Receiving Christ into your inn or guestroom: How "Mormons" celebrate the Nativity

Mormons or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints act out the nativity story with the traditional elements of a stable, a manger, Mary and Joseph, animals, and the shepherds. In our home, we dress up as the characters and my husband reads the Christmas story from Luke 2 as we act it out. We usually do this on Christmas Eve. In the last few days, my mind and heart has expanded with knowledge about the place where Jesus was born. In the King James version of the Bible which we use, we read, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). Not only did Joseph Smith translate The Book of Mormon, he also sought to restore plain and precious parts of the Bible through translation. He did this by studying the King James version of the Bible and using the Holy Ghost to direct him in correcting and clarifying scripture. In the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, the last word in Luke 2:7 is inns not inn.
On Saturday I attended a Christmas Program at Boise First United Methodist Church, The Cathedral of the Rockies. I enjoyed the scriptures and music performed by young and old and through instruments and singing. During the program, the clergy read from the New International Version of the Bible, verse 7 of Luke 2, "She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom." After researching a bit I found that kataluma is the Greek word used in the bible and can mean guest chamber, lodging place or inn (Was Jesus born in a stable?) and that they may have stayed with relatives but there wasn't room in the normal area so they were below or outside regular quarters. Also mangers could be within the main level of a home.
Yesterday I learned from a friend of mine about Posada, a Catholic Mexican tradition of acting out the receiving of Mary and Joseph at the inn. Beginning on December 16, the Posada takes place for nine days to symbolize the nine months of pregnancy. My friend gathers with members of her family and each night a different family hosts the Posada. The family members visit homes where they sing a traditional song asking to enter. They are turned away, because there is no room as there was no room for Mary and Joseph, until they reach the home of the Posada for that night. They are invited in to eat and end the night with a pinata.
As a mother with five children, the thought of birthing a baby in a stable whether it is made of wood or sheltered within a cave, seems dirty and uncomfortable, very humble. I do like the idea of the privacy of a stable versus an open space where extended family members come and go. The truth is that the story in the Bible is very simple with little embellishment so we don't know the details. What matters is that Christ was born. That He came to earth as a baby to fulfill his role as Savior of the World. And that we receive him into our inn or guestroom every day of the year.
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