Two weeks ago, my mother passed away. I was able to catch a late flight from Seattle to Salt Lake City and spend the last 24 hours of her mortal life at her side along with my brother.

I’ve been very melancholy this December, thinking of all of the things that have made Christmas special to me.

For years, we would go to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to hear Handel’s Messiah. Millions of Christmas lights lit up the cold night sky as you walked into the warm Tabernacle, which was beautifully decorated with red poinsettias, green pine garlands, and gold and silver ribbons. The lights and the decorations together with Handel’s inspiring music always got me into the Christmas spirit.

For several years, my mom and I had a Christmas tradition of going together to see A Christmas Carol at the Hale Center Theater in Salt Lake. She loved having one-on-one time with me.

Charles Dickens has a way of drawing you in. You hope that Ebenezer Scrooge will change his ways. You begin to see him in a new light. Your heartstrings are tugged as the hard-working Bob Cratchit cares for his son Tiny Tim, who always looks on the bright side.

While I love seeing the live theater version of A Christmas Carol, my all-time favorite version is the Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s hard to beat Kermit the Frog as a meek and humble Bob Cratchit.

A Christmas Carol gives me much to ponder during the Christmas season. I have always wanted to make sure that I have treated neighbors, employees and co-workers well, especially around the holidays. During Christmas, we not only want happiness in our lives, but we want joy in all the world.

Some of my most cherished memories of Christmas surround serving others. We have often picked a family or a widow in the neighborhood, and during the 12 days leading up to Christmas, leave an anonymous gift each night on their porch. Our children love to quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) sneak up to their door, ring the doorbell and run before they can be seen leaving the gift. There is always a lot of jubilation as we watch them open the door while we deftly hide around the corner.

Then comes Christmas Eve, when we have the tradition of opening The Holy Bible to Luke chapter 2, and reading of the birth of the Savior.

We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because of His mission to redeem all mankind.

The angel who appeared to the shepherds in the field said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

No matter what trials we go through, whether it be the loss of a loved one, an illness, or a job loss, or maybe we have a boss who underpays us and says “Bah humbug!” Whatever our struggle might be, we can have gladness knowing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will reign forever and ever. This is the joy of Christmas.

A loving Heavenly Father knew that our mortal journey would be arduous. We can have hope and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, that when we graduate from mortality, the grave will have no victory over us. We will all rise again.

I love Christmas, the music, the movies, the food and the fun traditions, but at the end of the day, the Lord Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. His peace is what we desire; eternal peace that only the Savior of all mankind can offer.

The wise men in the Bible saw the star in the east and came to worship Jesus after His birth. Wise men today still seek Him.

May God bless us every one!

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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Bishop Jason Bringhurst is the leader of the Mount Pleasant Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Port Angeles, ComeUntoChrist.org. His email is jasonbring@gmail.com.