I was asked to speak in sacrament meeting today. My usual method of preparation is to study everything on my topic, make bullet points and then get up there and talk about it. Kind of conversationally. This time I wrote it all out because I was asked to talk about our trip, and Christmas. I wanted to choose my words carefully in the hopes of painting a picture for the congregation. Since I did that I thought I'd save it here, it went fine.
So:
Rob and I recently traveled to Israel. This was my dream trip. Since I was a
teenager I wanted to go there and see where Jesus lived, and where he performed
his many miracles.
One night our tour group arrived back at the hotel and had
dinner a little earlier than the other nights.
It was early enough that Rob and I decided to go out walking. I needed something from the store so we had a
goal of finding this item, but also we wanted to enjoy the evening out
together. The thing about Israel is that
it is totally different than any place I have been. It looks a little like southern California,
but everything else is foreign. The
buildings are built with large stones and crafted in a manner that is unlike
ours. The street signs are written in
characters that we don’t really recognize as letters (although the main signs
are all in Arabic, Hebrew and English) the sounds and smells on the streets are
distinctly Israeli. We headed out and
were very busy looking and listening and taking it all in. We walked by many Jewish families returning
from Synagogue, some stopping to play on a playground or to visit under the
light of a street lamp. We passed by
groups of young men, talking, hanging out.
We walked through markets where street vendors sold kebobs and Jerusalem
bagels, chocolates and fruits. We passed
shops full of treats and pomegranate juice and whole lambs handing in the
windows. We walked by groups of
soldiers, and police officers both with their huge assault rifles. Eventually we met up with some others from
our group and together we walked around that night talking and laughing,
enjoying the adventure, eating treats and having a good time.
A couple of days later our tour took us through the same
exact streets where we had walked that night.
This is what struck me as so interesting that evening we walked right by
the garden tomb. We literally ran our
hands along the wall, walked under the sign that told us this was the place and
passed by the place where the Savior’s body lay when he was dead. This was where He came back and was the first
to be resurrected. The place where Mary
most likely saw him and where he spoke to her.
We were standing across the streets from old Jerusalem, with the wall and
the Damascus gate right in front of us. And
We never knew.
With Christmas a few weeks away I thought about the obvious
parallels between that experience and our Christmas celebrations. We went to Israel to see where the Savior
lived his life. At Christmas we
celebrate his birth and life and all he has done for us. Because of our ignorance and the distractions
of the world around us we missed seeing what we were really there for the
evenings walk. At Christmas so many people miss out on the true meaning,
because of ignorance, and because of the distractions of the world. I’m thinking first of the many people who do
not know about Christ. Who aren’t yet
Christians. And I am thinking of us, who
should know better, but who still get distracted by the buying of gifts, the
twinkly lights, hallmark specials, and glitzy commercialization. Just like we
were distracted by pom juice, armed soldiers and an adventure in a new city.
Today I have been asked to talk about remembering the true
meaning of the Christmas season and to share a little about our trip. I have to start by saying that the lights,
gifts, TV specials and commercial aspects are not bad. I love them as much as anyone. They have their place and can add to the joy
of the season. They aren’t the reason
for the season though and there are things that we can do to help ourselves and
others focus on the most important parts.
As we are in the Christmas season it’s the perfect time to
reflect on things we can do to make Jesus Christ the central focus of our
holiday season and our whole lives.
So in no particular order of importance I have chosen to
talk about 3 things that will make the Savior present in our lives (see what I
did there present…like Christmas present only way better). There are many others as well, but this is
only a 15 minute talk J
First we can spend time in the scriptures reading about the
Savior.
Is there anything more touching than the 3rd
Nephi account of Christ ministering to the Nephites? It is my absolute favorite
passage of scripture and if I am ever feeling sad, or unmotivated or
discouraged I can turn there and the spirit floods into my heart and I feel
better.
3 Nephi 17
12 So they
brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about
him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all
been brought unto him.
13 And it came
to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he
commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground.
14 And it came
to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself,
and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the
people of the house of Israel.
15 And when he
had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and
behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed
cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
16 And after
this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the
ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus
speak unto the Father;
17 And
no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither
can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and
heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at
the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.
18 And it came
to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose;
but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.
19 And it came
to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.
20 And they
arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your
faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
21 And when he
had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he
took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed
unto the Father for them.
22 And when he
had done this he wept again;
23 And he spake
unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.
