Chapter 55

Christmas Day Celebration

The Bell of Zion rings throughout the valley from the Mapleton Visitors' center—Christmas, the
progress towards Zion, and the liberty of the people are celebrated as one in Springville.

All of these things had happened and yet it was still very early on Christmas Day. In the
home of just one family, the Spirit of God had been busy at work, building up feelings of charity
in their hearts, and bestowing upon them visions of heaven normally reserved for prophets and
seers. Incidents such as these, however, were not unique; many in the stake had awakened with
tired eyes on this morning, having enjoyed revelations of the highest order all night long. These
humble Church members had not sought for these things, nor had they felt themselves
particularly worthy or special in the eyes of the Lord. They were simply experiencing an
outpouring of the love of God. Blessings of this magnitude are given freely by the Lord to the
members of His Church when they draw near to Him and explore the fulness of His gospel. The
members of the Springville East Stake were doing just that.

It was a time in Springville like that at the beginning of 3rd Nephi when great signs and
wonders announcing the birth of the Savior in the Old World were being shown to people in the
New World. Small miracles had been occurring before; big miracles were occurring now. Some
who had been somewhat skeptical before were now starting to believe.

The people of the stake saw Zion off at the distance, not with their natural eyes, but with
their spiritual eyes. They had progressed up the ladder of faith and had obtained a little bit of
knowledge; for surely, the first inklings of Zion will include knowledge as well as faith. Nothing
about Zion on earth or God in heaven was contrived or theorized—all was real! The existence of
God was real! The opportunity for greater revelation was real! The prospect of Zion was real!

We have seen these things already in the story of Brother Chandler and his wife
Kathleen, and also in the story of Brother James Hancock and his wife Beth. These two couples
of the Church went to sleep at night expecting the revelations of God to be unfolded unto them,
as though the veil was slowly being lifted. They looked towards heaven with perfect confidence,
having desires to know everything about the plan of salvation and the kingdom of God. They
grew in the knowledge of God and His ways and were consumed by His everlasting love. And
when they closed their eyes at night, the mysteries of the restored gospel were there waiting for
them.

The snow and winds started to die down, and there was a break in the clouds, allowing a
little bit of sun to shine through. For a few moments, the valley was perfectly still, and then at
exactly 8:00 AM, a large five-foot “Bell of Zion” rang loudly throughout the valley to announce
the coming of Christmas Day. Located at the Mapleton Visitors' Center, the bell stood upon
strong wooden supports, having been made ready for use in prior weeks. Donated by Clark and
Martha Bradley, the interesting new bell was patterned after the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the
idea for which came to Martha while reading the Book of Mormon. The inscription on the bell
read: “In remembrance of our homes, our families, our religion, and our liberty.”

Sitting in the front room of her beautiful home not far away, Martha enjoyed these
thunderous bell sounds immensely. A patriot and a defender of liberty for the nation, Martha
followed after the order of George Washington, expressed well in the famous painting of him
kneeling to pray beside his horse at Valley Forge. She herself had knelt to pray a couple of times
already in the past hour, pouring out her soul in thankfulness to God for the blessings of the
gospel in her life. To be a Latter-day Saint was to be happy.

Although no specific announcement had been made in church, the people had a sense that
this particular Christmas Day marked an important milestone for the stake. In recognition of this
day, the Spirit used the rays of the morning sun to create a marvelous sparkling effect upon the
large gold-plated statue of Moroni atop the Mapleton Temple Celestial Room Building, dazzling
any and all who drove past on the nearby streets.

A three-dollar stake was still a long way off, but the thinking among some in the stake
was why not start preparing early and be ready for the next step toward Zion?

In fact, a young deacon in the stake had recently painted a picture of the Springfield East
Stake Conference Center for Brother Chandler, something he decided to hang in his office at
church. The painting, depicting a finely manicured lawn out in front with a bright and cheerful
green color, had been captioned by the boy with the title “The Three-Dollar Lawn.” Thus, a new
generation of young boys with big dreams had been launched and the Springville East Stake was
on its way to the next goal.