"Teach the Children", A Christmas Story

Christmas time is full of beautiful decorations and music, service, giving, and fun family traditions. There are many stories that are meant to bring the Christmas spirit. Some are fun like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, The Year Without a Santa Claus, etc. While others are more emotional like The Little Drummer Boy and It's A Wonderful Life. One of the spiritual Christmas stories that is my favorite is called "Teach the Children".

My great-grandma gave my mom a copy of the story along with props many years ago. The story along with the props are stored in a cute little Christmas bag and are placed among my mom's decorations each December. My brother and I spent year after year playing with those props each Christmas. When I was in Senior Primary, my mom was the Primary President. During one of those years she read that story to the Primary kids the Sunday before Christmas, and I fell in love with it.

I don't know who wrote it. There is no name on the copy my mom has. I searched online for an author, but the name I was able to find is coupled  with a version of the story that is different from my mom's copy. But because I love this story so much, I would like to share it here:

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I had just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise int he front of the house. I opened the door of the front room and to my surprise, Santa Claus himseslf stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his fingers over his mouth so I would not cry out.

"What are you doing..." I started to ask, but the words choked up in my throat as I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone -- gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know.

He then answered me with a simple statement of "Teach the Children." I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag. As I stood there bewildered, Santa said again, "Teach the Children. Teach them the old meaning of Christmas -- the meanings that Christmas nowadays has forgotten."

I started to say, "How can I..." when Santa reached into the toy bag and pulled out a brilliant shiny star.

"Teach the children the star was the heavenly sign of promise long ages ago. God promised a savior for the world and the star is a sign of the fulfillment of that promise. The countless shining stars at night -- one for each man -- now show the burning hope of all mankind." Santa gently laid the star on the fireplace mantle and drew forth from the bag a glittering red Christmas tree ornament.

"Teach the children red is the first color of Christmas. It was first used by the faithful people to remind them of the blood which was shed for all the people by the Savior. Christ gave his life and shed His blood that every man might have God's gift of Eternal Life. Red is deep, intense, vivid -- it is the greatest color of all. It is  the symbol of the gift of God."

"Teach the Children," he said as he dislodged a small Christmas tree from the depths of the toy bag. He placed it before the mantle and gently hung the red ornament on it. The deep green of the fir tree was a perfect background for the ornament. There was the second color of Christmas.

"The pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round," he said. "This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind. Green is youthful, hopeful, abundant color of nature. All the needles point heavenward -- symbols of man's returning thoughts toward heaven. The great green tree has been man's best friend. It has sheltered hi, warmed him, made beds for him. Suddenly, I heard a soft tinkling sound.

"Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring for man to return to the fold --It means guidance and return. It further signifies that all are precious int he eyes of the Lord." As the soft sound of the bell faded into the night, Santa drew forth a candle. He placed it on the mantle and the soft glow from its tiny flame cast a glow about the darkened room. Odd shapes in shadows slowly danced and weaved upon the walls.

"Teach the Children," whispered Santa, "that the candle shows man's thanks for the star of long ago. Its small light is the mirror of starlight. At first, candles were placed on the trees -- they were like many glowing stars shining against the dark green. The colored light have now taken over in remembrance."

Santa turned the small Christmas tree lights on and picked up a gift from under the tree. He pointed to the large bow and said, "A bow is placed on a present to remind us of the spirit of the brotherhood of man. We should remember that the bow is tied as men should be tied, all of us together, with the bonds of good will toward each other. Good will forever is the message of the bow."

Santa slung his bag over his shoulder and began to reach for the candy can placed high on the tree. He unfastened it and reached out toward me with it.

"Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane represents the helping hand we should show at Christmas time. The candy can is the symbol that we are our brother's keepers."

As Santa looked about the room, a feeling of satisfaction shone on his face. He read wonderment in my eyes, and I am sure he sensed admiration for this night.

He reached into his bag and brought forth a wreath. He placed it on the door and said, "Please teach the children the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love; it never ceases, stops, or ends. It is one continual round of affection. The wreath does double duty. It  is made of many things and in many colors. It should remind us of all the things of Christmas. Please Teach the Children."

This story teaches us to keep Christ as the center of our Christmas - which I wrote about last week for Mormon Women Stand. Tonight we used the props from this story for Family Home Evening. Benjamin and Luna are not yet old enough to sit through me reading the story yet. But they sure enjoyed holding all of the props as I talked about them. This story will become a part of our family Christmas traditions.

How World War II Shaped My Family

Today, December 7, 2016, is the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This event brought the United States into WWII and changed many lives forever. Four lives that I know and love whose future was written by the events of WWII are two sets of my grandparents. My maternal great grandparents Elvin and Virginia Hegstrom, and my paternal grandparents John and Carol Larson. I would like to share their stories in honor of today.

