At this Christmas season, may I share
a few thoughts concerning him whose birth we commemorate--the Man of
Miracles, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Although he healed the
sick, raised the dead, caused the lame to walk and the blind to see,
there is no miracle comparable to the miracle of Christ himself.
We live in a world of pomp and
muscle, of strutting that glorifies jet thrust and far-flying
warheads. It is the same kind of strutting that produced the misery of
the days of Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Hitler. In this kind
of world it is not easy to recognize that--
A babe born in a stable of the
village of Bethlehem, A boy reared as a carpenter of Nazareth,
A citizen of a conquered and
subdued nation,
A man whose mortal footsteps never
went beyond a radius of 150 miles, who never received a school degree,
who never spoke from a great pulpit, who never owned a home, who
traveled afoot and without purse Is actually the creator of heaven and
earth and all that in them are.
Neither is it easy for many to
recognize-- That he is the author of our salvation and his the only
name whereby we must be saved; That he would bring light and
understanding of things eternal and divine as none other has ever
done; That his teachings not only would influence the personal
behavior of uncounted millions, but also would inspire political
systems which dignify and protect the individual, and social truths
which foster education and cul- ture; That his matchless example would
become the greatest power for goodness and peace in all the world.
Truly, his coming, ministry, and place in our eyes are as foretold by
the ancient prophet Isaiah: "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, Counselor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
I ask anew the question offered by
Pilate two thousand years ago, "What shall I do then with Jesus
which is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:22.) Indeed, we need
continually to ask ourselves, What shall we do with Jesus who is
called Christ? What shall we do with his teachings, and how can we
make them an inseparable part of our lives? In light of these
questions, at this season we ask another: What does Christ- mas really
mean' May I suggest some things that it should mean?
Christmas means giving. The Father
gave his Son, and the Son gave his life. Without giving there is no
true Christmas, and without sacrifice there is no true worship. There
is more to Christmas than neckties, earrings, toys, and all the
tinseled stuff of which we make so much.
I recall an experience I heard at
a stake conference in Idaho. A farm family in the community had just
contracted for the installation of an additional and much-needed room
on their home. Three or four days later the father came to the
building supply dealer and said, "Will it be all right with you
if we cancel the contract? The bishop talked with John about a mission
last night. We will need to set this room aside for a while." The
building supply dealer responded, "Your son will go on his
mission, and he will find the needed room when he returns." Here
was the spirit of Christmas--a family sending a boy into the world to
teach the gospel, and friends coming to help the family with their
problems. What then, indeed, shall we do with Jesus who is called
Christ?
Christmas means giving and
"the gift without the giver is bare." Giving of self; giving
of substance; giving of heart and mind and strength in assisting those
in need and in spreading the cause of His eternal truth--these are of
the very essence of the true spirit of Christmas.
Christmas means the Christ child,
the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger while angels
sang and wise men traveled far to bring gifts. It is a beautiful and
timeless story, and I hope each of us will read it again this season.
When I think of the Savior, I
think not only of the words of Matthew and Luke, but also of the words
of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that
was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men."
(John 1:1-4.)
Here is something more than a babe
in a manger; here is the creator of all that is good and beautiful. I
have looked at majestic mountains rising high against the blue sky and
thought of Jesus, the creator of heaven and earth. I have stood on the
sand of an island in the Pacific and watched the dawn rise like
thunder--a ball of gold surrounded by clouds of pink and white and
purple--and thought of Jesus, the Word by whom all things were made
and without whom was not anything made that was made. I have seen a
beautiful child--bright-eyed, innocent, loving, and trusting--and
marveled at the majesty and miracle of creation. What then shall we do
with Jesus who is called Christ?
This earth is his creation. When
we make it ugly, we of- fend him. When we abuse his works, we abuse
him.
Christmas means eternity. As
certainly as Christ came into the world, lived among men, laid down
his life, and became the first fruits of the resurrection, so, through
that atonement, all become partakers of immortality. Death will come,
but death has been robbed of its sting, and the grave of its victory.
"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26).
I remember standing before the
bier of a young man whose life had been bright with hope and promise.
