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Audience: Massaponax Ward Sacrament MeetingLocation: Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States of AmericaDate: 8 December 2024 |
What Is Your Favorite Part Of Christmas?
What is your favorite part of Christmas?
- Christmas lights and decorations
- Family traditions
- Seeing family and old friends
- Watching classic Christmas movies
- The food and the treats
- The music and caroling
Maybe some deeper:
- The feeling of peace and goodwill
- The spirit of giving
- Reading Luke, chapter 2
- A time to turn our thoughts and hearts to the Savior
I want to talk today about gifts. As a child, there is a thrill and excitement waking up Christmas morning. All the hopes of what you may have gotten. Hopefully some surprises too.
As an adult, I never ask for any gifts. But still, my wife has a special talent to give me things that I had no idea I wanted until I open it up. The thoughtfulness tells me that she knows me and that she loves me.
As we give and receive gifts this Christmas, perhaps we can do better at taking that time to ponder the gifts that Our Heavenly Father has given us. Do those gifts fill us with the same excitement? Do we recognize how His gifts show us that He knows each of us. That He loves each of us.
We can also ponder what gifts we can give to Our Heavenly Father. What gifts can we give Him that show that we know and love him?
Why Do We Give Gifts At Christmas?
Why do we give gifts with our loved ones on Christmas day?
We could go back to the Wise Men, with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Or to early Christians transforming the Roman custom of gift-giving during Saturnalia, a winter festival.
Or to the original Saint Nicholas, known for bringing gifts to children.
Saint Nicholas was originally commemorated with St. Nicholas Day in medieval Europe, where gifts were exchanged on December 6th.
Or to all the European adaptations of Saint Nicholas such as Sinterklaas in The Netherlands or Père Noël (Father Christmas) in France.
A lot of our modern day customs and traditions with Christmas we see here are borne out of the Victorian Era.
But I don’t think those are very good reasons for giving each other gifts on Christmas Day.
Personally, I think the best reason to give gifts on Christmas is to remember the ultimate gift that was given when Jesus was born.
The Gifts Our Heavenly Father Has Given Us
John 3:16:
16 ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Our Heavenly Father sending His Son, so that we can be saved and have everlasting life, is the true gift of Christmas. And God gave us this gift, because He loves us.
It was not only our Heavenly Father giving us this gift. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, willingly gave himself as well. As Moroni was abridging the record of the Jaredites he had a bit of an “aha” moment as he pondered this gift and this love.
Ether 12:33-34:
33 And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men.
34 And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.
As we reflect on this great gift our Heavenly Father and our Savior have given us, we can also ponder all the other gifts they have given us.
- The creation and all the beauty of this Earth
- Our lives and the opportunity to participate in the Plan of Salvation
- Our free agency
- The unique talents and special abilities we are each given
- The Gift of the Holy Ghost
- The gifts of the Spirit
- Comfort and inner peace
- The Atonement of Jesus Christ
- Repentance
- Grace and forgiveness
- Joy
- Our families and the gift of eternal families
- And on and on
The Gifts We Can Give God
As we ponder the bounteous gifts God has given us, I think it is appropriate to also consider what gifts we can give to Him.
Three thoughts immediately come to mind.
First, a very short verse and to the point. John 14:15:
15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.
We can show our love Jesus we love Him by following His commandments. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, that is why He came to Earth in the first place, because He knew it would be impossible for us to be perfect. But we can do our best. We can acknowledge when we mess up and try again. I believe our striving and effort makes our Heavenly Father happy.
My second thought comes from Neal A. Maxwell. I believe I first remember hearing this in a General Conference, but my quote comes from a BYU devotional in January of 1999:
I am going to preach a hard doctrine to you now. The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. It is a hard doctrine, but it is true. The many other things we give to God, however nice that may be of us, are actually things He has already given us, and He has loaned them to us. But when we begin to submit ourselves by letting our wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him. And that hard doctrine lies at the center of discipleship. There is a part of us that is ultimately sovereign, the mind and heart, where we really do decide which way to go and what to do. And when we submit to His will, then we’ve really given Him the one thing He asks of us.
This is a hard doctrine not because it is difficult to understand or difficult to believe. It is really no different than what we just read in John 14:15 . But it is a hard doctrine because it is difficult to truly live.
We each have things in our lives that our contrary to God. For some reason some of them are so difficult for us to let go. Perhaps the best gift we can give God this year is letting one of them go. I think humbling ourselves and thoughtfully identifying one thing would be a very thoughtful gift indeed! And maybe next Christmas we can give up yet another.
My third idea for a gift we can give this year comes from John 21:15-17:
15 ¶ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
We show our love for the Savior when we take care of each other. When we serve others. When we show each other patience and grace. When we give each other the benefit of the doubt. When we seek to understand each other. When we forgive each other. When we say “I’m sorry”.
Feeding Christ’s sheep is to love all of His children. But we can and we should start in our homes. Start with those you see daily or weekly at work or at church. You can tell them you love them, but you can also show them simply by how you treat them.
Conclusion
As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us strive to remember the Gifts our Heavenly Father and Savior have give us. Let us remember not only the birth of Jesus, but also the reason Jesus was born. God sent Jesus to save us! I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we are rescued, we are saved. We accept that gift by repenting and striving to do and be better.
Let us also ponder what gifts we can give the Savior.
I say these things….