24 And as they
looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens
open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of
fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they
were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.
How beautiful
it would have been to be there, how blessed we are that we can read about it
and the Holy Ghost can teach us that this happened, that it is true and that He
has the same love for each of us.
Reading the scriptures teaches us what God wants us to know and
it allows the Holy Ghost to testify to us.
One thing I really was looking forward to was being in the places where
the events of the New Testament took place.
There is no way to describe what that was like. There were several times when I was somewhere
I knew that this was where Jesus walked, and there were times when I knew it
wasn’t but it was so like it that the picture in my head forever changed. One of those places was in Bethlehem. At first we were not going to be able to go
and it wasn’t even on our itinerary (something about a little land dispute
between the Palestinians and the Israelis but not big deal ;)) then one morning
we learned that we were going to go. I
was super excited. We went. We drove by
the four churches that all claim that they were built “on the spot” and we
heard about the history and looked around.
Then we drove out of town a little ways to the shepherds field. It was in that quiet field that I felt so
clearly the Saviors love. The ground is
terraced and steep and rocky. Sheep
still graze there. We sat and listened
to these words from Luke 2
8 And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the
angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel
said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ
the Lord.
12 And
this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
From where we
sat we could see the city of Bethlehem in the not too far off distance. If it was night we would have seen the lights
from the homes and the lights of the night sky.
I could picture that quiet night and that sacred proclamation. Our guide then asked “do you want to walk
over to the church and see the shrine they made or do you want to climb down
and see what the manger really would have looked like”. Of course we opted for the more difficult
climb and as we slide down a bit of a slippery slope, and made our way between
some rocks we entered into a stone grotto.
It was sheltered from the elements, and quiet, with a smooth floor and plenty
for room for animals to rest and for a babe to be born. Using different experiences from my life I
can imagine what it was like that sacred night.
I know what it’s like to travel a long distance (although not on the
back of a donkey). I know what it’s like
to have a brand new baby, what it is to wrap them up tightly and hold them
close knowing that moments before they were with God and that this was a gift
and blessing to me. Now I know what the
manger looked like, how it felt and it is there that I can imagine all the
things I have read about my whole life happening. It is not because I was in Bethlehem that
this was a sacred experience. It is
because I have read and learned and prayed and studied my whole life. Reading the scriptures brings us to Christ
and makes Him a part of our lives every day…and on Christmas day.
The next
thing is service.
We are here to Bless
others.
President Monson shared
this story years ago:
During a drive to amass warm clothing to ship to suffering Saints,
Elder Harold B. Lee and Elder Marion G. Romney took President George Albert
Smith to Welfare Square in Salt Lake City. They were impressed by the generous
response of the membership of the Church to the clothing drive and the
preparations for sending the goods overseas. They watched President Smith observing
the workers as they packaged this great volume of donated clothing and shoes.
They saw tears running down his face. After a few moments, President Smith
removed a new overcoat that he had on and said, “Please ship this also.”The Brethren said to him, “No, President, no; don’t send that; it’s cold and you need your coat.”
But President Smith would not take it back. [Thomas S. Monson, “My Brother’s Keeper,” Ensign, November 1994,
President Gordon B.
Hinckley reported a pioneer Christmas he had learned about. He quoted a story
he had read in which the author wrote:
I remember the Christmas
of 1862. All of us children hung up our stockings. We jumped up early in the
morning to see what Santa had brought, but there was not a thing in them.
Mother wept bitterly. She went to her box and got a little apple and cut it in
little tiny pieces and that was our Christmas, but I have never forgotten to
this day how I loved her dear little hands as she was cutting that apple. [Hannah Daphne Smith
Dalton, quoted by Gordon B. Hinckley, CR, April 1959, p. 119]
Incidently, THAT year
President Gordon B. Hinckley has been in 20 countries and has had 137 speaking
assignments with 731,671 in attendance (information provided by the Office of
the First Presidency, 6 December 1997). This does not include general
conference nor so many other engagements he attends as he represents the Savior
and each of us.
When we serve others we
really invite the Christmas spirit, or the spirit of Christ to be in our lives.