He had been an athlete in his high school, and an excellent university
student. He was a friendly, affable, brilliant young man. He had gone
into the mission field. He and his companion were riding down the
highway when a car, coming from the opposite direction, moved into
their lane and crashed into them. He died in the hospital an hour
later. As I stood at the pulpit and looked into the faces of his
father and his mother, there came into my heart a conviction that I
had seldom be- fore felt with such assurance. I knew with certainty,
as I looked across that casket, that this young man had not died, but
had merely been transferred to another field of labor in the eternal
ministry of the Lord.
Indeed, what shall one do with
Jesus who is called Christ? Let us live with the certain knowledge
that someday "we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing
even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our
guilt" (Alma 11:43). Let us live today knowing that we shall live
forever. Let us live with the conviction that whatever principle of
intelligence and beauty and truth and goodness we make a part of our
lives here, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
Christmas means compassion and
love and, most of all, for- giveness. "Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). How poor
indeed would be our lives without the influence of his teachings and
his matchless example! The lessons of the turning of the other cheek,
going the second mile, the return of the prodigal, and scores of other
incomparable teachings have filtered down the ages to become the
catalyst to bring kindness and mercy out of much of man's inhumanity
to man.
Brutality reigns where Christ is
banished. Kindness and forbearance govern where Christ is recognized
and his teachings are followed.
What shall we do then with Jesus
who is called Christ? "He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8.)
"Wherefore, I say unto you,
that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his
brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there
remaineth in him the greater sin" (D&C 64:9).
Christmas means peace. I remember
being in Europe a number of years ago at the time tanks were rolling
down the streets of a great city and students were being slaughtered
with machine-gun fire. I stood that December day in the rail road
station in Hern, Switzerland, At eleven o'clock in the morning, every
church bell in Switzerland began to ring, and at the conclusion of
that ringing every vehicle stopped-- every car on the highway, every
bus, every railroad train. The great, cavernous railway station became
deathly still. I looked out of the front door across the plaza. Men
working on the hotel opposite stood on the scaffolding with bared
heads. Every bicycle stopped. Every man and woman and child dismounted
and stood with bared, bowed heads. Then, after three minutes of
prayerful silence, trucks, great convoys of them, began to roll from
Geneva and Bern and Bascl and Zurich toward the suffering nation to
the cast, laden with supplies--food, clothing, and medicine. The gates
of Switzerland were thrown open to refugees.
As I stood there that December
morning, I marveled at the miraculous contrast of the oppressive power
mowing down students in one nation and the spirit of a Christian
people in another who bowed their heads in prayer and reverence, then
rolled up their sleeves to provide succor and salvation
What shall we do then with Jesus
which is called Christ? "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye
took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I
was in prison, and ye came unto me" (Matthew 25:35-36).
He whose birth we commemorate this
season is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God. The
creator of the earth, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the
fulfillment of the law of Moses, the Redeemer of mankind, the King of
kings, the Prince of Peace.
I thank our Eternal Father that
mankind in these latter days has been blessed to know of Christ with
added certainty and added knowledge. I rejoice with thanksgiving that
he has reaffirmed his matchless gospel truths in their fulness, and
that he has restored his priesthood power and church to prepare a
people and make ready for his eventual coming in great glory and power
in the opening of the millennial era.
I rejoice at Christmastime that as
a people, we Latter-day Saints know of his existence and reality, and
receive certain direction from him.
"And now, after the many
testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last
of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
"For we saw him, even on the
right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is
the Only Begotten of the Father--
"That by him, and through
him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants
thereof are beget- ten sons and daughters unto God." (D&C
76:22-24.)
This is our testimony to all
mankind. It is our gift and blessing to the world. He is our joy and
our salvation, and we will find Christmas of greater meaning in our
own lives as we share these truths with others.
What shall we do with Jesus who is
called Christ?
Learn of him. Search the
scriptures, for they are they which testify of him. Ponder the miracle
of his life and mission. Try a little more diligently to follow his
example and observe his teachings. Bring the Christ back into
Christmas.
angel,
"is offering more, meet for the Christ Child than these pure
Christmas Roses."
