By Ashton Ward
The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will address church members in its annual Christmas Devotional at 6 p.m. Sunday, (Dec. 2, 2006) in the Conference Center. The devotional will feature special musical numbers by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The Christmas devotional has been a tradition since 1983, when then President Spencer W. Kimball, first counselor Marion G. Romney, and second President Gordon B. Hinckley, decided to make the fireside a church-wide event rather than a meeting for church employees.
'Over the years the brethren have felt it''s very important to share this message with as many people as possible,' said church spokesman Scott Trotter. 'That''s why it went from being a private meeting with church employees . It''s based on Christ. Everything we believe is based on Christ, and we feel it''s very important to share that message.'
The devotional has become a tradition for many Latter-day Saints. For Ryan Chapple, a pre-business major at BYU, the devotional is a reminder of what the Christmas season is really about.
'I just think it''s cool they ,' Chapple said. 'Even though we all know the Christmas story, that they go over it at the beginning of the month.'
President Hinckley and his counselors Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust will all speak at the devotional, which will be broadcast live on satellite to meetinghouses and at lds.org/broadcast. KBYU-TV will re-broadcast the devotional at 8 p.m. Sunday. KSL will re-broadcast the devotional on Christmas Eve at 6 p.m. Audio recordings will be available on lds.org in a number of languages.