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Eyring - Gifts of Peace - December 2016

12/25/2016

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President Eyring speaks during the annual Christmas Devotional in December 2016.  He speaks about the gifts that the Savior provides to us.  He begins by saying that the peace the Savior gives is not found in world peace, political peace, or financial peace because all of these issues were present in the Savior's time.  The peace He offers is the Savior's peace and is personal to each of us.

  • Some of us live in beautiful and peaceful surroundings, yet we are experiencing inner turmoil. Others feel peace and perfect serenity in the midst of great personal loss, tragedy, and continuing trials.
  • To all who have come into mortality, the Savior said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” Yet He gave this wonderful promise to His disciples during His mortal ministry: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” It is a comfort to know that this promise of personal peace continues for all of His covenant disciples today.

He speaks of three ways the Savior brings peace to our lives.

First,
like the angels who sang on the night of His birth, we can feel peace as we celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ. We can “come [and] adore him.”
  • Words come back from memory and down into my heart every Christmas season. I can hear in my mind exultant voices of a great choir singing: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
  • The first time I can remember hearing those words was as I sat in the balcony of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. A choir was singing the music of Handel. I can remember feeling something in my heart. I was young then. I am older now, and I know what that feeling was. It was the Holy Ghost, whose companionship I had been offered when I was eight years of age. The Spirit confirmed to my heart that the words I heard sung that night were true.
  • The feeling I had in the balcony of the Tabernacle that night was of faith and hope. I felt faith that because “unto us a child [was] born,” I could have hope in my heart that death would not be the end. I would be resurrected, and the sting of death would be removed for all of Heavenly Father’s children.
  • And yet I felt more, so much more. I felt hope that because of Him, I could follow and serve Him and so be born to a newness of spiritual life. Because of the gift of His birth, my heart, your heart, and all human hearts can be changed to become again like that of a little child—pure, clean, and fit to go home again to the God who gave us a Savior and provided the way back to Him in His heavenly home. I felt gratitude and peace, and so can we all because of the gift of the Father and of the Son.

Second, like the shepherds who saw the Christ child and “made known abroad” the glad tidings of His birth, we can teach peace to our families and others whom we love. We do so best when we open the scriptures to their minds and hearts.

He speaks about his family tradition of putting on a Christmas pageant each year.  As the family grew, there were more parts to add, more people to join, and as time went on, people grew up and the crowd of people to celebrate Christmas got less and less.  He will never forget the messages of love and peace he felt as he gathered those he loved close to him to honor the Savior at Christmas.
  • They were blessed to learn in the parts they played in our pageant something about the Savior and why we love Him. I am grateful that our children and their children saw us honor the baby Jesus, born to be the infinite sacrifice, the priceless gift of peace Heavenly Father gave to all His children.

Third, like the Wise Men, we can give gifts of love and peace as disciples of the risen Lord.
  • You and your family will have built your own Christmas traditions to fit your circumstances, but they will have some things in common. They will draw hearts to the Savior. And they will include acts of kindness that will merit the approbation of the Savior.
  • Angels, shepherds, and Wise Men sought and found peace from their faith in Jesus Christ. So will you. The Savior’s birth is the gift that makes it possible for the Father to give us “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.” We shouted for joy in the spirit world when we heard of that promise. Peace and joy come to us again when we hear words sung proclaiming that God’s loving promise was kept

President Eyring concludes with these words that he wishes for all of us at this Christmas time.
  • I pray that peace will come and abide with each of us as we remember, love, and worship our Heavenly Father by keeping our covenants with Him. May we always remember the service and kindness Jesus Christ gave during His mortal ministry—and resolve to do the same.

