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First of all, I should have started earlier. Christmas got in the way of my redditing. Second, the second day of Smithmas was supposed to be a video of Gordon B Hinkley slipping up in an interview and saying "Jesus Smith" instead of "Joseph Smith". Unfortunately, the video has been banned from the internets, and it took me all day searching just to confirm that I couldn't find it. My third day of Smithmas would have been a photo of the Joseph Smith SphinxI may have followed up with more Joseph-worship, but got sidetracked by the video being killed, and...

Merry Smithmas! I'd almost forgotten, but December 23rd is the birthday of the founder of the LDS church, Joseph Smith. The photo is of a Christmas nativity display at BYU in 2005, the 200th anniversary of his birth (complete with baby Joseph in the crib): www.mrm.org/...

Celebrated birthdate of Jesus Christ: December 25 Celebrated birthdate of Joseph Smith: December 23 Needless to say, some seasonal "competition" has arisen between the two through the centuries! #1: Christmas Carol Joseph Smith Usurpation: O Little Town of Jerusalem? Birthplace of Jesus Christ: BethlehemBook of Mormon recorded birthplace of Jesus Christ: Jerusalem (Alma 7:10) Note: The 1830 Book of Mormon author (Joseph Smith) was apparently so scornful of Bethlehem receiving its Old Testament Micah 5:2 prophecy recognition that Jerusalem negated Bethlehem's place within Biblical history! #2: Christmas Carol Joseph Smith Usurpation Vignette: Only One Angel (Heard) From on High? 1840....

Zelphless NOM Dec 01, 2014 This is kinda funny actually. The Exec Sec of our ward just sent out this announcement for the ward Christmas Party: Quote: As a Bishopric we would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to come to the Ward Christmas Celebration...The theme this year will be "Christmas in Nauvoo" and will feature an 1843 Christmas in Nauvoo with the Joseph and Emma Smith family. Everyone is invited to come as you are, or dress in period clothing. The main dinner will be provided and if you wish you may bring your favorite holiday dessert...

Rain... I've not heard of "smithmas" before, but as soon as I saw this title I knew what the term meant because for years I did see/hear far more about Joseph Smith in church than about Christ in December and it really irked me... Rain #47   In 2005...And then from there it continued throughout 2006. Talk after talk was centered on his life. I could count months when Jesus was only mentioned in the prayers. So much so that when I moved in 7/2006 I very much struggled to be obedient when I was asked to give a talk...

Finally, understanding the sub-culural history of "Smithmas" is making more digital headway! Smithmas Free Republic articles are "bumping up" among top five hits on Google searches! What exactly IS "Smithmas," anyway? Well, Joseph Smith -- THE founder of Mormonism -- was born on December 23. Through the decades, that recognition has often eclipsed a certain Other figure's birthday, Dec. 25. (To be fair to Mormons, who are my beloved extended family members, I would think they could extend a similar critique toward some Christians for allowing a jovial North Pole-based figure to edge out Jesus' birthday!) But if you want...

...mdfxdb Senior Member Posted 16 October 2014... I posted because I had never even heard of it until I moved into my new ward about a year and a half ago. It turns out it is a real thing and there are active members with callings and stuff that celebrate it. They do a cake and everything... Backroads...Posted 20 October 2014 You celebrate the birthday of someone present. Celebrating the birthday of ssomeone not present takes on a different tone that, yes, does cross into "worship" territory for me. I'm trying to understand why people would celebrate this, but in...

December 23 is the birthday of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was born in 1805. In his honor, consider watching the movie Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration, now available for the first time on Hulu... The Joseph Smith movie is the first Church film to penetrate an exclusive, major distribution channel like Hulu, where some 4 million subscribers can watch on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, web content, and other new media through media devices (Roku, Apple TV), gaming consoles (Xbox, PlayStation), smartphones and tablets, and other devices that connect to the Internet. SNIP The current version of...

Chronological Historical Recap: What makes 'Smithmas' 'Smithmas'? Every river has its banks. What is the channel forged -- the definition of the river -- that we've come to know as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' "Smithmas"? Every river has its tributaries; and when it comes to "Smithmas" it's the same. As the Mormons annually celebrate Joseph Smith, his birthday, his advent, the Mormon Church adoration and over-attentiveness to Joseph Smith has openly competed with the focus Jesus Christ receives. The result? This continual cresting onto the banks of "Smithmas" has flooded our nation. Its headwaters are multi-faceted:...

SNIP This special season has greater importance for the Latter-day Saints than for others because we not only observe the birthday of the Savior but also the birthday of our Prophet, Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith, the great Prophet chosen by our Heavenly Father to usher in the last dispensation, was born on December 23, 1805, just two days before December 25, which the world observes as the birthday of Jesus Christ. December 23 should be a day of great importance in every Latter-day Saint home, a day of remembering and honoring one of the great prophets of God, a day...

