‘Twas the last Sunday before Smithmas

Last updated on: December 20, 2015 at 3:04 pm by Dan Peterson

‘Twas the last Sunday before Smithmas 2015-12-20T15:04:41-07:00 Dan Peterson

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Holiday decorations in front of the Salt Lake City Utah Temple, as of Friday night. (Photo by my wife.) Are the lights up for Smithmas? And I wonder who the statues might represent?

One of the most dishonest accusations leveled against the Church by its most dishonest critics is alleges that Latter-day Saints celebrate “Smithmas” — Joseph Smith’s birthday — on 23 December, instead of Christmas. Allegedly, our worship services on the Sunday closest to Christmas typically focus on the Prophet, whom we really worship. Jesus, so the charge goes, is scarcely mentioned.

Last Friday night, these statues were directly in front of the Salt Lake City Utah Temple. (My wife took the photo.) Could they possibly represent Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus? Or, more likely, are they really just Joseph Smith Sr.. Lucy Mack Smith, and the infant Joseph Smith Jr., all dressed up in funny ancient-Mideast-looking clothes?

(Click to enlarge. And, for an even closer inspection, click yet again.)

Here’s how our sacrament service went today:

As we entered into the chapel, we were handed the ward bulletin. On its cover was a painting by Georges de La Tour, entitled “The Adoration of the Shepherds”:

Christ in the manger
(Georges de la Tour, ca. 1644)
Wikimedia Commons public domain
Click to enlarge.

Of course, it’s possible that it’s been misidentified, and that the baby is really Joseph Smith, not Jesus. But, since the painting was created in 1644 and since Joseph was born in 1805, I think that unlikely.

Inside the bulletin was a large image featuring sheep, shepherds, a manger, a star, and three men riding camels. It bore the caption “O Come Let Us Adore Him.” The “Him” might, I suppose, have referred to Joseph Smith. But were palm trees and turbaned camel-riders very common in upstate New York in the early nineteenth century?

On the back of the bulletin was a somewhat lengthy quotation from 3 Nephi 1:12-14, 19 that, from its context and to my untutored eye, seems to be about Jesus.

Shocking.

The most likely explanation, I suspect, is that the leadership of my congregation simply forgot the date when they were planning today’s meeting.

We began our worship service by singing “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful.” Then we sang “Jesus, Once of Humble Birth.” After that, we partook of the bread and water of the sacrament, in memory of the body and blood of Christ.

Then there was a series of short talks about Christ and Christmas, punctuated by our ward choir singing “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” (with violin accompaniment and help from the congregation), “The Manger of Bethlehem,” and “The First Noel” (joined in part by the congregation. There was also a harp solo of “What Child is This?” — perhaps, a critic might suggest, reflecting confusion about whether it was Jesus or Joseph Smith? — and a scheduled choral performance of “Joy to the World” that was omitted when the program went just a tad long and was encroaching upon the Sunday School classes. We closed by singing “Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains.”

I don’t recall hearing a single reference to Joseph Smith. Not directly, and not indirectly or by implication. Not one.

Feel free to tell about your ward’s gala “Smithmas” celebration today! Does your chapel have a Smithmas tree? Do you have one at home? Do you have a manger scene where Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith gaze lovingly at their son, the infant prophet? Or are the people who spread such untruths simply shameless liars?

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