Every Christmas it seems like the LDS book market is flooded with small, cute books and booklets that are meant to bring the “true spirit of Christmas.”  Most of them try to do this by telling a story or parable that seems to be designed to make their readers, mainly women, cry.  In fact, a well known author of just such books recently spoke to our Stake Relief Society.  When his wife introduced him she said, “My husband’ job is to make women cry.”  Since physically “A Child Is Born” looks like that kind of a book, I approached it with some trepidation.  To my surprise it turned out to be an enjoyable and well written book.   

“A Child is Born,” starts with a quote by C.S. Lewis from “The Case For Christianity” that explains why Christ and Christmas are so exceptional:

“This man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse…I'm trying here to prevent anyone from saying that really silly thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be a God.' That is the thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said, would not be a great moral teacher. He'd be either a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he's a poached egg—or else he'd be the Devil of Hell.” (see p. 2)

Professor Marsh then states:

“This book is about the greatest Christmas miracle-the divine birth of the one and only person who can stop wars, bring peace to the Middle East, put down all false doctrine, breathe new life into marriages and family relations, solve global warming, make the environment pristine, bring this earth into a paradisiacal state, and deliver this earth, and all its righteous inhabitants who are destined to inherit it forever, back into the presence of God, where there will be no more tears but only happiness, peace, rest from every trouble, all cares, and all sorrow. That's going to take a miracle, and Jesus Christ's miraculous birth makes it all possible.” (p. 2)

The rest of the book is spent discussing Christ’s birth and mission from an LDS perspective and how Christmas time can be used to remind us of these teachings.  Much time is spent setting up the Birth of the Savior. Chapter Four, “Faithful Witnesses Whom I Have Chosen,” discusses many prophetic witnesses from Adam to King Benjamin.  Chapter Five, “Unto Us A Child Is Born,” covers some of the writings of Isaiah and the composing of Handel’s “Messiah.”  Samuel the Lamanite gets a chapter, the annunciation to Mary gets a chapter, John the Baptist gets two chapters all before Marsh even gets to the events of Luke Two.

Professor Marsh also explains how we can get the Christmas spirit out of the scriptures and into our lives.  He takes a chapter to discuss “Symbolism versus Commercialism.”  He goes over the scriptural symbols of Christmas, the commercial symbols of Christmas, and states that yes, focusing on the worldly alone and taking Christ out of Christmas is harmful, but then explains that:

“Nevertheless, we can successfully mix the two (the symbols of Christmas and the Savior) and enjoy both, without hastily and guiltily retreating into separate worlds each Christmas season-if we allow one to bear witness of the other. Looking at a symbol means looking "beyond" it to understand that these figures are merely tokens of what Christmas is all about-types of a greater reality, of something that demands special sanctity-the Savior. Each Christmas custom and every Christmas symbol helps us remember, and appreciate more, some greater truth about Christ.” (p. 21)

In his concluding chapter, “Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come From A Store,” Marsh talks about the rise of materialism and selfishness in our society and then states:

“Our hopes and the desires of the heart must be centered on the riches of eternal life more than the mortal messes of pottage we so often hunger for and covet…Instead of asking, ‘What did you get for Christmas,’ perhaps we should start asking ‘What did you get from Christmas?’ It’s so easy to let the rush of Christmas crowd out the very thing that Christmas is.  It helps to remember that Christmas is remarkable more for what was given than for what was received.” (p. 140)

He then concludes his book with statements and stories from modern prophets that tell how this can be done.

“A Child Is Born,” is simple, easy to read, and quite enjoyable.  I feel that Dr. Marsh succeeds in his purpose statement that I quoted from page two of this book.  Through his use of scriptures, prophetic and apostolic statements, and a variety of true stories about service and self sacrifice, Marsh helps the reader to understand the significance of Christ’s mission, how we can be more like Him, and how Christmas can be used to help us better understand those two points.  Although there is a little sentimentality in the book, it is quite solidly written and manages to teach its readers and not just cause them to emote, something most LDS “true meaning of Christmas” books cannot claim.  “A Child Is Born,” will likely appeal more to women than men, but has something for all.  I feel it could be helpful to parents who are struggling to explain the true meaning of Christmas to their children, especially children in the six to twelve year old age bracket.  I would feel comfortable recommending it to any Latter-day Saint seeking a book on the true meaning of Christmas.