Follow the Wise Men

I wonder how far the wise men had to travel to get to Bethlehem. Probably quite a way. I wonder how long the journey took them and exactly when they left. These questions are purely academic; it doesn't really matter, but still, I wonder.

Since we don't know the wise men's origin, we have no idea what the distance was between their homes and Bethlehem. Since we don't know the distance or the rate of their travel, we don't know how long the journey took them. And since we don't know how long the journey took them or exactly when it ended, we have no way of knowing when they left.

But for all that we don't know about these men and their journey, I still find it fairly easy to attach spiritual meaning to it. Or perhaps it's because we know so little about their journey that I find it easy to relate it to ours.

One thing about the wise men is that their journey started long before they left their homes. It started as they read the scriptures and learned the prophesies about Christ's birth. It started when they decided to go see the Christ child and when they first started preparing to go.

Like them, our journey starts or started as soon as we decide it does. It starts when we decide where we want to go and start making preparations to get there. Essentially, it starts as soon as we want it to, and optimally, we should start as soon as possible, if we haven't already.

The wise men left their homes months before the sign of the star was given. They acted on faith, using as much knowledge and inspiration as they had to make whatever progress they could while waiting and watching for further, more specific guidance from God.

Similarly, we shouldn't wait until we're told exactly what we should do. We should use whatever knowledge and wisdom we have to do the best we can until God gives us further directions. Naturally, that means that we may be going in a slightly different direction than God wanted us to go, but the wise men probably made a slight course correction, too, when they saw the star. We need to be brave enough to do our best, but still humble enough to admit that God's way is better, and to follow His path, once He shows us where it is.

One final thing is that the wise men didn't stop following the star until they found Jesus. New Years is a great time to make resolutions, just so long as they are resolutions, not just dreams or ideas of things we might think about doing. The term Resolution shares a root word with Resolute. We should be resolute,  determined, and unwavering as we follow our worthy goals. We may have to make course corrections sometimes, if we find that our current goals aren't all that they should be, but we should never quit or give up on a worthy goal. The wise men didn't, and they never would have seen Jesus if they had.

Like the wise men, we have a long way to go. We might have an idea of what we want or what God wants for us, but for some of us, that idea might be pretty vague. That's alright. Head ing that general direction, and while you're traveling, read God's word and look for signs He might want you to follow. Don't turn back. The journey is long, but the destination is worth reaching. Follow the wise men's example and follow the star.

Giving Thank You Notes

Right now, in my email inbox, there are messages reminding me to send Thank You notes to people who have given me gifts this year. The idea of a Thank You note is one that I'm familiar with. As a job hunter, I was told to give Thank You notes to prospective employers after an interview. The idea is show how much you appreciate their time and how thoughtful of a person you are (so they should hire you). This concept of a Thank You note, exaggerating gratitude for one favor in hopes of receiving another, has left a sour taste in my mouth, and I must confess that I don't send out Thank You notes often - not nearly as often as I should.

Another problem I have with Thank You notes is that they seem so lame. "I really want to thank you for the wonderful, thoughtful thing you gave me or did for me, so here's a folded piece of card stock with the words 'Thank You' and maybe a nice picture on it"? Giving someone a Thank You note is a very poor way to reciprocate a gift you genuinely appreciate. However, reciprocation isn't the goal here. I'm still looking at Thank You notes all wrong.

Because I see so little value in Thank You notes, I seldom give people any, but I have been the recipient of several Thank You notes, and many of them, if not most or all, have warmed my heart a little bit and made me feel appreciated. Thank You notes have little value or cost, but they're worth a lot more to those who receive them than I thought. A Thank You note means that you spent at least a little bit of time and a little bit of money and went a little bit out of your way to, in some feeble way, attempt to express your thanks for the gift you were given. It's nothing more than a small, kind gesture, but as the old adage goes, it's the thought that counts. I think that I may pick up, or perhaps make, a handful of gift cards this year. Of course, it won't be enough of a gesture to truly thank those who've given such great gifts to me, but at least it'll be something.

The Drummer Boy's Best

Normally, I'm not overly fond of Little Drummer Boy, partly because it's not as good as What Shall We Give, which teaches mostly the same message, partly because I have a hard time picturing a drummer boy in a nativity scene, and partly because I feel like there's a verse missing between the first and second verses, one that would show the wise men giving Jesus their fine gifts, with the drummer boy starting to feel nervous and/or inadequate.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

When we come.

Baby Jesus, pa rum pum pum pum

I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum

I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum

That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,

On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum

The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum

Me and my drum.

I heard this song recently on the radio, and that one line stood out to me, "I played my best for Him." The idea is that we, like the drummer boy, have nothing of sufficient value to offer Jesus to repay Him for everything He did and does for us. The little drummer boy answered this problem by simply doing what he could for Jesus, and notably, he did it to the best of his ability.

We can never repay God or Jesus. King Benjamin made that fairly obvious in his address to his nation. But we should do what we can to serve God and Jesus, and we should do it with all our hearts. God does sometimes ask us to do (or not do) things for His sake. Sometimes, those requests are called "commandments," other times, they're called "callings." Whatever God asks us to do, we can be sure of two things: first, that is what God wants us to do, and second, we have, or will be given, the ability to do it. There are some things we can't do for God, but we should do what He asks us to, and out of love for Him and Jesus, we should to it as well as we can.

Some commandments are clearly spelled out in black and white. Thou Shalt Not Kill, for example, is pretty much cut and dry. Other commandments are a little bit fuzzier. We're commanded not to watch bad movies, and certainly R-Rated movies are too bad for us to watch, but what about PG-13 movies? Are they okay? Are they all okay? Are any of them okay? Does it matter what they got their PG-13 rating for? Sometimes, we have to use our own judgement. God's standards are different enough from the world's standards that we should probably use our own judgement anyway, but the real questions isn't where, exactly, the line is drawn, but where we plan to be in relation to that line. If we're asking us how much violence, swearing, and suggestive content can be in a movie without the movie being too bad for us to watch, we're asking the wrong question, and if we get an answer, we might keep the letter of the law, but we won't be keeping the spirit of the law.

The same go with callings. We could ask what the job requirements are, then do that and say that we've done our job, or we could ask God what else He'd like us to do to magnify our callings, in addition to the bare minimum of what's expected of us. If you're already doing that, then don't take this as a call to repentance, but if you feel like you should be doing more, please ask God whether that's Him trying to prompt you or Satan trying to overwhelm you. Either you'll get more clear instructions as to what God wants you to do, or you'll get a peaceful assurance that you're already doing it.