The FIRST DAY of Christmas Past was just too easy! Prophet Joseph Smith, was the ANSWER all did see! SNIP Joseph Smith, Jr. was born on December 23, 1805. His nephew, Joseph F. Smith, said of this fact – “in my judgment the next birthday celebration to that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ should be that of Joseph Smith.” The following is parts of a talk Joseph F. Smith gave at a Memorial honoring the Prophet Joseph Smith’s Birthday held on December 23, 1894. That year marked the 50 year anniversary of his martyrdom. “I should like to...

Is there anything that goes by the name “Christian” that has not been usurped, abominated, surpassed and eclipsed by that damnable heresy Mormonism! Let us not allow Christmas to draw our attention away from the great event of the ages – the birth of Joseph Smith. Let us not permit the events recounted in the gospels to distract us from the great events of the “Restoration”. God forbid that the annunciation of angels, the trembling wonder of shepherds and the reverence of wise men at the advent of God become flesh should eclipse the news of the “First Vision.” God...

Definition of SmithEmphasisMas? Over-the-top renditions of Christmas themes applied to Joseph Smith! The most obvious example was the BYU Joseph Smith Nativity scene in 2005 Joseph Smith Nativity [A Virtual 'Merry Smithmas' 'Greeting Card' circa 2005] Here are three additional examples of SmithEmphasisMas: DATE 'SMITHEMPHASISMAS' WHO SAID/PUBLISHED IT/LINK 2011 (Dec. 18) (1) Headline by church-owned newspaper mentions "co-celebrants'" December birthdays: Joseph Smith gets same billing as Jesus Christ: Deseret News (owned by the Mormon Church): Two December Births to celebrate: Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith; (2) The article starts off so that you would think the writer is talking about...

It’s three days to Christmas, 2008. And the Mormon Church-owned Deseret News is at it yet once again: ”In 1844, there were approximately 26,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yet, when W.W. Phelps penned a song of tribute to his beloved, fallen Prophet, he promised that ‘millions shall know Brother Joseph again’” [My note: The ‘song of tribute’ is an actual praise song directed TO Joseph Smith, ‘Praise to the Man’...for more on this, see Mormon Tabernacle Choir conductor: 'Praise to the Man'...hymn praises Joseph Smith [Smithmas vanity]] The DesNews article continues: "...Now known not...

'Twas the night before Smithmas, and all through the temple, Not a cumelon was creeping, or a tapir, (for ex-emple!) The garments were hung out to dry in the air, But fortunately for us, we have two extra pairs. The children were stashed at Gramma's homestead, While Mom and Pop got dunked once again for the dead! And Mom in her veil, and I in my old bakers' cap, Had just about finished another endowment wrap! When beyond the temple grounds I heard a big clatter Even sprang from my seat to see about the chatter; To the pentagram window...

If you were ever to receive a liturgical Order of Smithmas Sacrament Meeting devoted to Joseph Smith, here's what it might look like! Part B of Double Posting: 'Answers' to the 26-Question Quiz from Part A {Note: This is part B of How would YOU score on this 26-question quiz about 'Smithmas?' [Vanity, Part A]} What makes this part B? Well, the "answers" to the 26-question quiz of part A weren't included there. Want to see how you scored in that Part A Quiz? [If you haven't yet taken the Quiz, go HERE before continuing to read this piece...Then come...

The literal simplest meaning of "Christmas" = Christ as the "Sent One." The Mormon Church stresses Joseph Smith as key "Sent One": 1862 (July 13) [Quote republished by church in 1925] Brigham Young: "I have taught for thirty years, and still teach, that he that believeth in his heart and confesseth with his mouth that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is his Prophet to this generation, is of God; and he that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and SENT Joseph Smith with the fulness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of...

Almost half of the 164-year existence of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been led by three men who served as director-conductors of the choir for 73 of those years. One of those men, the 3rd-ranked director-conductor (in terms of longevity), was J. Spencer Cornwall -- a veteran of leading the choir for 22 years (1935-1957). [The two who served longer were Evan Stephens, 26 years; and Jerold Don Ottley, 25 years...see List of Mormon Tabernacle Choir music directors). Still in good standing with the church, the Mormon Church even brought Cornwall back for the 1979 tabernacle reunion event. There --...

[URL=http://s208.photobucket.com/user/gahamm_photos/media/mormon/moxmas.jpg.html][IMG]http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb254/gahamm_photos/mormon/moxmas.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Mormon MOxmasDecember 12, 2005 photo of the Joseph Smith nativity scene in the main lobby of the BYU administration building. The caption under Smith's image is enlarged in the upper right hand corner. In the crib is a doll representing baby Joseph Smith.

66 years ago today (Dec. 17, 1947), an Old Testament "scholar" for BYU gave the annual "Joseph Smith Memorial Fireside" message in Logan Utah at the Lds Institute for Religion. The Institute, geared to be a spiritual hub for Utah State University Mormon students, has grown from 114 students to it being perhaps the "second largest" LDS Institute of Religion in the world with over 7,000 students. See Perry honors 75 years of Logan InstituteThe Logan Institute has made a significant "contribution" to the Mormon celebration of "Smithmas" by developing "Joseph Smith Memorial firesides" that "began in 1944 and have...