Lights 'lift souls, thrill hearts'
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Each holiday season, many LDS visitors centers throughout the world are decorated with thousands of Christmas lights to promote a festive atmosphere and to help community members celebrate the birth of the Savior.
Following are reports from four visitors centers in Australia, California and Arizona:SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
More than 12,000 multi-colored Christmas lights on the grounds of the Sydney Australia Temple and Church office facilities were turned on during the first-ever lighting ceremony Nov. 21.
Alan Wakeley, director of public affairs for the Pacific Area, explained that the grounds face the busy Pennant Hill Road. "Although the lights do not go on until 8 p.m., many thousands of motorists will see them and recognize the significance that this special time of the year plays in the lives of Latter-day Saints."
Young women and leaders from the Sydney Australia Parramatta Stake combined their observance of the Young Women worldwide celebration, "Walk in the Light," with the switching on of the Christmas lights, said Brother Wakeley.
The day of the ceremony torrential rain hit the area, but just a few minutes before the switch was flipped, the skies cleared.
Pres. Warren Meyer of the Sydney Parramatta stake described the lights as a beautiful addition to community celebrations. In time, he added, the lights would become a significant attraction for the general public, and many people would be inclined to visit the temple grounds for the first time.
Brother Wakeley said Pres. Meyer's prediction is reflected in the results of Christmas lights on the grounds of the New Zealand Temple in Hamilton, New Zealand. The first lights - some 10,000 - were installed in 1985. Now about 38,000 are turned on in Hamilton, with about 45,000 people visiting each Christmas season.
