The Church has started using direct e-mail to send messages to the members of the Church. If you have an e-mail associated with your LDS Account, you should have gotten the first of these e-mails this morning.

I really like this move. As is standard practice (and required by law in many places), the e-mail allows those who don’t wish to receive such direct communication to unsubscribe.

I enjoy the fact that when there is something important, I can be told immediately, rather than having to wait until Sunday services to hear a message read from the pulpit. This also gives me the chance to have an archive, so I can review anything of interest, rather than attempting to remember.

This first e-mail contained a link to the short video “He is the Gift,” which I have watched before and thoroughly enjoyed. It also included an invitation to attend the First Presidency Christmas Devotional this Sunday.

For those in the DC area, the annual Messiah sing along will be held in the Annandale Stake Center just before the broadcast. As I have done for the past several years, I will be playing violin for the sing along. So come and listen to the wonderful Christ-filled music of Handel and enjoy watching the First Presidency Christmas broadcast.