The Mansion - Henry Van Dyke

A couple years ago, our stake conference was held via satellite from Salt Lake. President Monson spoke, then First Counselor of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He recited many of his favorite stories, but these were not the usual stories he refers to. He didn't refer to stories of his youth or of an acquaintance of his. He spoke of favorite books and movies he has read and watched over the years. He spoke of My Fair Lady, It's a Wonderful Life, and many other movies that had touched him in some way. He spoke of many books that shared profound messages that had taught him much.

Most of what he spoke I was familiar with and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his perspective on things. One story, I was not familiar with. He spoke of a short story written by Henry Van Dyke, called The Mansion. I left the meeting with a determination to find the story and read it. I did attempt a few times to trace it down at the bookstore, but didn't really make a good effort. So here I am, a good 2 years later, finally fulfilling my goal. Takes me a while sometimes. Oops.

I used the lazy mans way of all research and typed "The Mansion" into my Google search engine. Good old Google never lets me down. Not only did I find the story, but I read the whole thing on-line. It carries such a message that it is perfect for Christmas time. It even takes place on Christmas Eve. The story has a "Christmas Carol" sort of a backbone to it and I will forever use it as a staple of my Christmas story telling from now on. I wanted to share it with all of you. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

The Mansion