The little drummer boy must have felt badly for having so little to offer Jesus, but when he offered that gift from the bottom of his heart, Jesus accepted it. We don't have much that we can do for Jesus, but He knows that, and He doesn't ask for any more from us than what we, with His help, can give. He just asks that we give of ourselves willingly, and not try to hold back. When we do what we can, and do it prayerfully, He'll let us know that it's enough.

Blessings Not On My Wish List

I don't recall exactly what's on my wish list, I should probably update it now anyway, but I recall getting a number of awesome gifts that weren't on the list of things I want - they were even better.

We don't always know what we really want. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and sometimes, He gives us blessings that we didn't ask for, occasionally at the expense of blessings we did ask for. God always wants what's best for us, so He often gives us the blessings we really need, the ones that will truly make us happy, whether those were the blessings we asked for or not. At times, those gifts He gives us are blessings in disguise. God may give us a few things that we really don't want, because He knows what will work out best for us in the long run.

I'm grateful for family members who know me well enough to find and make things that I really love, whether I expressly say that I'd love them or not. I'm grateful for a Father who loves me enough to give me the blessings I need, or would contribute most to my happiness, whether they're the blessings I prayed for or not. I don't always know what's best for me or what gifts I would really like to receive, so I'm grateful to have people in my life that do know, and I'm grateful for the excellent gifts they gave me - even the ones that weren't on my wish list.

Christmas in Your Heart

There's still Christmas at home because we haven't taken the decorations down yet or put away all of the bags and presents. There's still Christmas in the mart because they're trying to sell whatever didn't sell by Christmas by having after-Christmas sales. And there's still Christmas at church, to a certain extent, because we talk about Christ every week. But Christmas season is very nearly over, and that'll soon be reflected everywhere.

Homes, malls, and supermarkets all over America will take down their decorations, stop playing Christmas music, and start the new year with business as usual. In church, I expect that we'll hear less about Christmas and more about what spiritual progress we'll resolve to make for the new year. Very soon, the world will simply move on. But should we?

I understand that Christmastime can't go on forever. People don't have it in their budgets to continually give each other gifts or pay an increased electric bill. Many people are sick and tired of Christmas music. Not all Christian messages can center on Bethlehem. Heck, some of my better blog posts were focussed on garbage! And even if we could let it be Christmas forever, it would no longer be special if we did. People would start saying "Merry Christmas" with the same enthusiasm with which they say "Hi. How's it going?" and we can't have that. In order for Christmastime to be Christmastime, it eventually has to end.

But that doesn't mean we have to stop thinking about Jesus, or being kind and generous, or singing. Christmas will be gone from from our stores and neighborhoods, and even from our homes and churches (except that Mom will still have a Nativity scene on the mantel and a string of lights attached to the porch light), but we can still remember the spirit we felt at Christmastime, and we can still do the things we have to do to feel it again. We can let the spirit of Christmas sink deep into our hearts and stay there all year long.

We can't always give generous gifts to each other, but we can always be kind. We can serve each other. We can lift spirits with a kind word or even just a smile. We don't have to be rich to do that. We can keep singing, even Christmas songs. It might annoy a few people, but it'll be fun. And we can and should always think about and remember our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is never a bad time to do that, and thinking of Jesus is the very essence of Christmas.

It's true that the celebration is over, and the sales will soon be over, too. All of the decorations will be packed back into the garage or shed, save for a special few, and I don't know exactly what will happen with all the Christmas trees we've cut down, but I know that they're not going to stick around here. But the spirit of Christmas will, in my heart at least. One of the sappiest Christmastime quotes I've read this year say that "the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit," and that's something we should keep in our hearts always.

Behind Every Good Man...

It's been said that "behind every good man is a good woman." I don't know who said it first, but the last time I heard it was in Elder's Quorum a week ago, just before Christmas, but the lesson wasn't on Christmas; it was on the strength and faith of Latter-Day Saint women. Naturally, this made me think about the strength and faith of Mary.

Just about everyone agrees that Jesus was a "good man," if not more than that, and most Christians (Catholics especially) agree that Mary was a "good woman." The angel Gabriel seemed to have a few good things to say about her, calling her "thou that art highly favoured," and telling her, "blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1: 28). It's not surprising that an especially good woman was chosen to be Jesus' mother. In fact, I think she'd almost have to be exceptionally good.

It could be said that Jesus was born perfect, and that maybe He had a perfect knowledge of the scriptures and of His role in God's plan even from the very beginning, but I'm not entirely sure. I believe that Jesus was born good, but the scriptures say that He "increased in wisdom" (Luke 2: 52), so He must not have had perfect wisdom at the start. I think He gained wisdom, just as we do, and just as it is with us, having a good mother must have helped.

I'm not saying that Jesus wouldn't have been perfect, even if Mary wasn't so good. I'm sure He would have been, because He had to be. But having a good person as a mother, and having another good person as a father must have helped Jesus understand how to be a good person as He was growing up. Those two were chosen for a reason, and I think that reason is because they were exceptionally good people.

But there are a lot of exceptionally good people, especially among women. my mother and sisters are incredible, wonderful people, and I'm not just saying that because they're among the most faithful readers of my blog. I say it because they inspire me to be a good person, just as you probably have a woman in your life who inspires you. Women, especially mothers, can be great influences for good, and I believe that Mary was one of those great women, but she certainly wasn't the only one, just as Jesus wasn't the only good man. There are a lot of good people in the world, both men and women, but I believe that most of them have a woman to thank for helping them be as good as they are.

Giving and Receiving Joy

Despite the bug, our family decided to get together anyway (some of us wore surgical masks to protect ourselves or others), and we exchanged a small mountain of gifts. In both giving and receiving gifts, we each experienced a good deal of happiness. Receiving gifts can make us happy for the obvious reason that we got something that, in a few if not many ways, is desirable, but also for the reason of knowing that someone thought of you in a kind way and made a sacrifice on your behalf. Whether the gift and sacrifice were big or small, it's good to know that you're loved.

When giving gifts, the joy come from being glad, and perhaps relieved, when the receiver likes the gift you gave them. Making or selecting a good gift for someone often takes talent, so there's a sense of accomplishment when we succeed at that. But the greater joy of giving comes in seeing how happy the receiver is with the gift. When other people are happy, especially when we've made them happy, then we feel happier, too.

In previous blog posts, I didn't have much good to say about the tradition of presents, probably at least partly because I was feeling stressed about trying to find and make some, but now that I've seen the joy that can come from giving and receiving gifts, I can see why the tradition has endured. It's not just commercialism and greed. There are a lot of genuinely good feelings that surround a Christmas tree when people give and appreciate material expressions of love. They may be just things, but they're things that make people happy, and happiness is worth sharing.

