LET THE SONS OF GOD SHOUT FOR JOY

Let the mountains shout for joy,

and all ye valley's cry aloud:

and all ye seas and dry lands tell the

wonders of your Eternal King!

And ye rivers, and brooks and rills,

flow down with gladness.

Let the woods and all the trees of the field

praise the Lord;

and ye solid rocks weep for joy!

And let the sun, moon and the morning stars

sing together, 

and let all the sons of God shout for joy!

And let the eternal creations declare his name

forever and ever!

D&C 128:22

UPON JUDEA'S PLAINS

I stood upon Judea's plains

And heard celestial sounds and strains;

I heard an angel, free from sin,

Announce the birth of David's kin.

On shepherds watching sheep by night

There came a shining, glorious light,

As holy choirs from heaven's dome

Saw God's own Son make clay his home.

And voices sweet sang this reprise:

"To God on high, let praise arise;

And peace, good will to men on earth;

This is the day of Jesus' birth."

To me there came this witness sure:

He is God's Son, supreme and pure,

To earth he came, my soul to save,

From sin and death and from the grave.

- Bruce R. McConkie

OF HUMBLE BIRTH

"Though heaven was his habitation and earth his footstool, He chose to lie as an infant in a manger, surrounded by horses and camels and mules. Though He laid the foundations of the earth, and worlds without number had rolled into orbit at his word, He chose to come into mortality among the beasts of the field. Though He had worn a kingly crown in the eternal courts on high, He chose to breathe as his first mortal breath the stench of a stable. Though He would one day come forth with all power in heaven and on earth, for now, as the helpless child of a peasant girl, He chose to begin the days of probation as none of Adam's race had ever done before. And there, even in such a birth, He was rejected by his people, symbolically at least, for none in the recesses and rooms of the inn had seen fit to make room for a weary woman great with child....."

- Bruce R. McConkie, "The Mortal Messiah" Book 1, p 345

THE MORTAL MESSIAH

"He was to come down from heaven, dwell in a tabernacle of clay, work mighty miracles, heal the sick, raise the dead, cause the lame to walk and the blind to see, cure all manner of diseases, and cast out devils. He was to suffer temptations and pain, hunger, thirst and fatigue, and in his greatest ordeal he would bleed great drops of blood from every pore.

He was to teach the gospel, carry the lambs of his flock in his arms and speak in parables to the unbelieving......He was to be persecuted for righteousness' sake; to bear the infirmities of the people; to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.....He was to be rejected, lifted up upon a cross and crucified for the sins of the world to bring to pass the resurrection of all men."

- Bruce R. McConkie, "The mortal Messiah Book 1", p 39

UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

"For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given:

and the government shall be 

upon his shoulder:

and his name shall be called

 Wonderful

Counsellor

The Mighty God

The Everlasting Father

The Prince of Peace.

- Isaiah 9:6

THE LAMB

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed

By the stream and o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb,

He is meek and he is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb.

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

- William Blake, 

(English Poet 1757-1827)

TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

 To every thing there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that

which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather

stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from

embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time of war, and a time of peace.

- Ecclesiastes 3:18

TO LIFT

"Thee lift me,

I'll lift thee,

and we'll ascend together eternally."

- Quaker Proverb