Merry Christmas! I hope we can all remember the precious gift that God has given to us on this special day. As you attend your church meetings today, I pray that you will recognize the special gift of the Sacrament that you will have the opportunity to take. What a special gift we have to take the sacrament on the day we celebrate the life of the Savior Jesus Christ. I pray that you will continue traditions established in years past and create new ones that bring you and your family closer together and closer to the Savior. May God bless you this day and always with the assurance of His love for you and those you love.
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Holmes - The Gift of the Holy Ghost - December 2016

12/24/2016

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Brother Douglas D. Holmes, First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency speaks at the Christmas Devotional in December 2016.  He speaks about the giving and receiving of gifts and the significance of giving gifts in light of the ultimate gift that God gave us, His son.
  • It seems appropriate that giving and receiving gifts is a central part of Christmas. After all, we are celebrating the matchless gift of God’s Son, the Savior Jesus Christ. Of course, our gifts to each other will never compare to this gift, but I believe that the joy of giving and receiving gifts can turn our hearts toward the “gifts of God.”

He asks us to think of what Christmas would be like if we were given gifts, only to admire that we received it but never opened it.  He encourages us to look at the gifts that God has given us and seek ways to open them for our personal benefit.
  • Imagine how strange it would be if, on Christmas morning, we sat around the Christmas tree, admired the beautifully wrapped presents, talked about what might be inside them, and then went about our day without ever opening the gifts!
  • Tonight I want to invite all of us to ponder how we might truly receive the gifts God has offered us. In particular, I’d like to focus on the boundless gift of the Holy Ghost. As I do, I pray that the Holy Ghost will help us understand the significance of this gift, teach us what we can do to more fully receive it, and give us grace to act on what we feel.

He speaks about the gift of the Holy Ghost that God has given to us.  He reviews the fruits of the spirit and compares those fruits to what we call today, the Christmas Spirit.  They are very similar.
  • You remember some of those attributes: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance.” To me this sounds like a good description of what is often called “the Christmas spirit.” The angelic promises of “good tidings of great joy” and “peace, good will toward men” from that first Christmas night are fulfilled, in part, as we receive the Holy Ghost.

Brother Douglas says there are three things we can do to receive the precious gift that God has given us.  He uses examples from the Book of Mormon to teach us how we can receive the gift with greater impact in our lives.

Overarching Spiritual Desire

  • As they waited for the Savior to return, the disciples taught the multitude what Jesus had taught the previous day. The record then says they knelt and prayed “for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost [would] be given unto them.” Consider for a moment how significant that is—they were anxiously anticipating the promised return of the Savior, but they did not pray for that. Having been taught by the perfect teacher and then by His chosen disciples, what they most desired was the gift of the Holy Ghost. This intense, overarching spiritual desire is a vital key to receiving this gift.

Righteously Participating in Ordinances
  • Returning to the scene in the Book of Mormon, we discover another key. After pleading in prayer for the gift they most desired, the Holy Ghost, the disciples went down into the water and were baptized. “And it came to pass when they were all baptized … the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” The ordinance of baptism serves as a physical witness of our commitment to remember and obey, our willingness to take Christ’s name upon us, and our desire to receive the Holy Ghost.

Increasing Faith
  • If we desire the Holy Ghost as our daily companion, we will feast on and obey the word of Christ received through the scriptures, living prophets, and the whisperings of the Spirit. This daily pursuit of light and truth will increase our faith in Christ, our desire to be like Him, and our capacity to receive the third member of the Godhead as our constant companion.

Brother Douglas outlines the precious gift that we have in the Holy Ghost. He shares ways that we can have the Spirit more in our lives. As I have included a daily conference talk in my daily study for the past 10 months, I have seen an increase in my faith. I have felt the presence of the Spirit more in my life. I have felt an increased desire to change my life and to do things that are more in line with the things that I have studied.  Today marks our 300th blog entry. I have felt the amazing love that God has for me and His children on this journey. I have made this a part of my daily life and I know that there are many we have taken this journey with me. Thank you for your support by reading the posts daily. I have learned so much and am daily, trying to learn more about being a better disciple of the Savior. Please encourage your friends and family to take this journey with us. As we share the message of General Conference together, I know that our faith will increase, our desire to change for the better will be intensified, and the love that the Savior has for us will be felt on a daily basis. Please join me on the journey of another 300 blog posts in the future.
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Christensen - The Fulness of the Story of Christmas - December 2016

