The Best Christmas Gif(s), and a Christmas Thought

I'm loving the new Christmas gif images that the Church is putting out as part of an advent calendar this year. Honestly, a lot of the Christmas-y promotions they're doing are pretty cheesy, but I think this one's fun. Although my favorite is still the first one, we're only on day 5, so I bet I'll have a new favorite soon enough.

See the rest of the gifs at mormon.org/christmas/gifs

Tygan was playing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" on our keyboard this morning (thanks to our ward friends who gave it to us for free!). It made me think about how much confusion there might have been about where the Messiah was to be born: Micah 5:2 gives the prophecy of Christ being born in Bethlehem, while other prophecies referenced Him coming "out of Egypt" and another called Him a Nazarene.

So which is it? Knowing what we now know about the circumstances of Christ's birth and upbringing, it seems simple. (Spoiler alert: He was born in Bethlehem, moved to Egypt to escape Herod, then moved to Nazareth in Galilee.) But I can see how these seeming contradictions would have caused a great deal of confusion before the events actually transpired.

There are a lot of things about God and His gospel that I don't know, and in particular there seem to be so many contradictions that I struggle to understand. While I don't believe there are any reasons to quit looking for answers, there are numerous examples showing that sometimes, there are just things about God's plan we can't yet see. Maybe it seems like a contradiction, but I plan to keep seeking while also trusting that it will all work out.