The scene was set at a meetinghouse for the perfect Christmas program, which would include the narrative of the Savior's birth.

Women who had dedicated dozens of hours to the event were happy. Everything was coming together.

Senior Primary girls anxiously put on costumes fashioned to make them look like little angels. A large star hung center-stage from fishing line, in preparation to rise at the anticipated moment in the program. Church members began to gather for the event.

Then things fell apart.

An extra child showed up, planning to play the part of an angel. But there were no costumes left. The little girl burst into tears.

No one knew what to do. Then another child — persuaded by an older sibling — stepped forward and gave the sobbing child her angel costume. Now the child who gave up her costume was fighting back tears.

For a few moments, everyone was quiet. Then an inspired Church leader came up with a solution. She picked up a pair of scissors and cut down the star.

"Because of your good deed," the woman told the little girl who gave up her costume, "today you will be our star."

Soon the program started. At the designated time, the little girl without a costume stood on a table and held the glittering cardboard star high above her head.

Holding the star made the little girl feel good inside. She knew the good feeling came not because of how she looked — after all, she was not wearing a beautiful angel costume, but instead, because of something she did.

After the program, ward members commented that the little girl, like the star she held, had let her light shine.

Each of us — by the choices we make — can follow the little girl's example.

The admonition to shine comes directly from the Savior. In 3 Nephi 12:14-16, He says:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

"Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;

"Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

It has been more than 25 years since the little girl held the star, but she has not forgotten the words of the woman in charge of the program: "Today you will be our star." We can learn a lot about how to let our light shine from stars.

Massive, luminous balls of plasma, stars are held together by gravity. The light that we see from stars millions of miles away begins not at their surface, but at their very core. They shine because something deep inside them makes them shine.

We, too, can let the light that starts deep inside us shine so strong that others will see it on the outside. Just as the little girl realized the day she held the star, this light will shine not because of how we look, but because of the things we do.

Speaking at the General Young Women meeting in April 2006, President James E. Faust, then second counselor in the First Presidency, said the counsel of the Lord to "arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations" (Doctrine and Covenants 115:5) should energize all of us. Great opportunities await, he said. "Technology will continue to increase. The avenues for expressing your talents may exceed your fondest hopes and expectations. … Indeed, it can be said of you that you are the bright shining hope of the future."

The problem is that letting our light shine is often a difficult thing to do. It sets us apart from others. Instead of being one person in a crowd as angels, we become stars that attract the attention of many.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said that is our role as Church members. "I believe and testify that it is the mission of this Church to stand as an ensign to the nations and a light to the world," he said. Speaking specifically to priesthood holders, he added, "You must eschew evil in all of its forms and take on the nature of goodness and decency, letting the light, the divine light, shine through your actions" ("An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World," Ensign, November, 2003).

It is interesting that for the little girl who held the star to let her light shine, others had to let their light shine first — the sibling who persuaded her to give away her costume and the woman who cut down the star so the little girl would have a part in the Christmas program.

The little girl didn't realize the significance of it then, but the star she held that night was a representation of the Christmas star announcing the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It was a "light to the world" boldly proclaiming that the "Light of the World" had been born.

This Christmas season, and throughout the entire year, may we be like that star. May we, by the things we do, proclaim that Jesus lives. May we, like the little girl, not settle to be adequate, but instead seek ways to let our light shine "before this people, that they may see [our] good works and glorify [our] Father who is in heaven."

As we do, others will follow our lead and together we will form "a city that is set on a hill [that] cannot be hid."