Christmas of Sickness

There seems to be some kind of a bug floating around. We've caught it at my house, and some of our close relatives have caught it as well. As a result, it's made any plans for getting together much more complicated. Some of us feel more like resting than reuniting, and we certainly don't want to put our healthy siblings at risk of becoming sick as well. It's becoming a question of who's staying home, and how long the family gathering, if there even ends up being one, will last.

Trying to look at the silver lining and spiritual message of this sweep of illness, I can only guess that maybe we're supposed to slow down and have a quiet Christmas this year. Maybe God wants our family's observance of Christmas this year to be more humble, more peaceful, more sacred than our usual, excited exchange of gifts. The gifts will still be exchanged, I'm sure, once we've figured out the logistics, and we may call each other on Skype or Google Hangouts, or something like that, once we figure out the technological aspects, but in other respects, we'll probably just stay at home in our pajamas and maybe watch The Nativity while eating some cheese and fruit. That doesn't sound too terrible to me.

I'm sure God has a plan for our lives, and one small part of that plan must include how we spend this Christmas. Maybe this illness is part of His plan, or maybe it's a complication, but whatever it is, God'll find a way to make His plan work out. I have a strong testimony of God's ability to make up good Plan B's. I'm sure that this'll be a good Christmas, one way or another. It may not be the best Christmas ever, but I'm sure it'll still be good.

Scrambling for Presents

In this, I have no room to talk, unless I'm talking to myself (which I am) to remind myself to remember what matters most. Today, I'm going to be, in President Uchtdorf's words, "scrambling for presents." Actually, I'm going to be searching for and assembling parts for a present that is probably already okay, but I have ideas on how to improve it. Anyhow, I'm going to be busy today. But in my running around, hunting for treasures, I hope I don't get too distracted from the reason I'm doing this.

We make and buy each other gifts to show our love and appreciation for each other, and to remember the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus, the gifts He asks us to give Him, and all that He has given us. The giving of presents is an important part of the Christmas tradition, but it's not an end unto itself. Even though I plan on spending most of my day buying and making Christmas presents, I hope that doesn't distract me from the real meaning of Christmas.

Missionaries Share the Gift

I've probably overdone the cliche about the true gift of Christmas, but my emphasis today is not on the Gift given in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, it's on the gift that missionaries give people every day. Jesus Christ is, of course, the focal point of this season, but it takes more to tap into the power of His Atonement than to just believe in Him and be grateful that He lived and died for us. Missionaries help people reap more of the blessings of His Gospel (more of the gift, if you will) by inviting them to come unto Christ through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. No one else can do that. Pretty Christmas lights can't do it. Uplifting Christmas music can't do it. Only the people who have the true gospel and access to Priesthood Ordinances can give our Christian friends more of the gift than they already have. That means that in order for them to get more of the Christmas spirit, they need to talk to the missionaries, and that means we need to talk to them.

As we invite people to come to our church buildings, talk to our missionaries, and read and pray about the Book of Mormon, Another Testimony of Jesus Christ, we can give them more of Christ's gospel than they can get anywhere else. It's daunting, and it may feel awkward, but if there's a time of year when it's not as awkward to talk about Jesus Christ, this is it. Let's have the courage to try to share the gift with our friends and neighbors. I know it's short notice to talk to anyone about the Gospel before Christmas, so we may not get another opportunity like this until next year, but with New Year's Eve less than ten days away, "next year" is right around the corner. If we can't manage to share the gift with them by Christmas, at least we can try to share the gift with them then. It is the greatest gift we've ever been given, and it's the greatest gift we could ever give them.

Picture a Christmas

This morning, in Sacrament meeting, a lovely family with young children sang a Christmassy Primary song, "Picture a Christmas." It goes something like this:

Picture a stable in Judea.
Picture a sacred, silent night.
And can you hear
The angels near
And see the star so bright?

Chorus
Picture the little baby Jesus.
Think of his life and words so dear.
Sing praise to him;
Remember him,
As you picture Christmas this year.

Picture the kind and gentle Joseph.
Picture the mother, Mary, fair.
And can you see
So rev'rently
The shepherds kneeling there? 

Chorus

It's a really nice song. It could probably use a verse about wisemen,  but it's good as it is, and it made me think a little. What do I picture when I think of Christmas? To be honest, the Nativity scene isn't the first thing that pops into my mind. When I picture Christmas, the first image that comes to my mind is a Christmas tree, covered in lights. Oddly, the tree in my mind has colored lights, while our tree has white ones, and there's snow outside in my mental image, though it never snows here. The first thing that comes to my mind is a traditional Christmas scene, not a manger scene. I'm not sure if there's even a star on the tree.

The world has departed pretty far from the original idea of Christmas, and it seems that I've been swept up in it. If my immediate mental image of Christmas has nothing to do with the Savior, I'm thinking about Christmas the wrong way. Christmas is, or used to be, all about celebrating the birth of Jesus. As a culture, we've integrated trees, lights, and snow as part of a traditional Christmas, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if our first thoughts about Christmas are "look at those pretty lights" or "what am I going to get everyone?", we may need to shift our focus a little, back toward the Savior. I'll admit (because I already did) that when I think about Christmas, my first thoughts aren't really centered on Jesus Christ. Maybe I need to look at a few more nativity scenes, with perhaps a few fewer colored lights nearby.

Gift Discrimination

Santa has a problem. A discrimination problem. To the children in rich families, he gives big, extravagant, expensive gifts, and to the children of poorer families, he gives smaller, humbler, cheaper gifts. This is unfair, and not really in keeping with the image who's supposed to be loving and generous to everyone. But if it's a problem when Santa does this, then isn't it a problem when God does it too?

God loves everyone equally, but He doesn't bless us all equally. In the parable of the talents, he gives one person twice as much as he gave another person, and he gave the second person five times as much as he gave the third person. Did He love the first person ten times as much as He loved he third person? No.

In life, there is an incredible amount of imbalance. Some people are given struggles that they don't deserve, and other people are given blessings that they don't deserve. And that's okay. The unfairness and discrimination is only temporary. Through the law of compensation, those who received more struggles than they deserved will receive blessings more than equal to their undeserved pain. And through the justice of God, those who received more blessing than they deserved will lose those blessings at about the same time as they get what they actually do deserve.

In the meantime, the imbalance in God's gift-giving is meant to teach us several lessons. These lessons include humility and gratitude when receiving gifts, generosity in sharing our gifts with others, and patience and faith when waiting for gifts yet to be given. Right now, some people's stockings are stuffed a bit more snugly than other people's, but eventually we'll all be given as much candy or coal as we deserve to be given.