12/23/2016

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Elder Craig C. Christensen speaks at the Christmas Devotional in December 2016.  He speaks about the life of the Savior and the many things accomplished on earth by the Son of God.  He begins by speaking about His birth and the meaning behind why He did what He did.
  • Christ’s birth was unlike any other. The precious details—the journey to Bethlehem, an overcrowded inn, a lowly manger, a newfound star, and ministering angels—make His a birth story for the ages. Yet the story of the Savior’s birth represents only a part of why we feel the Spirit during the Christmas season. Christmas is not only a celebration of how Jesus came into the world but also of knowing who He is—our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—and of why He came.
  • This meaning becomes clearer when we consider the fulness of the Christmas story. As President Gordon B. Hinckley explained: “There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection.

He reminds us that Christ's mission didn't start at His birth and it didn't end on the cross. His mission was part of God's ultimate plan of happiness.
  • Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem is not the beginning of the story, and Calvary is not the end
  • Here on earth, the memory of our former life is covered by a veil of forgetfulness. Our purpose in coming to earth was to learn how to “walk by faith, not by sight.”
  • To strengthen that faith, God sent prophets who foresaw and foretold of the coming of the promised Messiah.

He reminds us that the birth was a spectacular miracle, but Christ was not finished.  Miracles continued throughout His life and into His death.
  • As miraculous as the Savior’s birth was, greater miracles were about to follow.

The Saviors final days on earth are where the miracle of the atonement takes place. Christ fulfilled his earthly mission in the garden, on the cross, and ultimately in His death. He was the only one that could do what He did. He was the only one that could save us.
  • Ultimately, the fulness of the story of Christmas culminates with the last three days of the Savior’s life. In that pivotal period, the Savior passed from the Garden of Gethsemane to the cross of Calvary to the Garden Tomb. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, the “impact and efficacy” of that moment would “reach back … to the beginning of time, and forward … throughout all eternity.”
  • With the fate of every human soul hanging in the balance, Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane virtually alone. There followed interrogation, scourging, and finally an excruciating death on the cross. With the same humility and submissiveness in which He declared from the beginning, “Here am I, send me,” he now said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

Elder Christensen summarizes the many accomplishments of the Savior and why we ultimately celebrate His birth. But he reminds us that His mission and accomplishments are ultimately why we celebrate Easter as well.

  • These are the “good tidings of great joy” we celebrate at Christmas—not only that Christ was born but that He lived among us, gave His life for us, was resurrected, and ultimately “finished the work which [His Father gave Him] to do.” We rejoice because the confusion and chaos of this world can be hushed by the promise made to us from the very beginning—a promise fulfilled by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. For this reason, the story of Christmas is not fully told without the story of Easter. It was the Savior’s atoning sacrifice that made holy the silent night in Bethlehem. It was His gift of redemption that caused us to shout for joy in the premortal world—this gift that heals our sickness, restores our sight, and wipes away all tears.

He concludes reminding us that this sacrifice was part of God's plan of happiness. It was a personal sacrifice for me and you. Christ fulfilled and made possible the great plan that the Father outlined in the pre-mortal world.
  • The light we love at Christmas emanates from the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. The story we cherish at Christmas tells of our Father’s plan of happiness, which Christ made possible.

What a great message this Christmas season. Christ fulfilled His agreement with the Father and ultimately with you and me. We shouted for joy that this amazing person would take upon Himself the salvation and eternal life of all mankind. He came to do the will of the Father and He did it because He loved the Father, you, and me.  This Christmas season, I hope you will take this message personally. He did this for you and was happy to make all this possible.

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