Eyring - Gifts of Peace - December 2016

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.