A baby was born in Bethlehem. Why was this baby different from all those billions that have been born? Cain was born, but murder came into the world. Nero was born, but he persecuted the Christians. Judas was born , but betrayed the Savior. Adolph Hitler was born, and millions starved and died in gas chambers. But that one baby born in Bethlehem, grew up and changed the world for ever.

Jesus was raised as a carpenter in Nazareth. He was a citizen of a conquered nation. His mortal footsteps probably never went beyond a radius of 150 miles. He never owned a home, or had any of the things we feel are necessities today. This little baby boy, born to a humble mother and her husband, in the lowliest of circumstances of a shelter for animals, was actually the Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them are.

The prophets had long known about the birth of this special baby. They knew what his name would be. They knew about his mother. Isaiah prophesied about her 700 years before his birth. 600 years before, Nephi told about her, and described how she looked..."And she was exceedingly fair and white." 124 years before he was born, King Benjamin said that an angel visited him and told him the Savior's mother would be called Mary. Also, 80 years before his birth, Alma called her by name. Such details couldn't possibly have been known so long before, if Mary had not been appointed to that calling in the pre-existence.

Also, the Savior was to be born of the family of David, and should have been the literal King of the Jews by their own law. Mary was born into that royal lineage. Mary was born at the right time, in the right place, and in the proper lineage, so that she could fulfill her mission.

Joseph, Mary's husband was also a descendant of David. There are two genealogical records giving the lineage of Jesus in the New Testament. James E. Talmadge, in his amazing book, Jesus the Christ, said that the record in Luke was the pedigree of Mary, and the one is Matthew is accepted as Joseph's. Joseph's and Mary's fathers were brothers, Jacob and Heli, so Joseph and Mary were cousins/ Talmadge also says that if Judah had not been conquered by Rome, but ruled by a rightful heir, Joseph the carpenter would have been crowned king, and in the eyes of the Jewish law, Jesus, as Joseph's legal heir, though not of his blood, would have been named, King of the Jews, which ironically was the titled nailed on His cross.

Joseph and Mary went from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which was the City of David their common ancestor. The scriptures don't say how long they were in Bethlehem, only that "While they were there the days were accomplished that she would be delivered." Much has been written and fictionalized about that event. The exact date is not known, but surely it wasn't December 25th according to our calendars. Because of the shepherds being in the fields, it was probably in the spring of a year, and April 6th AD 1 as told by Joseph Smith, is supported by the Church.

No one knows who the Wise Men were, but who didn't visit the Christ Child until some time later, We don't know which country they came from, nor their names, or even their number, though fiction has named them and said there were three. We do know, however, that they were part of a group of Israel, that they had the scriptures that prophesied of the birth, and that they were of sufficient power and authority that they didn't hesitate to enter Kind Herod's presence, and ask him personally where the new King of the Jews was.

We don't know when they came, but we know they came to a house where the child was, and that when Herod found out about him, he had all the male babies under the age of two years murdered.

Herod was a terrible man who had had his own wife and some of his own sons killed. He had killed many of the local leaders, and as mentioned, all the male children two years and younger killed in Bethlehem and surrounding regions, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah in the Old Testament, recorded in Matthew 2:17 "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet hundreds of years before, saying, 'In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.'" Maybe you have seen the heart-rending masterpiece painted by the great artist Peter Paul Rubens, in 1836, which he named "The Massacre of the Innocents".

As Herod lay rotting and dying of a horrible disease, he must have realized that there would be no or very little mourning at the time of his death.

During the Christmas season, when so much is paraded of Santa Claus, extravagant gifts, feasting and even loud, bad, pop music, let's choose the better parts of this type of celebration, but mostly try to pay more, or at least equal attention to the real reason we celebrate at this time, and realize the true meaning of "Joy to the World!"