You Can't Wrap Service

On Wednesday evening, I talked with my Valiant Knights (11-year-old scouts) about service, encouraging them to do some special act of service for someone else this Christmastime. Christmas is a really good time to give service. Thoughtful service is an expression of love, and Christmas is all about giving each other gifts of love.

My trouble is that it doesn't make a very good gift. You can't wrap service. You can't write someone's name on it and stick it under a tree. Unless the service involves making something or fixing something, it's hard to make a gift out of it, because it's not a thing, it's an action, and Christmas presents are almost always things. Even if you used a thing (like a coupon) to represent future service, the gift would seem really cheap and lame.

Yet, service would sometimes make a better gift than an object. Service is usually more thoughtful than a physical gift, and unless the physical gift is homemade, service almost always involves a greater sacrifice of time and effort to obtain than a store-bought gift does. It's a more personal gift than anything you could just buy at a store. It's not even so much of a gift, really. It's a more direct expression of love.

Then again, there are good things to be said about physical gifts as well. Homemade gifts require greater sacrifices of time and effort than service does, and they're often incredibly personal and wonderful gifts. And since purchased gifts cost money and money takes time and work to obtain, store-bought gifts still represent a sacrifice in time and effort, and some of them are just do darn cool and/or useful that they bring a substantial amount of joy and happiness into the lives of the people who receive them. There are many kinds of gifts, and what would make a good gift mostly depends on who the recipient is.

I'm not good at giving good gifts. I don't have much talent at making things, and even now that I have a job and some money, I have no idea what to buy for others. Out of making things, buying things, and giving service, I'm best at giving service. It's just too bad that service isn't really something you can actually give.

Buddy the Elf

Today is "International Answer the Telephone Like Buddy the Elf Day." In case you're not familiar with him, Buddy the Elf is this guy:

I hope this video works for you. It seems that I've had some trouble with these in the past.

Now, I wouldn't recommend answering the phone like Buddy does. In fact, there are quite a few things that Buddy does that I wouldn't recommend. However, he gives us a few examples, even in this short video, of things that we would do well to emulate.

The first thing I noticed in this video, beside how unlike himself Buddy acts in the first few seconds of the video, is how friendly Buddy naturally is. He greets nearly everyone he passes with a warm smile and often a compliment. We can copy that. When we meet others today, we can express genuine happiness to see them. If we can think of something positive to say right on the spot, we can say it. It might just make someone's day.

The world need more happiness and human kindness. The world needs people who greet others pleasantly, and sometimes, people really need someone to lift their spirits so they can get through the day. It doesn't take much, just a smile and a kind word, but it can really make a big impact on others. Buddy always tried to spread cheer and happiness, and so can we.

Christmas in the Book of Mormon

Everyone knows and loves the Christmas story found in Luke Chapter 2, but one Christmas, while I was on my mission, an investigator asked me if there were any references to Christmas in the Book of Mormon. I first thought of Nephi's vision of Mary.

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. 

And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.  

And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? 

And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. 

And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. 

And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! 

And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. 

And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? 

And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. 

And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul. 

 1 Nephi 11: 13-23

 Of course, I could have also shared the experience of Christmas among the Nephites, but it's so far removed from the typical Christmas story that I thought it was better to stick with the reference to the virgin mother. Little did I know then that there was another reference to Mary later in the Book of Mormon, when King Benjamin told his people what an angel told him about Christ.

And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he stood before me. 

And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. 

For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy. 

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases. 

And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. 

And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. 

And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary. 

Mosiah 3: 2-8

 Of course, neither of these references are nearly as detailed as Luke's account. They don't say anything about shepherds or wise men, or even the star. However, they, too, make mention of the birth of our Savior, and that's the really important part. I think it's nice that we have a second witness of the birth of the Savior, as our way of saying "Yes, we believe that happened, and they believed it, too." With Christ's birth being one of the most important events in all of history, it makes sense that the Nephites would have known and written about it, and we're fortunate enough to have a copy of a translation of their record. The Book of Mormon really is Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and I'm glad that that testament includes at least three references to the birth of Christ.

Who Are The Wise Men?

Popular culture holds that there were three wise men and that they came from Asia, hence the song "We Three Kings From Orient Are." Some even claim to know their names. While I'm not sure how much of that is supported in the text of the Bible, I'm pretty sure that some of it isn't. I don't think we know how many wise men there were or exactly where they came from or whether or not they were actually kings. One theory popular among Mormons is that the wise men included Samuel the Lamanite and Alma (the Younger, I think), but we don't have any proof for that, either. The exact number and nationalities of the wise men is a secret that was lost to time, but a favorite Christmas quote of mine implies that there are far more "wise men" than we've considered so far.

"Wise men still seek Him"

And I might add:

"This season, and always."

The wise men who sought Jesus weren't just the ones that were carrying Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. They were also the ones who followed Him through Galilee, who walked on water to meet Him, and who touched the hem of His clothes. They include everyone who profess His name and follow His teachings. If we are wise enough to follow Him, the group of "wise men" also includes us.

It is no longer possible for us to literally follow the Star of Bethlehem, bearing gifts to the newborn king, but we can still follow the light of the Master, bearing gifts of broken hearts, contrite spirits, and all our good works, and offer them to our Heavenly King. By being born a few thousand years after His birth, we've missed our chance to see Him in-person, but sooner or later, we're all going to come face-to-face with our Savior, whether we want to or not. The question is not whether we'll ever go to see Jesus, but what "gifts" we'll bring with us when we do. My hope is that we will seek Jesus during our lifetimes, so we may have good gifts to present to Him when we meet Him, just as the first few wise men did.

The Lament of the Lame-Gift-Giver

For the past few days, I've been trying to find the articulation required to meaningfully blog about the giving and receiving of gifts. I have several potential blog post ideas on that topic, but I haven't yet found the right words to blog about them. Part of the reason for this is that I don't want to be a hypocrite. I don't want to blog about how to give good gifts, knowing that I'll fail at that, by my own standards. I also don't want to blog about a topic about which I know so little, compared to my audience. Maybe I'll just leave the subject of gift-giving alone. Except that I do want to make one point on the subject: We shouldn't stress out about it as much as some of us do.

Christmas was never really instituted by Christ or His church - we just kind of adopted it - but all the same, it was never meant to make people miserable or upset. Christmas is all about joy. But some people, including myself, have got it in their heads that they owe others gifts that are sufficiently valuable/thoughtful/creative/personal, and such people often find themselves falling short by our own standards. We stress out about how our gifts aren't as good as other people's gifts, and we feel like we've let our loved ones down.

