Bishopric Message 

I have really enjoyed studying the Doctrine and Covenants this year. Learning more about Joseph Smith and the remarkable things he accomplished has deepened my appreciation for our prophets today. Of course, he was able to do this because God chose him to restore the gospel to the earth. What a special man he was - brave, driven, and willing to act as the revelatory link needed for the restoration. 

As I've reflected on prophets, I've thought about the many others throughout history whose stories we know so little about. The prophets who came to the people of Ether are unnamed; we only know that they preached and warned. No names or backstory. Abinadi is taken to King Noah's court where he plants the seed in Alma's heart that saved so many people, and then gives up his life doing so. We know almost nothing about these prophets outside the brief records we have. 

In contrast, we know much about our modern prophets and apostles. We see their intelligence, courage, and lifelong devotion to service. It's easy to imagine that ancient prophets were similarly valiant and inspired. 

All the prophets - ancient and modern - ultimately point us to the Savior, whose birth we celebrate this season. 

In the Book of Mormon, Nephi (the grandson of Helaman) is trying to convince the people that the Savior's birth is coming. Many are not having it, and even threaten the believers. Nephi prays and gets this fantastic response: 

"Lift up your head and be of good cheer, for behold the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given. and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets."

What a moment that must have been for Nephi! The long-awaited Savior is born. 

I hope the coming days are filled with joy, love, and a renewed focus on the Savior as we celebrate his birth. 

Have a wonderful holiday season. 

Bro. Houtz

Hello! We are the Christensen Family - Kyle, Brooklyn, Jocie, Beau, and Mack.

Kyle and Brooklyn both grew up in Davis County. Kyle in Layton, and Brooklyn in Syracuse. We didn’t end up meeting until Kyle returned home from his mission to the California Redlands mission. Shortly after his return, we met in January 2015 at the Weber State Institute. We dated, got engaged in May, and then were married in August 2015 in the Bountiful Temple.

Once we got married, we lived in Kaysville for about 3 years. We were blessed to have Jocie in 2018. She surprised us and came 5 weeks early, which earned her a spot in the NICU for two weeks. She’s fun, smart, loves to play pretend, and is the best big sister to her wild little brothers. 3 1/2 years later, we were blessed with our second, Beau. He’s been our sweet wild child since he was born. Just the sweetest and happiest boy, with lots of energy. Mack surprised us and came just 2 years after Beau. Mack has been our little sour patch kid. He’s the sweetest, funniest little guy, with a little bit of spicy attitude haha. We love these three kids and are so so blessed to have them! They bring us so much joy!

Brooklyn worked as a dental assistant for 7 years, and then quit to be home with Jocie. After a while, she started working for Beehive Meals. She worked there for a few years, working up from their first employee hired, to production/kitchen manager, to buyer. She quit after having Mack. Now her days are spent homemaking, making sourdough bread, homeschooling Jocie and Beau, and working in childwatch and working out at the Burn Boot Camp.

Kyle has worked in a variety of jobs, but has mostly loved helping people. He managed a youth mental health facility for 7 years. He loved helping the youth there and trying to help them turn their life around and make better choices for their future. We then decided to take a risk and go on an adventure of selling solar. That took us to Northern California, Colorado, and Chicago area. After a few years, and a lot of moves, we landed back in Utah. We spent a couple of years trying to figure out what Kyle would do long-term. During this time, we moved to St. George and loved our time there! We moved up here to Mapleton in June. Kyle got hired at the Utah County Jail. He went through the police academy and graduated as the team leader. So far, he has enjoyed his time at the jail.

We are so grateful to be here in Mapleton! We are grateful for all the friends we have made so far and hope to be able to meet everyone! We are looking forward to this Christmas season. We love being able to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are so grateful for him and for the time of year we can slow down and enjoy the wonderful gift of his birth. We wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Presiding: Bishop Finlinson

Conducting: Alan Houtz

Music Director: D'Anne Blackburn

Organist: Don Blackburn

Announcements

Opening Hymn: #1202 "He is Born, the Divine Christ Child"

Opening Prayer: 

Ward Business

Sacrament Hymn: #196 "Jesus Once of Humble Birth"

Administration of the Sacrament

Christmas Songs Hymn Sing

Choose a carol (two verses) from the green hymnbook (numbers 201-215), the new hymns (numbers 1018 and 1202-1209), or the primary songbook (numbers 34-54). 

Closing Hymn: #1207 "Still, Still, Still" - Introduced and sung in German by Christoph Malzl, with the congregation joining in on verses 2 & 3 in English

Closing Prayer: