Adam Miller’s The Christ Child
Topic: The Christ Child by Adam S. Miller
Favorite Thoughts and Discussion Thoughts:
Returning to the Childlike Wonder of Christmas
This book made Adam Miller more accessible
On the Magnify podcast, Mindy Brown described Miller as funny, which wasn’t known to many
Loved Miller’s statement that Jesus Christ is both the Father and the Son - how to move forward with hope and optimism -
“To be saved, to be a disciple of Christ, I must learn how to be both an adult and a child. I must learn how to be both a father and a son. This is the mystery of godliness itself: how to be both. How to become an adult, tempered by age and experience, and, nonetheless, see the world through a child’s eyes. How to pair all the skill, strength, and wisdom of an adult with all the wonder, creativity, and empathy of a child. How, simply, to live like Jesus.”
We need to work to recover that child’s mind
When was the last time you felt awe?
Receiving revelation can be a feeling of awe
Do we have to be out of our routine or environment to experience awe?
Alison Gopnik’s book -
Looking at a painting at church of the Savior with three children - those children are present—
How can we be more present?
There is a reason Jesus visited the children first
Travel and learning a new skill - help us be present and more childlike
What made you think differently about being a child from this book?:
Slow down. Enjoy the moment or the experience without overthinking the situation.
Loved the format of starting the chapters with the family Christmas photograph, great picture as we, as grownups, being wrapped up in ourselves
How do you turn off the voice in your head? (page 63 & 64.) “What would happen if your story went silent? You would sleep—like a baby—in heavenly peace.”
Awe - Imagination - Love - what else could we pull these three elements into: The Sacrament, relationships, and any weakness
Allow ourselves to appreciate the mundane
President Emily Belle Freeman: One piece of bread, one cup of water
We are all participating in the sacrament - bringing the sacrament to us, passing it to each other
A young girl sits at the end of the bench to pass the sacrament to her family - she is in awe of the power to pass the sacrament to each other
Does a baby mimic our emotions - when we smile, as Miller noted?
Weakness - being critical of speakers who don’t speak the facts
“I should not lose confidence in it because it was brought to me by a fellow fallen creature. In other words, when I am the giver, I should strive to meet the highest standards of spiritual power; when I am the receiver, I should not devalue the offering by the imperfect vehicle that bears it.” Moroni by David F. Holland
Children - the only file they have open is the “I am” file
What brought us joy as a child? Go back and consider. Use that experience or object as a vehicle for tapping into awe, imagination, and love.
As a child, she was in awe that she could ride a bike. Try to connect a neuro-network from childhood. Her husband found the exact Western Flyer turquoise bike she had as a child —not the same serial number, but it brought her awe. This can help re-ignite those child-like attributes that can bring us closer to Christ. What is our touchstone for these childhood memories? Something that represents a significant memory that reconnects us to our childhood. Touchstone: bike
As a child, she felt like her grandmother wanted to spend all of her time with her. Baked, cleaned, quilted, and spent New Year’s Eve with her. Touchstone: quilting
She remembers dressing up her dog, Happy, and loved it. Brown mutt. Could pay more attention to her dog. Holidays were special and magical, not something to get through. Touchstone: dog
She remembers that she did a lot of housework and took care of her younger brothers and sister and sick mother. Both grandmothers were so good; one was her closest friend. Snow in her face—quiet and the feel of it falling across her face. Reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Needs more creative classes. Touchstone: Snow on her face
A favorite childhood memory for one was her dad bringing home a stack of books every week from the library across the street from his office. Touchstone: Books, pics of those happy days reading stacks of books all week long.
Nightly walks with her dad, which sometimes ended up at the local Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone. Touchstone: Soft serve ice cream cone.
Her mom had a love of animals—dogs and cats. Her bicycle gave her loads of freedom. Touchstone: Dogs and a bike.
Making bread each week with her mom, making 13 loaves at a time, and then she would hold two loaves out, roll them, and fry them; slather them in butter and honey. Looking at the Milky Way with her dad and learning the constellations. Sleeping next to the fireplace at her grandparent’s home in a sleeping bag. Touchstone: Bread, mountains, and a cracking fireplace.
Probably the most prominent memory is snow—although fall leaves are a tight second. Touchstone is being in nature any season, especially the forest.
A connection to her childhood was her brother. He’s 2.5 years older, and she just now realized he’s in pretty much every childhood memory she has. There was a little bit of hero worship going on and while she was sure she was the pesky little sister, he was her BFF. Touchstone: Her brother
Sources Mentioned:
The Christ Child by Adam S. Miller
Magnify Podcast Book Club - The Christ Child - with Melinda W. Brown
“Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God,” a famous sermon by Jonathan Edwards, is a powerful example of Puritan and Calvinist theology
Upcoming series from Maxwell Institute - Divine Aid: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants