The Cult of the Christmas Trees

The Cult of the Christmas Trees

There is an important warning given together with a commandment, that few people seem to take seriously or even to regard as applying to their own behavior. It is found in Doctrine and Covenants 93:39-40 - “And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the traditions of their fathers. But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.”

This makes it clear that Satan gains power to take away light and truth from our children as we continue to observe false traditions, which includes anything that is out of harmony with truth or with the word of God. And for this important reason He commands us to raise our children in light and truth.

Decorated Trees - There are many scriptures that tell us that God objects to decorated trees because they have always been used as representations and symbols of pagan gods, converted into objects of worship by those that were/are disobedient to God, and thus the LORD has forbidden their use and has condemned those that use them throughout the Old Testament. The Hebrew word for these ‘holy trees’ is “ashera”, but the English translation has been rendered “grove”, which totally obfuscates the fact that the word actually means a tree decorated in representation of a pagan god. A little bit of research into the Scriptures, however, reveals what they really are.

The Spanish translations of the Bible are much more truthful and enlightening as to revealing the fact that a “grove” really means a tree that has been converted into an object of worship by special placement and decoration. I have included in parenthesis the actual Spanish translation of the Hebrew “ashera” as it appears in the several scriptures in Spanish, from both the Catholic and the Protestant Bibles, and have given in italics the English meaning of those words, but the Catholic
Bible’s interpretation seems to be the more descriptive of the two.

First consider the warning from the prophet Jeremiah, in which the practice is most clearly described:
Jeremiah 10:2-4 “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”

The above quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible. If your translation says something substantially different, you should consider the possibility that your modern and ‘improved’ translation may have been slanted to conceal the actual meaning of these verses.

The correct meaning of "asherah" can also be inferred by a careful examination of the context of the places in which it is used. Asherah [Decorated trees set up as objects of worship] (representaciones de Astarte’; imagenes de Asera [images of the pagan goddess]; troncos sagrados [sacred cut trees]; troncos a los que rinden culto [trees cut for the purpose of occult practices ]; arbol sagrado [holy trees]; leno del bosque [forest wood]; tronco en el bosque [trees of the forest]

[Note that the word "grove" as used in Genesis 21:33 is not relevant to this discussion, because this “grove” is translated from a different Hebrew word ASL (eshel), meaning a tamarisk tree.]

Hated by God - The Hebrew word ASRE (asherah) is translated in the KJV version as "grove" 40 times, but the Spanish translations of this same Hebrew words have a very different meaning. We will examine these occurrences of the word. Many of these clearly indicate that the "asherah" (grove) means ‘decorated trees’ and is hated by God. For example:

Exodus 34:13 - But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: (troncos sagrados; imagenes de Asera)
Deuteronomy 7:5 - But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. (troncos a los que rinden culto; imagenes de Asera)

Deuteronomy 12:3 - And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. (troncos a los que rinden culto; imagenes de Asera)

Judges 3:7 - And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. (representaciones de Astarte’; imagenes de Asera)

1 Kings 14:15 - For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. (representaciones de Astarte’; imagenes de Asera)

1 Kings 16:33 - And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. (imagen de Asera)

Use of “asherah” together with the use of ‘tree’. The “ashera” were planted or cut trees, which were then decorated, and the LORD had them torn down and burned as objects of pagan worship:

Deuteronomy 16:21 - Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. (arbol para honrar a un idolo [tree for givng honor to a false god]; arbol para Asera) Here the "asherah" evidently was a "tree" that was turned into an object of worship, as opposed to the Hebrew word “ets” which is a normal "tree", also mentioned in this same verse.

Judges 6:25-26 - And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: (arbol sagrado; imagen de Asera)

26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

Erected in Prominent Places The "asherah" was often erected on the top of a hill, [even as christmas trees are often placed in front of a window and in city centers, to be seen by the world]:

1 Kings 14:22-23 - And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. (troncos sagrados; imagenes de Asera) [as gifts and décor are placed under christmas trees]

2 Kings 17:10 - And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: (representaciones de Asera; imagenes de Asera)

The Hebrew word THT (tachath), is perhaps translated here as "under" in reference to the placement of offerings but it also means "in the place of", "in the room of", "instead of", etc. [See Genesis 4:25, 22:13, Exodus 29:30, Leviticus 14:42, 2 Samuel 19:13, 1 Chronicles 4:41]. When a normal "green tree" was changed into an "asherah" by decorating it, as in the above verses, in defiance of the LORD, the “asherah” was set up “in the place of” a normal green tree by adding such decorations and by placing offerings under them. This must have been great fun for the people, celebrating a joyous occasion, but God obviously hated it and commanded that it be destroyed wherever it was found.

When the People of today also erect their Christmas Tree in prominent places, in the picture window of their house, in public buildings, in every town square and on the White House lawn, spending great time, effort and money to place elaborate decorations and lighting upon them, they are committing the sin of idolatry just as surely as the Old Testament peoples, even though they say they are just doing it for fun.