I'm sure that our loved ones don't want us to feel that way, and that they wouldn't want us to stress out about how lame our gifts are. They'd tell us that they don't really care about the gifts, and that what's really important is that we get to spend time together and share our love for each other. That's what Christmas is really about - love. Gifts are just expressions of that love. But some of us aren't very good at expressing our love that way. I'm sure that my loved ones deserve better gifts than what I'm giving them, and maybe they're Christlike enough to say they don't really care about the gifts, but I still feel bad, thinking that I should have done better for them.

But as I've acknowledged above, this is not a problem that I should be worrying about. Christmas isn't really about the presents, so I shouldn't worry about it as if it were. Okay, so some of the presents are lame - that's not really the point! If the happiness of your Christmas hinges on whether I give you a wonderful Christmas present (first of all, brace yourself for disappointment, but secondly), you might want to adjust your priorities. And if the happiness of my Christmas hinges on whether or not I manage to give wonderful Christmas presents, I probably need to adjust mine. Christmas isn't really about the presents, so even if some of the presents are terrible, it's not the end of the world. I don't really care if I get lame presents. I just hope that the people I'm getting presents for feel the same way.

The Spirituality Cycle

This morning, I had the opportunity to sing "If The Savior Stood Beside Me" for my Mom in Primary as part of her sharing time lesson. Her lesson was on how thinking about Jesus can help us chose the right, and during her lesson, she shared something that I found rather insightful. If we imagine Jesus being near us, that can help us to be righteous, and being righteous can help us have Christ's spirit with us, which can continue to help us be righteous. All that it takes to get the cycle started is to make an attempt to be righteous, or to feel the spirit in such a way that inspires you to be righteous.

Christmastime is a great time to start or restart this cycle because the spirit id very strong this time of year, and there is lots of encouragement and many opportunities to do good. Let's try to catch the spirit of Christmas and see how long we can keep the cycle going. And if you ever break the cycle, you can restart it with a renewed commitment to do good. But once you've got the cycle started, it shouldn't be too hard to keep up. It's easier to do good when you have the spirit with you, and it's easy to have the spirit with you when you're doing good.

The Greatest Gift Ever Given

The MormonAd from yesterday's blog post says that Jesus Christ is "the greatest gift ever given," but I'm not sure how doctrinally accurate that is. I seem to recall a scripture or two saying that Eternal Life is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.
D&C 14:7

Or is it Salvation?

If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.
D&C 6:13

Or the fruit from the tree in Lehi's vision of the Iron Rod and the Tree of Life?

Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.
1 Nephi 15:36

How can all of those things be "the greatest of all the gifts of God" and Jesus Christ still be "the greatest gift ever given?"

Maybe they all go together. I understand that there's a slight difference between "salvation" and "eternal life," and that it's possible to have salvation and not have eternal life, but it's not possible to have eternal life and not also have salvation, and it's not possible to have either of them without Jesus Christ. The tree in Lehi's dream was "a representation of the love of God" (1 Nephi 11:25), which would make the fruit of the tree a representation of the fruit (product or result) of the love of God. Make of that what you will, but I imagine that it's strongly connected to either Jesus Christ or the many other blessings we receive from God, including salvation and eternal life.

Jesus Christ may or may not be the greatest gift ever given. If He isn't, He is at least the means by which we gain the greatest of all the gifts of God, and if He is the greatest gift ever given, that's probably because He enables us to gain the greatest of all the gifts of God. Whichever way you look at it, God has unbelievable blessings in store for the righteous, and we get them by following Jesus Christ.

Make Your Holiday a Holy Day

Here's a trip down Memory Lane:

It says "Make your Holiday a Holy Day. Feast upon the word. Learn of Christ - The greatest gift ever given. (See John 3:16)"

I wonder how many people remember and understand that "Holiday" is just a common abbreviation of "Holy Day." Those of us who do remember tend to see the Holidays with a little deeper meaning, a little bit more reverence and respect. For us, it's not just a day off from work, like another Saturday. It's more like another Sunday - a day to draw closer to God, to thank Him for our blessings, and to reach out in love to those around us.

Granted, not all holidays are Holy Days. Holidays like Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Halloween are fun to observe, but they don't necessarily have much sacred meaning (Maybe Valentines Day does, but I think it's debatable. Though, I'll probably feel differently about it when I get married). Some holidays are just special days off. But other Holidays, like Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, are set apart for holy purposes, and should be given proper respect.

Yes, Christmas is fun, but if it doesn't also make you feel something, you're doing it wrong. I, apparently, am doing it wrong, but I plan on changing that tomorrow night and/or the night after that. The thing that turns holidays into holy days is the spirit. Try to catch the spirit of Christmas some time in the next two weeks. It'll make the season that much more special to you.

Your Guiding Star

Since before compasses in common use, people used to navigate at night by the positions of the stars. Notably, the North Star, Polaris, has been followed by sailors for hundreds of years. The wise men followed another star, a new star, to Bethlehem to see the Christ child. Now I wonder, what star are we following? What star should we follow?

Of course, when I blog about anyone following anything, the moral of the story is that we should follow Jesus Christ, but that's kind of vague and cliché. Is there a more specific star that we could follow to lead us to Christ?

A Primary song, The Light Divine, indicates that truth is "our guiding star." This makes sense if you consider the scriptures as being a good source for truth. Revelation, both ancient and modern, is how we gain access to truths that lead us to God, and since truth is eternal and unchanging, that makes it a sure star that you could follow.

Another hymn states that "love became [the] guiding star" of the pioneers. This is another good star to follow because, since Jesus was essentially the personification of love, either He is that star, or He followed it. With love being at the heart of both of the two great commandments, it makes sense to choose love as your guiding star.

But the star I most wish to follow is the one followed by Don Quixote, the "Unreachable Star."

"The Impossible Dream" is an inspiring song to me, partly because I first really studied its lyrics on my mission, and of course, I found spiritual symbolism in every line.

To dream the impossible dream, (Exaltation seems impossible, and certainly would be without heavenly help.)
To fight the unbeatable foe, (Satan is an adversary that cannot be slain.)
To bear with unbearable sorrow, (Sorrow for sin - our own, and others')
To run where the brave dare not go, (Okay, maybe I should have said "almost every line.")

To right the unrightable wrong, (Making full restitution for our sins is impossible, but an admirable goal.)
To love (God) pure and chaste from afar,
To try when my arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star. (As above, Exaltation, or alternatively, perfection.)

