeared to Joseph in a dream, this time telling him, "Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life". Joseph took Mary and Jesus back to Israel, and they lived in Nazareth.

Why did Herod want to kill the baby Jesus?

December 2 - John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus

John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus

When Jesus was about 30 years old, He came from Nazareth to the river Jordan and was baptized by John the Baptist. John knew that Jesus had not sinned, so he did not think Jesus needed to be baptized. Instead, John felt that Jesus should baptize him. Jesus explained to John that even the Savior of the world must be baptized.

"And John went down into the water and baptized [Jesus].

"And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and John saw ... the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Jesus.

"And lo, he heard a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him".

Besides being our example, why did Jesus need to be baptized?

December 1 - Boy Jesus in the Temple

Boy Jesus in the Temple

When Jesus was 12 years old, He and His family traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. On the trip back to Nazareth, Joseph and Mary thought Jesus was among the group of family and friends they traveled with. But after a full day's journey, they realized Jesus was not with them.

Joseph and Mary were worried and went back to Jerusalem to look for Jesus. For three days they searched for the young boy, finally finding Him in the temple, where He was teaching the wise men and answering their questions.  "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers".

Mary asked Jesus why He had done this, telling Him how she and Joseph had searched for Him, sorrowing. Jesus answered that He had been doing His Heavenly Father's work. Although Joseph and Mary knew that Jesus was to be the Savior, they did not understand His mission as well as He did.  

Jesus returned to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary and was an obedient son. As He grew older, He studied and learned; He was close to His Heavenly Father and well liked by other people.

In what other ways do you think Jesus, as a child, understood His mission?

Quotes to print

(I tried to create cute memes for these, or at least a border and good font, but couldn't figure it out. The computer that I know how to do it on is out of commission right now. Sorry about that. Hopefully you can copy and paste from here.)

"I pray that you will . . . love everything He did,

everywhere He went, 

everything He said,

and everything He is.

I would walk on hot lava, 

I would drink broken glass 

to find one more word, 

one more phrase, one more doctrine, any parable

that anyone could give me 

of the life of Christ the 

living Son of the living God."

~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

"I realized...that I didn't know very much about the Savior, and it simply isn't possible to be a disciple of someone you don't know."

~Sheri Dew  

"God wants you to find your way back to Him, and the Savior is the way. God wants you to learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, and experience the profound peace and joy that come from following the path of divine discipleship."
~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"As we strive to place Christ at the center of our lives by learning His words, by following His teachings, and by walking in His path, He has promised to share with us the eternal life that He died to gain. There is no higher end than this, that we should choose to accept His discipline and become His disciples and do His work throughout our lives. Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can."
~President Thomas S. Monson


"We need not walk by the shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked. All of us can walk the path He walked when, with His words ringing in our ears, His Spirit filling our hearts, and His teachings guiding our lives, we choose to follow Him as we journey through mortality. His example lights the way. Said He, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”"
~Thomas S. Monson


"The wonder and awe of Christmas is just a beginning. Christmas reminds us that the babe born in Bethlehem has given us purpose for living, and what happens next to us largely depends on how we embrace our Savior, Jesus Christ, and follow Him."
~Rosemary M. Wixom


"Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christmas."
~Thomas S. Monson


"...I now pray that at this Christmas Season, and at all times, we may center our faith in the Son of God and gain for ourselves that peace which passeth understanding."
~Joseph Fielding Smith

Explanation

"The wonder and awe of Christmas is just a beginning. Christmas reminds us that the babe born in Bethlehem has given us purpose for living, and what happens next to us largely depends on how we embrace our Savior, Jesus Christ, and follow Him." ~Rosemary M. Wixom

As this holiday season approaches, I find myself wanting to teach my kids to slow down, want less, serve more, enjoy each other, reflect upon good things, and most of all, to internalize a deeper love, discipleship, and knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

While reading a talk from BYU Women's Conference, I found this quote from Sister Sheri Dew, "I realized...that I didn't know very much about the Savior, and it simply isn't possible to be a disciple of someone you don't know."  

"Exactly!" I thought. I need to help my family KNOW the Savior better.  But how....?

From the same talk, the following quote from Elder Holland encompasses my desires and helped me decide how to create a way for our family to learn of the Savior. Elder Holland said,  

"I pray that you will . . . love everything He did, everywhere He went, everything He said, and everything He is. I would walk on hot lava, I would drink broken glass to find one more word, one more phrase, one more doctrine, any parable that anyone could give me of the life of Christ the living Son of the living God."

Isn't that beautiful?  I can just hear his sincerity and love for his Savior.

As I thought about it and planned, the thought kept coming to me that it needed to be shared. So, if you think this would be beneficial to your family, please print (there is a button at the very bottom of the page that lets you print the post!), read, share, whatever works for you!  (I would also appreciate feedback if things aren't right or don't work.)  

I am using Gospel Art pictures from here (unless otherwise noted) and summaries of the Gospel Art from here.  I am taking most of the scripture references out of the summaries, just to make the 'story' easier for children to read, but will soon add general references to each story.  Also, some summaries are slightly different than what is printed on the back of the Gospel Art pictures.  A dear friend found these Bible videos to go along with many of the stories.  They will be individually linked (starting with mid December blog posts).

My plan: to print the Elder Holland quote from above and put it up on the pantry door.  Each day I will put our Gospel Art picture along with the printed out story on the pantry as well.  I will encourage the kids to read the story in the morning, remember it throughout the day, and to reflect on the question at the end. I've thought about having a 'prize' or something for those that read it, but haven't come up with that yet. :)  It might just be an internally motivated thing.

For our Family Home Evening Dec. 1, I plan to read the quote and talk about it, watch this movie, (mostly to listen to the song lyrics), explain the stories for the month, and read the first one together.

I also have a book to refer to if older children want to delve deeper.  It is called 400 Questions and Answers about the Life and Times of Jesus Christ.

A deep love of our Savior is vital in the world today.  As we learn of and celebrate His life, our reverence toward Him will grow, our love for Him will deepen, and we will be better people.  I hope this will provide a beautiful opportunity for your families!  Happy Holidays!