With COVID-19 limiting communication and in-person contact, holiday connections may look different this year. Karl Cheney, a mass media specialist within the missionary department, explained there will be no Giving Machines this year like in the past, but there are still ways to keep the spirit of giving and holiday connection alive.
“Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, it’s become necessary to suspend Giving Machines this year. But even without them, the Light the World initiative still provides us with many opportunities to give and share the infinite hope, peace and love of Jesus Christ during this Christmas season. Just imagine the great good our individual acts of service, kindness, generosity and gratitude will accomplish,” Cheney said.
Cheney explained how this year’s Light the World theme is One by One, the same as 2019. Visitors to LightTheWorld.org were offered a variety of service opportunities. For instance, people can find ways to serve in communities through JustServe.org, donate directly to organizations partnering with Latter-day Saint Charities, download a daily service calendar of 25 simple, socially safe and personal ideas to serve others during December, or opt-in to receive a daily text or email service prompt leading up to Christmas.
Renz Coronel, a senior studying political science and communications from the Philippines, said he will be actively engaging in Light the World even if there are no Giving Machines because giving back brings him joy. Coronel described Light the World as a way to grow closer to the Savior. “We’ve been doing this for almost two years now, and I love the experience I gained from the last time we did it inside the PCC.”
Rebekah Fonoimoana, a sophomore from Laie studying communications, shared what her family does to safely demonstrate the meaning of Christmas. She said every year, her family chooses a couple of families and does 12 Days of Christmas, where they leave a present on the doorstep of someone’s house on the 12 days leading up to Christmas. She explained they make a treat and doorbell ditch it on the family’s doorsteps.
“It makes it extra fun and exciting to not get caught for the whole 12 days. As the families catch on, they start to wait for the secret Santas who are leaving the gifts, making the challenge a lot more difficult,” she said.
Fonoimoana said Light the World also provides opportunities to share people’s testimonies. For Fonoimoana, she said the most memorable experiences for her would be the spiritual conversations about Christ that are brought up during the season. “I have this unexplainable desire to give, give, give, without any expectation of getting anything in return. Feeling the pure love of Christ, that charity is what makes the Light the World experiences so unique and memorable.”
Cheney shared how the circumstances of 2020 can be an opportunity for everyone to go the extra mile to uplift those around them. “We’ve witnessed disturbing civic unrest, business failures, unemployment concerns and economic upheavals. In these seemingly dark and unsteady times, the Savior’s admonition to ‘hold up your light that it may shine unto the world’ (3 Nephi 18:24) is a bright and firm course to follow.”
Coronel shared a personal experience of how he participated in Light the World in hopes of inspiring others to connect during the holidays. After helping a woman donate to a Giving Machine, he said she thanked him for being like the Savior.
“I’ve never been called or even heard that in my life, and when she said it, deep inside, I was thanking Heavenly Father for giving the opportunity to serve like the Savior would,” Coronel shared.
Cheney noted Light the World’s importance is not about connecting to fellow Latter-day Saints but connecting to the world regardless of religious and cultural differences. He said the ultimate example to follow is Jesus Christ as He ministered to both large and small gatherings and individuals of every background.
Cheney echoed the words of Elder Marcus B. Nash, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Missionary Department, and said, “We can be a light that can shine to the world. We invite all to join with us this Christmas season and light the world, one person at a time, one by one, just as the Savior did. We encourage people to be thoughtful as they decide the best way to give back this holiday season.”