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Reviewed by Jeff Needle
11/20/2007 4:50:09 PM
With the approaching holiday season, the usual flock of Christmas books is being offered by several LDS publishers. The current crop actually looks better than those of previous years. I think many LDS families will find much to like with the current selection.
One does not look to such holiday books for deep theology or controversial themes. Instead, this should be a time for families and friends to gather together and remember the birth of the Christ child. It should be a time of grateful reflection on the great gift of the Saviour, and perhaps even a time of renewed commitment to the God of our lives.
The current volume is an eclectic and colorful collection of stories, poems, teachings of the General Authorities of the Church, and charming artwork, beautifully combined to create a warm and comfortable Christmas experience for Latter-day Saints. Embedded in the accounts are lessons about faith, life, hope and obedience.
Such books run the risk of becoming preachy and, frankly, joyless expressions of pseudo-spirituality. You all have seen such things. But the Newells' book is a celebration of the meaning of Christmas, a pleasing reflection of how important holidays, and traditions, can be in the Latter-day Saint home.
Take a trip to your local LDS bookstore and have a look at this book and others that celebrate the spirit of Christmas. In my view, a book is a wonderful gift. And, as families gather around and read, and discuss, these stories, parents have an opportunity to implant in their children a renewed sense of holiness and hope.
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