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Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, right, gives Christmas cookie dough to Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman, center, and Sister Tamara W. Runia, left, during an Instagram live video on Dec. 2, 2025. Making cookies is a tradition for Sister Spannaus, and she added light to that tradition this year by sharing the cookies for "Light the World." Screenshot from Young Women Worldwide Instagram account, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Mary Richards, Church News
This year’s Light the World initiative from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites all to add the light of Jesus Christ to their Christmas traditions.
During a live video on the Young Women Worldwide Instagram account on Tuesday, December 2, the Young Women General Presidency talked about some of their Christmas traditions and how to add light to them.
Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and her counselors, Sister Tamara W. Runia and Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, also invited young women to think about how they can do that this year.
“This idea about ‘add light’ becomes the most important part of ‘Light the World’ this year,” President Freeman said.
Sister Runia said, “When we do that joy or share that love or that light, it boomerangs back to us. We feel that in return as we think about our fellow man during this Christmas season.”
President Freeman responded, “And as you think about that, adding light, it makes you think about Him.”
For example, Sister Spannaus has had a family tradition going back many years with her mother where they have made a special type of Christmas cookie. To add light to that tradition, Sister Spannaus shared the cookies with friends — she brought the cookie dough with her to give to President Freeman and Sister Runia to bake in their own homes.
“Another idea that you can do with your class is to make it with your friends and then visit the young women that maybe are not coming and share the cookies with them,” Sister Spannaus said.
One of Sister Runia’s traditions is listening to Christmas music. To add light to that tradition, she put together a Christmas playlist to share with others. This can be done in the Gospel Library app.
Her playlist starts with “Wexford Carol” by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
“Whenever I play this, I feel the peace of the season, and I feel closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ,” Sister Runia said. “If you could do that for somebody else, somebody who maybe isn’t having an easy holiday and it’s not exactly a joyful time for them, at least offer them a gift of peace through music.”
President Freeman added that a Young Women class could create a class playlist of all their favorite Christmas songs.
“How fun it would be to sit with your class and have everyone say their one favorite Christmas song and have a class playlist. Then you think about everybody every time you listen,” she said.
President Freeman said a tradition for many people is to read Luke 2. They can add light to this tradition by texting a verse about Jesus Christ to a friend.
“It reminds me of the verse that we read in the Book of Mormon where it talks about sharing our light and Jesus says, ‘I am the light which ye should hold up’” (3 Nephi 18:24), President Freeman said. “Every time we add light, whatever that is in this next month, we are holding Him up, and He is becoming part of Christmas for us.”
A printable PDF of suggestions is available in English on LightTheWorld.org. Idea generators are also available on several different language versions of the website as well.
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A list of ideas "Add light to your Christmas traditions" is available to download on LighttheWorld.org.2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Copyright 2025 Deseret News Publishing Company.