Washington DC Temple at Christmas
If you want to really feel the true spirit of Christmas, come to the Visitors' Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints adjacent to the beautiful Washington DC Temple in Kensington, Maryland, which offers two nightly musical performances in a large auditorium every night in December. It is open to the public free of charge with a wide offering of special Christmas programs representing community organizations as well as Church groups and professional musicians.
Outside of the Visitors' Center, trees and bushes are decorated with 500,000 miniature lights and there is a life-sized nativity scene depicting the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Inside, there is a large room filled with a unique collection of nativities that have been gathered from around the world. Sixteen Christmas trees individually decorated by the member stakes from Maryland and Virginia that are a part of the temple district are positioned throughout the building.
Decorated tree featuring paintings associated with Christ's birth
Sister Lindsay and I had an opportunity to be at the Monday night program on December 12th featuring Jenny Oaks Baker, a renown concert violinist, her three daughters (ages 10, 8, and 6) who are themselves accomplished musicians on the violin, piano, and cello respectively. Ron Warren, a native American who masterfully plays the distinctive wood flute, was also a featured artist. Hundreds of appreciative people, including entire families with lots of children enjoyed the wonderful sounds of Christmas music. It was nice to be in the presence of so many people who were enjoying the moment and obviously having a good time.
And unlike the typical experiences that we have been having as missionaries interacting with individuals in the stores and on the street, the people who attended the concert were actually smiling and wishing each other a Merry Christmas!
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