The climactic moment of visiting Temple Square this Christmas season will come as visitors relive the birth of the Savior as portrayed on the grounds near the North Visitors Center.
At the conclusion of the presentation, as lights fade on Mary and Joseph and the scene turns to darkness, visitor attention will be drawn upward to the statue of the Resurrected Christ poised in the Visitors Center beyond.
"It is deeply moving," said Peter Lassig, gardener at Temple Square and Church grounds. "I get choked up every time I see the scene and hear the broadcast of President Hinckley's message."
The message was given several years ago during a previous First Presidency Christmas Devotional and is replayed to conclude the presentation.
In the last two years, the Nativity scene, a favorite among many visitors, has been modernized with more beautiful and elaborate costumes for the Wise Men and life-like mannequins of Joseph and Mary.
But the poignancy in this year's presentation comes from a change in the position of the Nativity. In years past the stable setting was placed to the side of the large mural windows of the North Visitors Center.
This year the Nativity is staged directly in line with the Christus statue, emphasizing President Hinckley's teachings, that, "There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another babe without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection."
Another "thrilling moment" during the portrayal of the Savior's birth comes from the light of the new star in the heavens. The light shooting into the sky gives a "spectacular impression of the star," said Brother Lassig.
The annual lighting of Temple Square and the Church Office Complex to the east is, in many ways, the most dynamic in its 36-year history. Since 1996, grounds crews and service missionaries have been preparing Temple Square for the millions who are anticipated for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Unlike past years when the Temple Square lighting was completed after New Year's, the lighting, which began Nov. 23, will continue nightly through the Olympics and conclude with the Paralympics in March.
Additions made in the last several years include the lighting of the trees and bushes on the Church Office Complex, floating candles in the fountains, paper bag luminarias with messages in 100 languages, nativity scenes representative of children from around the world, and new this year, metal luminarias depicting scenes from the Savior's life.
The floating candles that look so real in the water, said Brother Lassig, are the result of the technical genius of Gary Burgess who devised a way of computerizing the lights to flicker at different intervals like candles. "The appearance was so natural, many thought the flames were real," he said.
Last year, crowds enjoyed lingering around the new fountain where these artificial candles accentuated the reflected image of the temple.
Two new nativity scenes will be added to the four settings from last year. They represent children from the four corners of the world who see the Lord in their image, said Brother Lassig. Nativity scenes from Mexico and the Pacific Islands will be added to the Nativity scenes portrayed last year from Africa, Asia, Native America and Europe. The Nativities will be displayed near the Relief Society building.
"I like to think of the lights as light and knowledge distilling as the dews from heaven — one thought at a time," said Brother Lassig.
The annual lighting of Temple Square and the Church Complex, which began Nov. 23 and continues nightly through March, will treat the millions of Olympic visitors to the same display of beauty known during the Christmas season.