There are many sweet
stories of individuals and families who give service on Christmas. I want to share a story with you about a
friend of ours in Texas. His name is
Mario SanteEsteban. Mario and his wife were immigrants from Mexico. They have one son, young Mario. They are a hard working, faithful
family. Mario has a taco truck business. He sells his very delicious tacos all over
fort worth. One week in Sunday School we were talking about Christmas and what
our favorite parts of the holiday were when young Mario shared that every year
he and his family put aside money from the taco truck business and then a
couple days before Christmas they go shopping.
They fill their trucks with gifts and drive down to the border between
TX and Mexico and over to the Mexican side.
They then go to a small village that is very poor and there they spend
their Christmas. On Christmas Eve they
hand out gifts to all the people in the village. On Christmas day they share a
feast (tacos I think). No one even knew
that this was something they did every year until Mario told us.
It doesn’t matter if we are the president of the
church, or a young taco truck driving family we can all serve.
Whether we choose to
deliver Christmas to a whole village, or to be a secret Santa for one family,
or even to help just one person lets make sure that we make service a part of
our Christmas traditions.
Mosiah 2:
17 And
behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may
learn that when ye are in the service of
your fellowbeings ye are only in the service of your God.
The third thing I want to talk
about is being grateful.
James, the Lord’s
half-brother (see Galatians 1:19), thoughtfully wrote, “Every good gift and
every perfect gift [the Atonement] is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”
(James 1:17). This being true then, we must grasp the true meaning of the
Atonement and Christmas, which is Christ.
We
must see and recognize all the Lord has given us and be grateful for it. We live in a consumer oriented culture. But getting stuff doesn’t
make us happy. Instead we need to think
of everything good thing that we have and show gratitude for that.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “When you
walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism,
you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless
your lives.”3
In the book of Matthew in the Bible, we have
another account of gratitude, this time as an expression from the Savior. As He
traveled in the wilderness for three days, more than 4,000 people followed and
traveled with Him. He took compassion on them, for they may not have eaten
during the entire three days. His disciples, however, questioned, “Whence
should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a
multitude?” Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking.
“And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves
have ye? And [the disciples] said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
“And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit
down on the ground.
“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes,
and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples,
and the disciples to the multitude.”
Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what
they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and
they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”4
We have all experienced times when our focus
is on what we lack rather than on our blessings. Said the Greek philosopher
Epictetus, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has
not, but rejoices for those which he has.”5
Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord
declared through a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
“Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all
things. …
“And in nothing doth man offend God, or
against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all
things.”6
In the Book of Mormon we are told to “live in
thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow
upon you.”7
Being grateful will
put Christ right in the middle of our Christmas. Because we won’t be wanting more, we will be
appreciating more.
Walking where Jesus
walked filled my heart with such gratitude.
One morning, shortly after sunrise, we stood on the mount of
olives. Our guide pointed across the
valley at all the sights in order.
Walking thru the miracles and sacrifices of our Savior. He pointed to Gethsemane and told the story
of the disciples falling asleep, of Christ suffering, of Peter cutting off the
ear of the soldier, of all that happened there.
From our vantage point we could easily see the garden and up the hill
from it the east gate. The gate that other
soldiers would have walked thru and then down and across to get the Savior. At night they would have carried torches and
the walk would have taken some time. He
could have easily turned and slipped away into the dark, avoiding capture,
avoiding pain, avoiding death. He didn’t
though. He stood and choose to wait for
us. He wanted to pay the price for you and for me. He deliberately chose each step of the way to
be our savior, our redeemer. That one
blessing alone is enough to fill us with enough gratitude that we should never
want anything else. But he doesn’t stop
there. He continues to give us every
good thing. To let us learn and grow and
serve. To bless us more than we can even
imagine. All of us. Whether things are kind of awful in our
lives, or whether they are awesome have infinite reasons to be grateful.
When our Heavenly Father wanted to save the world, He
didn’t take over a country or develop a militia. He sent a helpless child to a
choice and worthy woman and a humble and believing man living in insecure
circumstances in a conquered land occupied by a hostile force. The harsh
geopolitical and military circumstances of Christ’s birth should remind us that
Heavenly Father can bless us even if the external circumstances of our lives
aren’t necessarily easy or peaceful. And
we should all be ever grateful.
Testimony
I know the church is true. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That He paid the price for my sins and weaknesses and faults and hurts. I love Him . I am grateful for the knowlege I have of the plan of salvation and that we can live with our Heavenly Father again. I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that helped to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth again. I am grateful for temples, and scritpures and the ability we have to pray to our Heavenly Father any time we want. We are very blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment