Religious Holiday or Commercial Celebration

According to an article by Cathy Lynn Grossman for the Religion News Service, “Nine in 10 Americans will celebrate Christmas this year, but a new poll shows that increasing numbers see the holiday as more tinsel than gospel truth.” [1] A survey released on 17 December 2013 by the Public Religion Research Institute, revealed that more people prefer to be greeted in stores and businesses at this time of year with “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” than “Merry Christmas.”

Another interesting factoid revealed by the survey is that 26 percent of American adults view Christmas as a cultural holiday, and not as a day to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ – the Life and the Light of the world – Savior and Redeemer. Even in many of our schools, students are encouraged to say “Happy Holidays” versus saying “Merry Christmas” so as not to offend anyone who may not be religious, or view religion as part of the holiday celebration.

Robert Jones, CEO of PRRI stated, “The trend is in that direction, for sure. The percentage of people who say the Bible’s Christmas story is historically accurate has fallen more than 17 percentage points since a 2004 survey reported by Newsweek.” [1] Still, according to Grossman’s article, approximately 49 percent of those who celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, believe that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary as had been foretold by prophets of old, that shepherds saw a star in the East over Bethlehem – the City of David, and that wise men came and worshiped the Christ-child, presenting to Him precious gifts. Among those who share these beliefs are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church by the media and others).

A Shift towards a More Secular Christmas

Why is it that there seems to be a spiritual temperature shift in the celebration of Christmas and its true meaning? Why do more people tend to settle for a more secular holiday greeting? Jones commented, “One reason is that a decade ago, many more people identified as evangelicals, who (according to the poll) take the holiday most seriously. Today, they are 18 percent of Americans — outnumbered by the 20 percent who say they have no religious identity.” [1]

There are many people, including Christians, who choose the more secular greetings of “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” as a means of compromising, so as not to offend any persons of a faith different than their own, or any persons who may have no religious affiliation whatsoever. But, what about those who greet people at this time of year with “Happy Hanukkah” or “Happy Kwanzaa” for example? Why is it that “Christmas,” whereas if the last syllable is dropped spells “Christ,” causes so much cultural unrest?

Nearly 66 percent of single adults say that the religious greeting should be skipped as “They didn’t grow up with a stigma attached to being unreligious,” Jones said. [1]

Most adults are about as religious about Christmas as their families were in their childhood: 70 percent celebrated it then as a strongly or somewhat religious day, but 26 percent had a cultural celebration.

Most (79 percent) will watch Christmas movies such as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “A Christmas Story,” but a smaller number (59 percent) expect to attend religious services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

People are equally likely (36 percent) to read the Christmas story from the Bible, as they are to read “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” [1]

Jones also pointed out that the biggest spenders are also the most generous with time and funds for the less fortunate.

Keep Christ in Christmas

In spite of the commercialism of the Christmas season, many Christians, including members of The Church of Jesus Christ, celebrate the real reason for the season – the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They know and appreciate the fact that He is, has always been, and forever shall be, the reason for all seasons, not just Christmas, though Christmas has an extra special meaning. They also realize that there is no gift that can compare to the greatest gift ever given to humanity – the gift of God’s Only Begotten Son to the world. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).

So, why has the world seemingly turned to a more secular view of Christmas?  Because, as John records in his gospel account in John 1:4-5, 9-11:

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . .That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

While there may be many who prefer to be greeted with “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings,” there are still those who view Christmas as a religious holy day, and prefer to keep Christ in Christmas, and extend the greeting “Merry Christmas!”

There are several aspects of Mormon beliefs that must be understood before this question can be answered. The first is that Mormon beliefs do not include the trinity. While they believe in God, Jesus, and in the Holy Ghost, they do not teach that they are the same being. They are three very distinct beings, wholly unified in purpose. For more on this, please read:

How Could Jesus Pray to Himself?

The second important point of Mormon doctrine is that we lived with God before we were born. God created our spirits and we lived with Him for a time before coming to earth.

These two teachings are important because they explain why we don’t feel we need to pray to Mary in order to get God’s attention. It is sometimes explained that if we’re in a noisy room, we will notice, despite the din, the voice of someone we know and love. This is why some people pray to Mary-because when billions are praying, Jesus will hear His mother’s voice. However, Mormons believe God can hear their voice anyway, because we are very literally His children and He loves us and knows us.

Toddlers are taught, in their very first church class, this little rhyme:

Heavenly Father knows me
And what I like to do.
He knows my name and where I live.
I know He loves me, too.

Mormons believe this, and believe God knows them and loves them enough to recognize and notice their voices, and that He can hear and answer every prayer, no matter how many are coming through at any one time. This is a part of His divinity.

Mormons pray to God through Jesus Christ. Jesus was given the role of Intercessor by God. When Jesus Christ offered the Intercessory Prayer, we saw how He was able to pray on our behalf to the Father.

Several scriptures in the Bible promote Jesus’ role as our advocate or intercessor, including Timothy’s explanation that there is only one mediator:

5 For thereis one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2)

Mary is very important in Mormon theology. prior to her birth, and that her mission was foretold by prophets. Isaiah said, “14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

The Book of Mormon also foretells Mary. Both Lehi and his son Nephi, the first two Book of Mormon prophets, saw Mary in visions and knew she would be the mother of God’s only begotten Son.

