This Advent Season Consider Isaiah’s Words

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Advent Season was a new experience for me as a young Mormon missionary in Germany, but I immediately fell in love with the idea of spending four Sundays preparing for the holiday. Advent heralds a time of remembrance regarding the Savior’s birth, as well as, looking to His second coming and a coming of His spirit in our hearts.

Make an Advent wreath using a styrofoam base, greenery, and purple candles. If you do not have a styrofoam base, place your candles in candleholders. Arrange them in a circle, with the white candle in the middle with greenery worked around them.

The centerpiece of this holiday is the Advent Wreath. MaryJane Pierce Norton, explains, “The wreath, because it is a circle, symbolizes God’s, never-ending love. The wreath, because it is green, symbolizes life. An Advent wreath contains four candles representing the four Sundays leading to Christmas. Many people place a white candle in the center of the wreath to symbolize Jesus.”

Each Sunday beginning the fourth Sunday before Christmas, or Advent Sunday, families gather to light a candle and study scriptures. Isaiah’s texts work to guide us through the season with themes for each Sunday.

For First Advent, we look forward to His second coming. Isaiah 63 tells about events that will occur at that time. As part of this day

Fourth Sunday Before Christmas or Advent Sunday
Isaiah 63: 1–9

1 Who is this that ^acometh from ^bEdom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?
	this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?
I that speak in righteousness,
	mighty to save.
2 Wherefore art thou ^ared in thine apparel,
	and thy garments like him that treadeth in the ^bwinefat?
3 I have trodden the ^awinepress alone;
	and of the people there was none with me:
for I will tread them in mine anger,
	and trample them in my fury;
and their blood shall be ^bsprinkled upon my garments,
	and I will stain all my raiment.
4 For the day of ^avengeance is in mine heart,
	and the year of my ^bredeemed is come.
5 And I looked, and there was none to help;
	and I wondered that there was none to uphold:
therefore mine own arm brought ^asalvation unto me;
	and my fury, it upheld me.
6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger,
	and ^amake them drunk in my fury,
and I will bring down their strength to the earth.7 ¶ I will mention the lovingkindness of the Lord,
	and the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great ^bgoodness toward the house of Israel,
	which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people,
	children that will not lie:
so he was their ^aSaviour. 9 In all their ^aaffliction he was afflicted,
	and the ^bangel of his ^cpresence saved them:
in his ^dlove and in his pity
	he ^eredeemed them;
and he bare them,
	and ^fcarried them all the days of old.