Elvin was the son of Swedish immigrants. Both his mother and father immigrated to the United States as children. They met and married here. Both of their families left Sweden for America because they had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Unlike today, back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, foreign LDS converts moved to Utah to be with the rest of the saints.

Elvin and Virginia were dating when war broke out. Elvin's mom asked Virginia to marry her son so that he would not sign up in the military. They were already in love, and at 19 and 17 years  old, Elvin and Virginia got married. But marriage didn't stop him. He tried to sign up for the Air Corps, but received a draft notice into the Army Infantry at the same time. He was told to fulfill his draft assignment.

He ended up in France where he got shot in the leg during battle. The other American soldiers near him thought he was dead and left him on the field. During WWII, not every soldier had a gun or helmet. Elvin did have a gun and a helmet. A soldier who did not have either tried to take Elvin's. Elvin grabbed a hold of that soldier and asked him to help him get medical help, and in return, Elvin promised that soldier his gun and helmet.

Elvin spent the rest of the war healing in a hospital back in the U.S. where Virginia joined him. Their first three babies, a boy and twin girls, did not survive their first year. Their fourth baby, an other girl, did survive. Her name is Linda and is my maternal grandmother.  They had two more daughters, Sandy and Loma, and one more son, Robert. Virginia was not a member when she married Elvin. She converted some time after their marriage, and my grandma Linda told me she was about 7 or 8 when they were sealed as a family. Grandpa Elvin spent the rest of his working life in a sugar factory in Nampa, Idaho, and as a farmer as well.

Linda married Kent Peterson and they had five children: Deborah, Darren, Deanna, Derek, and Devan. Deborah, you know her as Debbie, is my mom. Virginia, Linda, Debbie and I have taken lots of four generation photos throughout the years. Elvin was a loving and funny grandpa when he was alive. He loved to tease. He called most of his grandchildren "Jack". The leg Elvin was shot in was always skinnier than the other, and he walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's during the final years of his life. When he passed away, he didn't know who most of us were. But not knowing who we were didn't stop him from being loving and kind. Even though he didn't remember us, he still treated us like family. He still hugged all of us and told us that he loved us. When I got married, my grandma Virginia was unsure of bringing Elvin into the temple because his Alzheimer's sometimes caused him to act out. I asked her to try, that I believed the Spirit would help him stay reverent. When it was time for everyone to hug and congratulate us, I thanked Grandpa Elvin or coming and he hugged me and patted me on the back and said, "Of course! I love you honey, I'm so proud of you."

Grandpa Elvin passed away in October 2012 when I was pregnant with Benjamin. Grandma Virginia is still alive and Benjamin and Luna are her great-great grandchildren! Their story is truly inspirational as they are wonderful examples of enduring to the end through the trials of war, losing children, and disease. I love them both so much, and I hope to live up to their examples.

John Larson was also the son of Swedish immigrants who came here because they converted to the LDS Church. They were incredibly poor, and so John chose the military over college; in fact, college wasn't even an option for him. John signed up for the Navy. After training and tests, the Navy sent John to the University of Michigan to study Naval Architecture rather than send him overseas to fight. John had an amazing math brain.

While studying Naval Architecture, John also ran track for Michigan. He lettered in 1945. When the war was over, John needed a different job. He got a job in education, and worked different education jobs until he retired. He was a building facilitator for the school district, a registrar at a junior high school, and eventually taught math. He married Carol Wisdom when he was 29 and she was 18. They had 12 children: Susie, Carl, Nancy, Selma, Glenn, Anna, Cynthia, John, Doug, Julie, Vickie, and Mark. Their fifth child, Glenn, is my dad.

My grandpa John used his architecture degree to design and build their family home in Los Angeles, California and St. George, Utah. My grandma Carol still lives in the St. George home. Because of being able to go to college, and later working in education, grandpa John instilled the importance of education into all of his children. Some of his children and grandchildren also chose to make their careers working in education. For my grandma and grandpa their children and grandchildren came first. They have never missed a wedding, baptism, baby blessing, game, or performance. They support us in all we do.

My grandpa John passed away in February 2015, when I was pregnant with Luna. His health had been poor for over 10 years when he died. I told him and my grandma that I was expecting an other child about a month and half before he died. That was the last time I saw and spoke to him before he passed away. I am so grateful to have shared such a special moment with him. His life teaches to value education and family.


Both of my grandfathers, though they lived different lives, were amazing husbands, fathers, and grandfathers. They loved and cared for their families very much. They serve as wonderful examples of hard work and love. I hope to be able to honor them by being a good mother and teacher.