Lights on the hill
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OAKLAND, Calif. — Some 5,000 people, many not members of the Church, visited the grounds of the Oakland California Temple the weekend of Dec. 16 for the annual "Days of Christmas."
"It's been wonderful," said Elder Max B. Simpson, director of the Oakland Visitors Center adjacent the temple. He noted that a lot of people of other faiths have visited the grounds. "If this year is anything like last year.... On Christmas Eve, we were packed; maybe 95 percent were non-members. We had a lot of people."
The "Days of Christmas" on the Oakland temple grounds lasts from Nov. 25-Jan. 7 and includes concerts given by local choirs and groups, including the San Francisco State University Handbell Choir. According to Elder Simpson, a dance company performed "Behold the Gift," portraying through modern dance the birth of Christ, His life and His visit to the Americas.
Elder Simpson said that last year a mother and her family visited the grounds during Christmas. The father had died the week before. The mother was not a member, and her grown son was a less active member. They were touched by the message of a sister missionary and began receiving the missionary discussions. A month ago, the son and his family returned to the visitors center. His mother and his family had been baptized; she died a week later. The family was going to be sealed in the temple.
"They were coming...to specially tell the people in the visitors center," Elder Simpson related, adding that they spoke with the sister missionary, who had first shared the gospel with them. — Julie Dockstader Heaps