This is my quest, to follow that star,
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far,
To fight for the right (And keep the commandments and follow inspiration) without question or pause,
To be willing to march into hell (or earth) for a heavenly cause.

And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest,
Then my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I'm laid to my rest.

And the world will be better for this:
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach the unreachable star!

In life, there will be challenges and difficulties. We will often get lost and become unsure of what way to go. Having a star to follow can help us make right choices, especially when our paths are uncertain. The old mantra of "What Would Jesus Do?" can be helpful sometimes, except for times when we have no idea what Jesus would do. He has all wisdom, and we don't. If we can't think of the wisest course of action, asking ourselves what Jesus would do may not help us so much. Of course, I'd often have similar problems following the star of exaltation and/or perfection.

A better question to ask would be "What do the scriptures/prophets say we should do?" At least then we'd get some clear answers, even though the scriptures won't give us answers to match every possible situation. Another good question to ask would be "What's the most loving thing I could do?" Our answer still may not be the best choice, but at least then, our choice will be motivated at least partly by love.

One thing I learned while writing this blog post is that Polaris isn't really one star, but three stars, all orbiting the same object. If we label one star "Love," the second star "the Scriptures," and the third star "the Goal of Exaltation," we could follow any one of those stars and still be brought closer to Jesus Christ. Incidentally, I've heard a rumor that the Star of Bethlehem was actually three stars, too.

Of course, setting our course by the light of Jesus Christ will help us safely navigate through life, but there may be more than one way we could set our specific focus. We can focus on trying to be loving, we could try to follow, as exactly as possible, the guidance in the scriptures, or we could set our hearts on "the impossible dream." I believe that any of those things can bring us closer to Jesus Christ and closer to our eternal goal. The question each of us must decide for ourselves is which heavenly star will we specifically follow toward our heavenly home?

An Annual Sacrament

In a way, Christmas does for us on a yearly basis what the Sacrament does for us on a weekly basis. It reminds of Jesus, and just before we start making New Year's Resolutions, it reminds us of our commitment to strive to become more like Him. This is especially important for those who don't go to church regularly, but it has great benefits for regular church-goers as well.

Christmastime is a spiritual time for nearly everyone. Whether you regularly feel the spirit or not, most people feel the spirit more strongly at Christmastime than the rest of the year, giving each of us a chance to develop a closeness to the spirit that will hopefully last longer than just a few days.

Let's resolve to be more Christian, not just at Christmastime and on Sundays, but always, and let's let our weekly and yearly reminders help us to do so.

All We, Like Sheep, Have Gone Astray

Partly because of a stuffed lamb my sister made, and partly because it's extremely blogworthy, I wanted to blog about a song from Handel's Messiah, but then I remembered that I kind of already have.

My favorite song from Handel's Messiah comes from Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." I like the song for two reasons. First, it starts off light-hearted and catchy and is fun to sing along with. then, second, they drop all pretense of fun to demonstrate the magnitude of the burden the Lord carried in Gethsemane, leaving me with the powerful realization that for every sin and transgression that any person (including myself) has ever committed or will ever commit has a price, and in Gethsemane, Jesus Christ paid all of it.

At the time, I was blogging about The Price of the Atonement, but today, I want to emphasize the blindness of the sheep. Sheep are, I'm told, pretty clueless. They sometimes wander off from the rest of the group and either get stuck in ditches and fences or simply get lost. Most people will think that doesn't apply to them. Of course, we never choose our own paths, become unsure of where to go or what to do, or find ourselves in predicaments we'd need outside help to escape from. Surely, we'd never be so foolish.

On the contrary, I sometimes doubt that we'll ever be wise enough to stop doing those things. We often wander, like sheep, turning "every one to his own way," until we become so lost or stuck that we need a Good Shepherd to rescue us. Had we truly been so wise as we sometimes pridefully think we are, we'd have never left the Shepherd's side in he first place. I wish I were that wise. But until I learn to be wise, I can at least be thankful for the Lord's mercy and patience, and I can try not to test the limits of His mercy and patience.

We're all fairly clueless without Jesus. Let's try to be wise enough to follow Him, and be grateful for His patience when we fail. He stood by us in Gethsemane. Let's try not to wander away from Him.

"Best Nativity Ever"

Just for the record, I didn't want to blog about this, but I couldn't find anything else that's Christmassy, and I didn't want to break my streak of writing blog posts that centered on, or at least prominently featured Jesus Christ. This has been described on Facebook as the "Best Nativity Ever." I could not disagree more.

I think it goes without saying that I'm slightly offended to see one of the most sacred events in human history portrayed by Coke cans in a cardboard box. It's even more depressing to see this miserable, (deliberately arranged) pile of garbage described as the "Best Nativity Ever." I thank my lucky stars that I will soon see literally hundreds of nativities better than this one, and so can you.

Because I'm lazy and short on time, I'll copy and paste directly from an email invitation I was sent:

The Eighth Annual Elk Grove Nativity will be held at the Seasons Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, located at 6711 Seasons Drive, Elk Grove, CA.

The Eighth Annual Elk Grove Nativity is free of charge. 

Important Dates 

Friday, December 12, 2014
Open House: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

Saturday, December 13, 2014
Open House: 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Messiah Sing Along: 7:00 p.m. 

Sunday, December 14, 2014
Open House: 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Christmas Concert: 7:00 p.m.

Since it's open to the public, I hereby invite every one of you reading this to come. I know you'll love it.

Personally, I consider the nativity scene to be sacred enough to deserve a fair amount of respect. It's one thing when a child makes a nativity scene with all their toys, including dinosaurs as the wise men's camels and Batman as an angel. Then, it's a sweet re-creation with a child's innocence and a pure desire for everyone to come and worship the sacred child. It's an entirely different matter when someone pokes fun at something sacred to get a bunch of Likes and Shares.

I look forward to seeing some real nativities, and I invite you to come and enjoy them, too.

Coming Soon

I recently saw a photo of Santa on Facebook with a caption that said something like "I'll be coming soon!" Not everyone will be happy to hear that reminder. Some of us don't feel quite ready yet. We have presents to make, buy, or at least wrap. Children have more reason to be excited about Santa coming - if they've been good. Some children try to be especially good this time of year, and really, so should we.

There's Somebody else who, I've heard, is coming pretty soon, though the exact date of His re-arrival isn't known to any of us. Some of us feel ready for His return. The rest of us have some work left to do and some sins left to repent of. Children have more reason to be excited about the Second Coming. Being below the age of accountability, children age seven and younger have nothing to worry about. But no matter what age you are, we should all try to be good - perhaps especially good since we know that Somebody special is coming again soon.

