There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for

Host:
The cold winds of the early December night whipped through the empty streets, the bare trees standing like silent sentinels beneath the pale moonlight. Inside, the soft glow of the lamp cast shadows that danced across the room. The air was thick with the scent of evergreens, and the fireplace crackled softly in the corner, its flames flickering as though fighting against the night’s chill. Jack sat in his chair, his eyes distant and cold, while Jeeny stood by the window, staring out at the snow that had begun to fall gently from the sky.

Jeeny:
(She turns slowly, her eyes searching Jack's face, her voice soft but firm.)
“You know, Jack, I’ve been thinking a lot about something I read earlier today. Thomas S. Monson said, *‘There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is the time to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart - and our neighbors as ourselves.’” (She pauses, letting the words settle in the air.) “Doesn't that feel like the truth, Jack? The season, the moment — a time to truly change. To rededicate. To love.”

Jack:
(He shifts in his seat, his voice low, a hint of sarcasm coloring his words.)
“Rededicate ourselves? It’s easy to say that, Jeeny. It’s easy to wrap yourself in the warmth of a holiday, to pretend like you’re going to be a better person for a few weeks, and then slip back into the same patterns once the lights come down. You think love solves everything?” (He shakes his head, his eyes narrow.) “Jesus taught a lot of things, but love—that’s a lofty idea. You can’t just love people and expect everything to be fine. People are selfish, they’re greedy. Love won’t fix that.”

Jeeny:
(Jeeny steps closer to him, her voice rising, filled with passion.)
“But that’s the point, Jack! You don’t love because people are easy. You love because it’s what we’re called to do. Because, in loving, we transform not just the world around us, but ourselves.” (Her hands shake slightly as she gestures toward the window.) “Think about the suffering in the world, the hurt. Do you really think that the answer is to just be pragmatic? The world isn’t going to change unless we start with our own hearts — unless we choose to love, to forgive, to make the sacrifices.”

Jack:
(He crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair with a scoff, his voice dry.)
“Sacrifice. Great. That’s what the world needs, right? More people giving up their lives for something that doesn’t even guarantee a return. You think those people in history who suffered for their faith — what did they gain? Sainthood? Or just death? What about all those people who loved others with all their hearts, only to have it thrown back in their faces? Love doesn’t save people. It’s an ideal — a beautiful one, sure, but not practical.”

Jeeny:
(She steps forward, her eyes now brimming with emotion.)
“You’re wrong, Jack. I can’t believe you don’t see it. Love does save. Maybe not always in the way we want it to. But in small moments, in quiet acts, it changes people. It changes the world. Look at the civil rights movement. Look at Martin Luther King Jr.. He didn’t fight with violence, he fought with love, with compassion. He changed a whole nation by standing firm in his beliefs. And people followed him because he chose love.”

Jack:
(He stares at her, the sharpness in his eyes softening just a fraction, though his tone remains skeptical.)
“I don’t know, Jeeny. It’s hard for me to buy into that. When I look around, I see people using love as an excuse to avoid reality. They use faith as a shield against the harshness of life. I don’t think it’s as simple as just loving everyone and expecting peace. Look at the wars, the hatred. People can love, but they can also destroy.”

Jeeny:
(She sighs, stepping back and staring at the fireplace, her voice softer now, more vulnerable.)
“I get it. I really do. I know the world is broken. But if we don’t try to love, if we don’t make the choice to be better, then we’re just part of the problem. I believe that even in the darkest moments, love is the one thing that can carry us forward. Maybe it’s not the answer to everything, but it’s a start.”

Host:
The fire crackles, its warmth filling the room, but it can’t fully touch the tension that hangs between them. Jack’s eyes flicker with something almost like regret, while Jeeny watches the flames with a quiet resolve, her fingers brushing the edge of the chair. For a long moment, the air is still, the snow falling in soft sheets outside the window, like whispers of the world’s eternal confusion.

Jack:
(After a pause, his voice almost hesitant, the edge of cynicism still there but softened.)
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m too jaded to see it. But I don’t know, Jeeny... sometimes, I wonder if faith is just another way of masking the truth of how complicated life really is.”

Jeeny:
(She turns, meeting his gaze, her eyes filled with a quiet strength.)
“It is complicated, Jack. It always will be. But the choice to love, to believe in something greater than ourselves, that’s the thing that gives us purpose. Without that, what do we have left? Just logic and reason, trying to fix something that was never meant to be fixed.”

Jack:
(He looks down, his voice soft, as though he’s speaking more to himself than to her.)
“I don’t know, Jeeny. Maybe... maybe there’s more to it than I thought. Maybe love isn’t as foolish as I believed. But it’s a hard thing to grasp. Hard to hold onto in this world.”

Jeeny:
(She smiles gently, a quiet triumph in her eyes.)
“It’s not easy, Jack. But it’s the only thing that ever truly matters.”

Host:
The snow continues to fall outside, blanketing the world in stillness, as the firelight flickers, casting long shadows across the room. Jack and Jeeny sit in the quiet, the tension between them now tempered by a shared understanding — not of all things, but of one undeniable truth: sometimes, the choice to love is the only thing that redeems us.

The silent understanding between them is enough, for now.