Brought Indoors - The "asherah" was also set up indoors, and even brought into the Temple. As Jeremiah described, they were fastened with nails so they cannot move:

2 Kings 21:7 - And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: (imagen de Asera)

2 Kings 23:4,6-7 - And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el. ...
6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. (imagen deAsera)

7 And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove. (Asera)

This last verse is especially revealing, because it again shows that the "asherah" was also decorated with hand-made ornaments, as women and children often do today. Of course these ornaments or "hangings" were idolatrous.

2 Kings 23:14 - And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. (troncos sagrados; imagenes de Asera)

Today people hang little Santa Clauses and other images, and lights and shiny objects and so forth, to decorate their Christmas Trees. This is the same kind of idolatry as was practiced by the Israelites with their various images, and also described by Jeremiah as deccorating with “silver and gold”.

Destroyed by the Righteous - At times, those who were righteous destroyed the "asherah", as God commanded, and the LORD had all these images broken in pieces and destroyed:

Judges 6:27-30 - Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. (arbol sagrado; imagen de Asera)
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. (arbol sagrado; imagen de Asera)

2 Chronicles 14:2-4 - And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:
3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: (representaciones de Asera; simbolos de Asera)
4 And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

2 Chronicles 17:6 - And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. (representaciones de Asera; imagenes de Asera)

2 Chronicles 19:3 - Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God. (representaciones de Asera; imagenes de Asera)

2 Chronicles 31:1 - Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. (representaciones de Asera; imagenes de Asera)

The Wrath of God - Finally, there is found prophecy about the coming wrath of God with respect to the "asherah" and the little "images" which are used to decorate them:

Micah 5:13-15 - Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. (arboles sagrados; imagenes de Asera)
15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

Merry Christmas? - This last scripture seems to be a hint that many cities will be destroyed during one of the Christmas seasons.

It is commonly claimed that "Christmas" is a day of joy, merriment, gladness, and good tidings in observance of Jesus' birth. But the honest in heart will eventually admit that this is merely ‘lip service’ to our Lord, and that in reality christmas is a time of excess, mainly used for partying and materialism, dedicated to the decorating of trees, the buying of gifts for friends and family, and in preparation for the coming of the mythical ‘Santa Clause’, for the purpose of commercial exploitation.

As I have on countless occasions observed families decorating these trees, and have later watched them gathered around their ‘ashera’, distributing and opening presents to each other in the fashion of pagans, I have realized that any thoughts of the Saviour are the farthest thing from their minds, as is the commandment to ‘raise up your children in light and truth’. But I have also learned, as did Joseph Smith, that these ‘Gentiles’ will go to any length to justify their false traditions.

As Jesus observed, saying “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own traditions.” [Mark 7:9]

An example of the destruction that will be brought upon the heads of those who celebrate such false traditions can be found in scripture on the occasion of the death of two of God's own prophets:

Revelation 11:10 - And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

In like manner, those who ‘celebrate Jesus' birth’ according to heathen traditions will sometimes be found to be expressing their joy on a day which commemorates Saturnalia which is, according to the true calendar, one of Satan's works. But Jesus Christ is not central in that joy, but rather the heathen traditions such as decorating trees and gift-giving, then they through such tradition symbolically will have become the enemies of God.

Ask yourself if you would want to be found (1) rejoicing, (2) making merry, and (3) giving gifts on the anniversary date of a future event in which these things are done to honor the "beast" who kills God's prophets.

Perhaps you are not completely convinced that the Hebrew word ASRE (asherah) refers to a "decorated tree" because an exact description of the "asherah" is not given in English. However there is enough information given in the several examples above to know that this practice was hated by God, and that it consisted of a tree, erect, often brought indoors, and hung with ornaments. And the servants of God were commanded to cut them down and burn them.

But there is also another clue. Based on the known meaning of "asherah" (decorated tree) is derived from a related Hebrew word ASRI (ashere), meaning"enjoy" or "merriment". The associated Hebrew word ASRI (ashere) is also translated in the KJV as follows: blessed - 27 times; happy - 18 times

In consideration of the original scripture quoted above, ask yourself how Satan uses the false Catholic tradition called ‘christmas’ to take away ‘light and truth’ from the children of men. An honest evaluation will disclose that it has always been used as a time of justifying excesses… excesses of materialism, excess of partying, excess of eating, excess of drinking, excess of spending into indebtedness, excess of exploiting of the Santa myth, converting him in the minds of children into a god which they eventually learn was a deception and finally, excess of loneliness often leading to suicide!

Summary: We can all rationalize that we are not celebrating or using Christmas for these idolic purposes, but the warning of the prophets is clear, LEARN NOT THE WAY OF THE HEATHEN! We need to liken these scriptures to our own lives, as they are still true today, and those in ancient Israel who adopted heathen practices finding happiness and enjoyment in decorating their trees, even converting the practice into ‘blessed events’ were condemned to destruction in ancient times, as those that continue to do so, as we have been warned, finally will be in the end.