“As there is only one Christ, so there is only one Mary. And as the Father chose the most noble and righteous of all his spirit sons to come into mortality as his Only Begotten in the flesh, so we may confidently conclude that he selected the most worthy and spiritually talented of all his spirit daughters to be the mortal mother of his Eternal Son.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Bookcraft, Inc., 1965, vol. 1, p. 85.)

We know that Mary had lived a highly moral life in order to be allowed to carry out this great assignment. We can presume she was intelligent and her responses to her calling tell us she knew the scriptures well.

Jesus came to earth as a baby, not a grown man. He did not begin with a full knowledge of who He was or a complete memory of His life prior to His birth. It would have been Mary’s role to train Him in the ways of life and to help Him become the type of person who could and would carry out His eternally significant mission. We can, therefore, presume she was a wise and capable parent, and that she never lost sight of her role in God’s plan for the earth.

For these reasons, and because of the tremendous sacrifices she made and the suffering she endured as she witnessed the treatment and death of her firstborn Son, Mormons honor Mary.

She is often used as an example of a woman of faith, sacrifice, and obedience. In lessons on motherhood, she is usually the first example offered. Mormons look to her to show them the way to live their own lives, but their relationship with God is a direct one. Mormons pray to God, through Jesus. They don’t feel the need to ask someone else to intervene on their behalf, because they believe God loves them enough to hear them. While they might ask friends to pray for them, this does not replace praying to God themselves. Being prayed for by others helps us to connect to one another, but even if only one person prayed for himself, that pray would be heard and answered.

Some have asked if we have statues of Mary. Mormon chapels do not have artwork of any kind in the actual chapel where the service is held. The chapels are extremely simple and free of any decoration except for occasional flowers. However, the buildings-hallways, offices, and classrooms– do have paintings, and some have statues. The statues serve only as decoration and are not used in any way in the worship services. They serve only as teaching aids or reminders of important aspects of gospel teaching.

Art plays an important part in Mormon life as a tool for teaching. Teachers are encouraged to use it to help emphasize aspects of the story or principle being taught, to hold attention, or to invoke important thoughts or feelings. Mormons do not pray to statues or make use of them as part of their services, however. They are simply decorations or teaching tools. Statues of Mary are most often shown in context with her mission on earth as Jesus’ mother.

When Matthew quoted the prophecy “Assuredly, my Lord will give you a sign of His own accord! Look, the young woman is with child and about to give birth to a son. Let her name him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14 Jewish Publication Society of America), he translated the original Hebrew text or used the Greek Septuagint version with one slight change. He replaced the Greek word for “young woman” with the word for “virgin,” thus reinforcing the messianic nature of the prophecy (see Matthew 1:23).

Based on Matthew’s interpretation and the story found in the Gospel of Luke, Christians accepted from an early period that Mary was not only a young woman but also a virgin when Jesus Christ was conceived. Both Matthew and Luke independently reinforce each other’s story about this amazing event, providing a basis to accept that they have reported reliable historical information about Jesus.

Over the centuries, some Christians have questioned Matthew’s interpretation, but it has withstood the test of time as one of Christianity’s fundamental beliefs: Jesus of Nazareth was born to a virgin named Mary. Latter-day Saints accept the New Testament as scripture and find additional validation to the concept of virgin conception in their other scriptural records. The Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, offers the testimony of Nephi, an ancient prophet, who heard an angel declare, “Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:18). Additionally, Nephi rendered Isaiah’s prophecy the same way Matthew did: “Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign–Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (2 Nephi 17:14). The Book of Mormon prophet Alma testified that Jesus “shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God” (Alma 7:10).

In the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ (inadvertently called the Mormon Church) some speculated about “how” God accomplished this miracle, much as Jews and Christians have attempted to identify how God used natural law in the case of the Flood, the dividing of the Red Sea, or the gift of manna in the wilderness, believing that miracles conform to natural laws that are hidden to mortals. Despite any attempt to explain “how,” the Church has consistently taught that the Jesus Christ was the unique Son of God—different from all other mortals who had lived, were living, and would yet live. Current official Mormon Church doctrine and teachings by Church leaders in public and private let the scriptural record stand without commentary, accepting that “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

Matthew 1 : 20 – 21 states,  “But while he thought on these things , behold , the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream , saying , Joseph , thou son of David , fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son , and thou shalt call his name JESUS : for he shall save his people from their sins…”   But this does not mean that Jesus was the son of the Holy Ghost.   Many times in the Bible, Jesus is identified as the Son of God, and the Only Begotten Son of God.  (See (John 1:14; 3:16; 1 John 4:15; 1 John 5:10; 1 John 5:13; John 1:34; John 1:49; Mark 1:1; Matthew 14:33; Acts 9:20; John 6:69; John 3:17; 1 John 5:20; Matthew 16:16; John 11:4; 1 John 4:9; Mark 5:7; 1 John 5:9; 2 Corinthians 1:19; Romans 1:4; Acts 8:37, to name a few scriptures.)