The Living Christ Tree and Book

In December 2009, I gathered ornaments or crafted some to represent each phrase of  "The Living Christ The Testimony of The Apostles The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. I also made a book with pictures of each of these ornaments and why I chose them. That was the 5th year anniversary of my son's death on Christmas Eve 2004. As you can imagine,Christmas changed that year and forever more but my testimony of the "reason for season" as never changed. I wanted something to leave my children that would be a symbol of my testimony that sometimes God calms the storm around His child and sometimes He lets the storm rage on and He calms His child....either way, He is still God and I am still His child and I know that the adversities of life will only make us stronger when we put our trust in Him.
These ornaments have become one of our Christmas advent celebrations. We also use it for Easter. I have a plan for another activity this year that I will be sharing later:

Here is a sample of the pages in the book:

Here are the ornaments that I used to illustrate the phrases in "The Living Christ."

I painted little wooden books to represent scriptures to symbolize that Jesus is the Jehovah of the Old Testament and Messiah of the New Testament.

I painted a plastic ball ornament blue and glued a satellite view world atlas on it to represent the Earth. "He was the Creator of the Earth."

One of my favorite missionaries made the little sandal out of cardboard, felt and an old watch buckle to symbolize the Savior's baptism because of the scripture in Mark 1:7 where John the Baptist "preached saying,There cometh one mightier than I after me,the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose."

                                             

I chose this dove because it is a symbol of peace as well as for the Holy Spirit.

"He walked the streets of Palestine, healing the sick,causing the blind to see,and raising the dead.

My testimony may have started as a tiny seed like an acorn but it has the potential to grow into something huge and solid over time with a little cultivation until I reach my full Divine potential.

I chose this little china cup to represent the Sacrament because of the fruit painted on the side that reminded me of the last lesson that the Savior taught his disciples in John 15:1-4

These were chosen to symbolize the crown of thorns and the nails that were used to torture the Savior, but I imagine that the words that pierced his soul,hurt him to greater depths than we can comprehend. He was slain for those who spit the words and for us as well.

This ornament looked like drops of blood to me so I chose it to symbolize Luke 22:43. I pray that I always remember the depth of the Savior's love for me every time that I look at this ornament.

"I solemnly testify that His life,which is central to all human history,neither began in Bethlehem.....

....nor concluded on Calvary.

I found some plastic wheat and some beads and leaves that I tied together with ribbon to symbolize a bundle of "Firstfruits" that the ancient people were commanded to sacrifice in similitude of the Savior.

"As risen Lord,He visited among those He had loved in life." (I used the red heart with my son's picture  to symbolize that Jesus loves him and we will see him again one day)

"He also ministered among His "other sheep" (John 10:16) in ancient America.

I took the wings off a plastic angel ornament and painted it gold to represent the Angel Moroni that tops   LDS Temples today.

I made this ornament to symbolize that the Savior's hair is as "white as snow." I also put a picture of him inside the ball that is rather difficult to see but as you peer into the ball, your own face is reflected also symbolizing that we are to reflect His countenance in our own faces.

I painted this wooden image of a sun to symbolize the brightness of His countenance.

These ceramic hands not only symbolize that the Savior is now "on the right hand of God" but they also symbolize the prayers that He said in our behalf. The right hand is also the "covenant hand." I pray that I will always remember the promises that I have made my Father in Heaven every time that I look at these tiny praying hands.

I chose these keys and painted this temple ornament to represent the keys of the Priesthood and the sealing powers that have been restored.

I picked up this stone in Nauvoo when the builders were clearing the ground for the new foundation where the new Nauvoo Temple was to be built. There were small piles of them there that were believed to be from the original Nauvoo Temple. I tied wire around it and added a metal rose with Jesus's name to symbolize that He is the "rose of Sharon" and that He is my "rock" upon which my faith is built.

I chose this Lion and Lamb ornament to symbolize the millennial peace after the Messiah sets up His kingdom on earth.

This little crown represents that He is "king of kings"

This glass heart and the glass block with the transparent view of Christ symbolizes how the desires of our hearts are transparent to our Lord. It also symbolizes the purity of heart that we should seek. The glass block symbolizes that He is totally pure in heart and that we will one day stand before Him to evaluate our own purity.

"He is the light, the life,and....
the hope of the world.

...and He employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for He cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is His name.

I found this ornament shaped like a gift so I placed the Christus inside to symbolize that Jesus is the "Matchless Gift." I liked that it looked like a cage because it represents that the grave and death could not hold Him.

I found the original idea for this posted on a wonderful blog entitled "Keeping Christ in Christmas" but it was years ago so as soon as I find the name of the person's blog that posted it there I want to make sure to give her credit for such a beautiful idea that has brought so much to our family Christmas traditions. I hope that this will help someone else to remember to keep the true meaning of Christmas in their hearts this and every year as it has helped me.

The ornaments are part of our Christmas advent celebration since I was able to find a candelabra type stand to display them on (as pictured above) This year I am going to place them in little burlap bags and we will hide them as part of a scavenger hunt before hanging them on our larger Christmas tree. 

P.S. After many days of searching the internet, I finally found the person who originally posted this idea for The Living Christ Tree. Her name is Teresa Hirst and her blog ,Illuminate Everyday,can be found at www.t,hirst.com