Santa's Christmas Prayer

Our home teachers (well, okay, just one of them) came by and gave us a wonderful Christmas gift, including baked goods, an advent calendar of scripture references, and this poem:

Santa's Christmas Prayer

by Warren D. Jennings

The sleigh was all packed, the reindeer were fed,
But Santa still knelt by the side of the bed.

"Dear Father," he prayed "Be with me tonight.
There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.

I must jump in my sleigh and streak through the sky,
Knowing full well that a reindeer can't fly.

I will visit each household before the first light,
I'll cover the world and all in one night.

With sleigh bells a-ringing, I'll land on each roof,
Amid the soft clatter of each little hoof.

To get in the house is the difficult part,
So I'll slide down the chimney of each child's heart.

My sack will hold toys to grant all their wishes.
The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.

I will fill all the stockings and not leave a track.
I'll eat every cookie that is left for my snack.

I can do all these things Lord, only through You,
I just need your blessing, then it's easy to do.

All this is to honor the birth of the One,
That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.

So to all of my friends, least Your glory I rob,
Please Lord, remind them who gave me this job."

The last three stanzas of this poem are the best ones. I love the idea of Santa being a Christian and being able to do the things he does because of a literal Christmas miracle, rather than fancy technology or "magic." And why not? Why wouldn't Santa be a Christian? Some ultra-pious people may argue that since Christmas was originally a pagan winter celebration, Christ doesn't really belong in Christmas. Some non-religious people say that Christ has no place in Christmas because they want to have Christmas without having to deal with Christ. I say "too bad" to both of them. I don't care what Christmas was or what you want it to be. To me, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, and since both Christ and Santa Clause are central to my vision of Christmas, I see no reason why Santa shouldn't be shown kneeling before the Babe in the manger.

What Shall We Give?

In case you haven't seen this yet - I only saw it this morning - the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is offering five Christmas songs for download in a free sampler called What Shall We Give? If you're interested, you can find the downloads here. Naturally, What Shall We Give? is one of the songs being offered, and it also happens to be one of my favorites.

What shall we give to the babe in the manger?
What shall we offer the child in the stall?
Incense and spices and gold we've aplenty.
Are these the gifts for the king of us all? 

What shall we give to the boy in the temple?
What shall we offer the man by the sea?
Palms at his feet and hosannas uprising,
Are these for him who will carry the tree? 

What shall we give to the man who was offered,
Rising the third day and shedding his love?
Tears for his mercy we'll weep at the manger,
Bathing the infant come down from above.

I love this song for its chillingly beautiful music, but also more especially for its lyrics. "What shall we give to Jesus?" is an important question to ask. Unfortunately, now that I've reviewed the lyrics specifically, I'm afraid we're not given a very satisfactory answer. "Tears for His mercy" may be all that we can really offer Him, but it doesn't feel like it's anywhere near enough of a gift. Jesus gave His life for us. What can we possibly give Him in return?

Ours.

Jesus doesn't ask many people to die for Him. There have been many fewer martyrs recently than in the past. But He asks all of His followers to do something that may be even more difficult. He wants us to live for Him, and more especially to live like Him. He wants us to serve others, keep the commandments, and generally be Christlike. This takes more effort than dying for Him or shedding tears of gratitude, but it's what He really wants.

It's also how we can make use of the gifts that He has given us. The Atonement has almost no effect on us unless we try to repent. Jesus' teachings and commandments are useless to us unless we learn from them and follow them. We'll still be resurrected, even with no further effort on our part, but what's the point of living again if there was no real purpose to our lives in the first place? Jesus gave us some very wonderful gifts. He wouldn't want us to waste them. Instead, He wants us to use them to become better people and to do good.

As our gift of gratitude to Him, Jesus wants us to love Him and become more like Him. In essence, He's asking for our hearts. It's a pretty great sacrifice to give your heart to someone, but if I can give my heart to anyone, it's Him. I'll try to give my heart to Him. It's weak, and frequently rebellious, but I'll try. And if I succeed, I'll be so much more able to receive the gifts He has offered to me - gifts for which I'm afraid I'll never be able to thank Him enough.

489

With the song from yesterday still stuck in my head fresh in my mind as I walked to the bus stop, I decided to write my own verse for it - something about hope for forgiveness through the Atonement. What I got was a deeply personal message from me to my Savior, which still brings tears to my eyes whenever I think about it. Because I love you, I'll share my verse here.

Sometimes, I feel I'm out of hope

The end of my worn, fraying rope

There's only one way out, and that is thru ya.

But I've been here so many times

It's not a second chance, it's a four-eighty-ninth

You ransom me again. Oh, Hallelujah!

I chose the number 489 specifically. Not only does it kind of rhyme with "times," it's just one shy of how many times Jesus said we need to forgive each other.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Matt 18: 21-22

Like many other Christians, I don't believe Jesus truly meant that we should keep track of how many times we have to forgive each other, so that we could stop after the 490th time. I think He meant for us to keep on forgiving others until our forgiveness is no longer needed.

And I think - I hope! - it's the same way with God. He might keep a tally of sins we've yet to repent of, just so the debt to justice can be paid in full, but since the debt has already been paid, and Jesus Christ has become our creditor, and all He asks in payment of the debt is an earnest effort to not add much more to it, I kind of doubt that They're counting up our sins so They can cast us into hell after the 490th one. In fact, one of Them has said something to that effect:

Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
D&C 58:42

If He "remembers them no more," that means He's not keeping track of them. He's not counting. As long as we're repenting, He'll forgive us as many times as we need Him to, whether that means 491 times, 4,900 times, or more. At least, I hope He will.

I don't know how many sins I've committed over my 25 years. Mercifully, the first 8 years don't count against me, but even in the 17 years between my baptism and now, I've definitely committed many more than 490 sins. Probably many times more. The same could be said for all of us, and thankfully, there's still hope for us all.

I don't want to think about how many times I've had to ask my Savior to forgive me. Probably, He doesn't either. I'm sure we'd both rather put my sins behind us, both by my overcoming them and by our not bringing them back up once they've been forgiven. I've made a lot of mistakes over the course of my life, but fortunately, it doesn't really matter exactly how many there were. What matters is that I'm trying to overcome them, and that God is willing help me as many times as I need Him to.

Bridging the 33-Year Gap

I wonder how many of my blog posts could start with the phrase "I found this on Facebook and thought it was worth sharing here." This one certainly applies.

I love the lyrics, especially in comparison with the previous version. There are a few parts I would tweak, but the part I really want to blog about is the final verse. In that verse, he transitioned smoothly from a Christmas message to an Easter message. The transition was a smooth one partly because both messages center around Jesus Christ.

