Wednesday, December 10, the HR Department of Church Headquarters held their annual Christmas luncheon and program in the Social Room of the General Relief Society Bldg. The headquarters’ CSM Coordinators are part of this department, and we happily accepted the invitation to attend. The highlight of the event was Elder David Bednar’s Christmas address entitled “Trees, Lights and Shepherds.” His hope was that we would never look at a Christmas tree, its lights nor shepherds in the same way again! He initially quipped that “the only thing between us and lunch is my speech,” and that for a speech to be memorable, it needs to be good or short or both!! Through scriptural reference found in 1 Nephi 11-15, he likened the ‘Tree of life’ to the Savior and that the ‘fruit’ of the tree are the blessings of His Atonement. Secondly, he likened the lights on the tree as the ‘light’ that shined for 2 days and 1 night when the Savior was born, a symbol of His birth, of continuing light. He has been referred to as “The Life and The Light.” Third, he reminded us that the shepherds were not ordinary but divinely-appointed shepherds watching over a ‘special’ flock of sheep who were headed for temple sacrifice.
An introductory musical number called “Mary’s Lullaby” was performed by 12 lovely women in the HR department; Elder Bednar’s talk was followed by a male musical duet and then a scrumptious lunch. We so appreciate being an integral and appreciated part of this department. The ambiance of this lovely room coupled with the sights and sounds of the Church Office Building are quite spectacular and often overwhelmingly touching. How we love serving our church-service mission--we, like President Hinckley wish to "wear out our shoes in service!"