KENSINGTON, MD.
Everyone can be a light for someone else, said Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Presidency of the Seventy during the Christmas lighting ceremony at the Washington D.C. Temple on Thursday, Dec. 4.
In the visitors center, with the large Christus statue behind them and the stately temple looming large through the picture-glass windows before them, India Ambassador Ronen Sen and his wife, Kaltana Sen, joined Elder Andersen in flipping the switch illuminating nearly half a million lights on the temple grounds.
Each year for 31 years, dignitaries and delegates from nations around the world have been invited to share in the festival of lights. Senior missionaries serving at the visitors center tell how visiting dignitaries frequently express their joy at participating, saying that there are many lighting ceremonies in Washington, D.C., but this ceremony brings the happiest feelings.
Following comments by Ambassador Sen, Elder Andersen addressed the international guests and their families.
"We are here tonight to celebrate the beauty of light," he said. "Don't we each love light"
He continued, "Whatever our country, culture or religious persuasion, we have all felt the power and goodness of someone who has been a light to us; someone who has made our life better because of their unselfish and giving service. We can think of our parents, our grandparents, a teacher who has enlarged our thinking; our service men and women who have preserved our freedom; or maybe a friend who has shown an interest in us when we have felt alone.
"I want to thank each person here for being a light to someone else. I would encourage each of us at this Christmas season to thank those who have been our lights and have helped us find our way."
Elder Andersen recalled a personal experience of a stranger's goodness and unselfishness to him and his family. It was 18 years ago when he was serving as president of the Bordeaux mission in France.
"It was Dec. 24, 1990," he said. "We had been on a service project in the very southern part of France. Now we were on our way home.
"We were 10 people in a 10-passenger van" that included his wife, four children and four missionaries.
The blue van was filled with the Christmas spirit. Two daughters, Camey and Kristen, 14 and 10 at the time, were very excited as they anticipated the surprises Christmas morning would bring.
But the van began to falter, with only one gear working, limiting its speed to 5 miles per hour. It broke down in front of a country inn in Villeneuve-de-Marsan. There was little activity on Christmas Eve in the small French village.
Elder Andersen entered the inn to inquire about a place to stay for the night, meeting owner Francis Darroze. After Elder Andersen explained their plight and asked about rooms, Mr. Darroze looked at the children and said, "Of course, I have rooms here. But you do not want to spend Christmas Eve here in the inn. Children should be home as they await the excitement of Christmas morning. I will lend you my car and you can go to Bordeaux tonight."
"I was amazed at his thoughtfulness," Elder Andersen said. "Most people would view strangers, especially foreigners like us, with caution. I thanked him, but explained that there were 10 of us and a small French car would never be sufficient."
Mr. Darroze hesitated, then said he had an old van at his farm that "will travel at only about 45 miles per hour, and I am not certain the heater works well. But if you want it, I will drive you to my farm to get it."
Elder Andersen said, "The children jumped for joy. I reached into my pocket for my cash or credit cards. He quickly shook his head and his finger in disapproval.
" 'No,' he said, 'I will take nothing. You can bring my van back to me when you get time after Christmas. It is Christmas Eve. Take your family home.' "
Back in Bordeaux just after midnight, "Kathy and I said a prayer of gratefulness for our own Christmas miracle," Elder Andersen said.
"We were home on Christmas Eve, even though in Villeneuve-de-Marsan there was room in the inn.
"Mr. Francis Darroze was a beacon of light to us on that Christmas Eve so many years ago," Elder Andersen said.
"I pray that our family, our children, are more unselfish, more willing to help those in need, having seen the example of a man who was a stranger to us, a Frenchman being kind beyond expression to foreigners living in his country."