Christmas and Easter are two separate holidays about as far apart from each other as they could be, chronologically. The actual events commemorated by Christmas and Easter could hardly be farther apart, either, as one of them is the birth of Christ and the other is His death and resurrection. But I like trying to connect the two thoughts because even though Christmas is all about Jesus' birth, it's important to remember what He was born to do.

Yesterday, I said that we each have a purpose. The same was also true for Jesus. In my opinion, He was born mostly so that He could die. Yes, there were a lot of sermons and miracles, and He organized the church while He was on the Earth, but the major thing He needed to do was the Atonement. Next to that, the most important thing to be done was to break the bands of death. At Christmas, we emphasize the Savior's birth, but being born was literally just the beginning of the things Jesus would do for us during His mortal life, and if He hadn't done those things, I don't think His birth would have mattered as much.

At the same time, Easter could not have been possible without Christmas. In order to break the bands of death, Jesus had to experience death after a period of mortality that began with His birth. In order to accomplish the Atonement, He first had to live a perfect, mortal life. The Atonement and Resurrection were probably the two most important accomplishments of Jesus' mortal life, but neither of them would have been possible if Jesus' hadn't had a mortal life. Jesus was born to die for us, but in order to die for us, He first needed to be born.

The gap between Christmas and Easter seems like a large one, and it probably exists for a reason - to emphasize His birth or His death, respectively, but I like the idea about thinking of the two thoughts together. The Child born pure and innocent in Bethlehem was just as pure and innocent when He died for us on Calvary. Through Resurrection, He brought us a hope for a better life, just as He did on the night that He was born. The bookends of Jesus' life are why Jesus means so much to us. Putting those bookends together gives us a deeper perspective of the meaning and impact of both His life and His death. At the very least, I personally have benefitted from thinking of Christmas and Easter together. I hope you have, too.

And What Are You Doing Because Of It?

I love this. I love this so much, I can't even tell you. It's one thing to be a Christian in the sense that you believe in Christ, but it's so much more to be Christian in that you try to follow and become like, or at least adequately thank, Jesus Christ. Being Christian isn't just about believing something - it's about acting on those beliefs and letting them make you a better person. You (probably) believe in Christ, and that's a good thing, but what are you doing because of it?

I recently overheard someone laughingly say that the universe was trying to kill them but that they were being preserved - probably for some great purpose. It sounded like she wasn't taking it very seriously, but how could she not? If I thought that the universe was trying to kill me, but that I was being preserved so that I could fulfill some purpose, I would at least want to know what that purpose was!

The funny thing is that God has a purpose for each of us, and that Satan would be willing to kill us, if we ever gave him the chance, if he had to, to prevent us from fulfilling that purpose. I know that God has a plan for me, so what am I doing because of it? Am I actively trying to find out what that purpose is and how I can fulfill it? Am I even trying to follow God's specific plan for me, beyond generally trying to be righteous? Am I trying to find out what my calling is, and follow it?

Using that word, "calling," specifically makes it sound like I'm leading up to our callings in the church. Almost every member has one, and they're usually inspired by God. It may not be what God wants you to make your entire life about (callings are usually only for a few years), but it's certainly part of what God wants you to do right now. I was called to be a leader of the 11-Year-Old Scouts in our Ward. God wants me to be a mentor and a teacher to them, to lead them and inspire them, and possibly to at least try to instill in their hearts the love of chivalry that I have in mine. They are, after all, the Valiant Knights - a name which they voted for themselves. I doubt that they'd be opposed to learning how to act like knights, which not-coincidentally matches up with how to be a good citizen, Boy Scout, and man of God perfectly. My calling is to lead those boys, so, again, what am I doing about it?

Admittedly, not much. I help lead during the meetings and outings, and I help plan and prepare for them, but I know that I'm not doing as much as I could do. I could better learn what the boys need to do to earn their rank advancements as well as to advance personally. I could learn what they need to know and then try to teach them, rather than trying to learn with them. I could be doing better at fulfilling my calling, at fulfilling God's purpose for my life right now. And I know that that should feel more important to me than I currently feel that it is. Right now, I see it as part of my responsibility, one of the many things I have to do, whereas I should see it as part of my purpose, one of the many things I was meant to do. The difference may be subtle, if it even exists outside of my own head, but I feel that it's an important one. It changes the task from being my duty as a member of society to being my duty as a follower of God. I owe God much more allegiance than I owe society.

I owe God my whole heart. And not just my heart, but also my hands. If I am to truly love the Lord my God with all my heart, and all my soul, and all my mind, and all my strength (as Mark 12:30 says we must), then I need to serve God and not merely believe in Him. I need to thank Him for al that He had done for me, not just by giving thanks, but also by doing what He has asked me to do. God has given each of us commandments, callings, and a purpose. So what are we doing because of it?

Let us strive to serve God more faithfully - to find out what our callings are and fulfill them. Even if you don't believe in God, your life should have a purpose. Find yours and fulfill it. Do what you were meant to do, and become what you were born to be. Whether you know it or believe it or not, your life already has a purpose. What will you do because of it?

Wrapped and Unwrapped

Traditionally, Christmas gifts are wrapped in colored paper, but when Jesus came into the world, becoming the first Christmas gift ever, He arrived unwrapped, and then was wrapped in swaddling bands. Wrapping paper is flashy and colorful, but thin. Swaddling bands are warm and comfortable, but fairly drab.

When Jesus came to the earth, he did so humbly. He didn't make a big fuss about His arrival, and He certainly didn't try to pretend to be something He wasn't. In short, He didn't act like the hypocrites He later spoke against. He was always honest and genuine from the very beginning.

He came simply and quietly, but He brought great power with Him. However, when He did miracles, they weren't often flashy, either. Instead, He did relatively small miracles, touching individuals' hearts rather than openly showing the world what He could do. His power was more for warming hearts than impressing millions.

One thing that really impresses me about Jesus is that He didn't ask for any special favors. He was born the same way all babies are, and He grew up as all children do. He didn't even come to earth at a time without conveniences like plumbing and electricity. He lived simply and honestly, not hiding anything, but not showing off either. He suffered many of the same temptations and heartaches as we do, and He overcame them the same way we can, meaning that the power to live perfectly theoretically lies within each of us. He did it, and He did it as a mortal, so we can do it, too.

When Christ was born, He didn't get the kind of attention a coming God might ask for, and He didn't even come with the kinds of conveniences a God might be used to and entitled to. Instead, He was born on the earth just like everyone else was. He came to earth as one of us.