The Prophet, A Train, and the Joy of Giving
  

The Prophet, A Train, and the Joy of Giving

Ever since I started sharing book reviews for Deseret Book and Shadow Mountain,
my religion has been coming up more often on this blog!

The current prophet of our church is Thomas S. Monson. I think I've always felt like I had a connection with him because I knew that he knew my Grandpa :) President Monson served as president of the Canadian Mission from 1959-1962 and worked with my Grandpa then.

Anyway, a few years back, President Monson gave a talk that was published in the 1989 Ensign magazine, called Your Jericho Road. He shared a story in that from his childhood about an experience he had with a Christmas gift- a train set.

President Monson has recorded this personal story in his new picture book,
The Christmas Train (published by Shadow Mountain).



It's a great story that teaches about the importance of giving and the joy that comes from doing so (something that President Monson exemplifies in so many ways!) My girls were pretty excited when they heard that it was a true story from when President Monson was a little boy! It's illustrated beautifully by Dan Burr- here is a look at the artwork:



And here's some cool news: iPhone and iPad users can follow along and listen to President Monson read the story in his own voice when they purchase The Christmas Train app ($4.99) from the App store! The app includes animations and sound effects- how fun for kids to listen to the story while navigating trains and turning Christmas lights on and off :) This looks really neat!

(Oh, and if you're thinking of buying the book, there's a special offer on the page right now- looks like for a limited time, you can get a free CD of Pres. Monson reading the book! Check it out! <--click that link, and scroll down to where it says "SPECIAL OFFER" in red.)

2 comments:

  1. I don't know much about the Mormon faith, what is a prophet of the church? Is it like a pastor or a missionary?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Ashley, I'll answer this with a quote from mormon.org:
      "Throughout history, God has chosen prophets, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others, to teach the gospel and direct His Church (Amos 3:7). It is no different today. We all need God’s guidance in a world that is sometimes confusing. Because God loves His children, He continues to send living prophets. Joseph Smith (1805–44) was the first prophet of our time. Thomas S. Monson is God’s chosen prophet today."
      Here's the link to that page: http://mormon.org/faq#faq/topic/prophets

      Delete

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment- I love reading them! :)
~Heather Lynne

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *