Post 54 – Seeking Christ At Christmas
Dear Family and Friends
I remember a talk from the December 2017 Ensign that told
about seeking Christ at Christmas. I loved the talk by President Deiter F.
Uchtdorf who was at that time the Second Counselor of the First Presidency. I found
it the other day and I wanted to share t with you all, it is a great reminder
of what the Christmas season is all about – seeking Christ. President Uchtdorf
asks a very profound question which each one of us should ask ourselves every day,
I think. “How am I seeking Christ?” another way to put the question might be:
What am I doing today to seek Jesus Christ?
I thought of a few more questions that might also help
each one of us as we travel on our journey each day to seek Jesus Christ. What
am I doing to learn more about Him? What am I doing to learn of His teachings? How
am I following Jesus Christ? These are all questions that we can ask and answer
in our own personal journals maybe? If you are not writing in a journal right
now, it may be a great time to begin one with these questions and continue it
on into the new year😊 that is what I am going to do –
So, this will be my challenge to each of you –If you have
not started a journal, begin one today. If you have used a journal in the past
(like me) but have not been as consistent as you would like, begin today! If you
are writing in a journal currently – that is wonderful! I am so-o proud of each
of you that have the journaling habit – it’s a great one to have and to be
consistent with. To write in it once a month, once a week or once a day – that part
is up to you, but I promise that if you can discipline yourselves to write in
it often you will not have as hard a time as I have had to remember things when
you are as old as I am😊
It is important to be sure to write down in your journal
how the Lord has blessed you and your family; to write about those exciting moments
– about how you felt at that moment; to write about you low days and how you
made it through them; to write about you high days and what was special about
them and how you made it through; about your successes and your failures – as we
can and should learn from both I think; to write about your friends and those
who are only acquaintances and how they helped yu along your way. I have learned
a lot through my many attempts at journaling. There is no one perfect way, just
make it your own and enjoy doing it. I just know that it can be a great
blessing in your life.
I used to be very consistent (in my younger years 😊)in
writing each day in my notebook about the day’s happenings – good or bad, about
family gatherings, sad times as well as those happy times. Then we lost our
home and everything in it – including all of my notebooks. I didn’t realize
that I was journaling at the time. I wrote a lot of my writing in verse, as
that was what worked for me – it was just my book of poems, but they were
actually writings about my life’s struggles and joys. Anyway, when we lost all
of them I guess I was afraid to write things down again for fear of loosing
them. I have tried many, many, many times throughout the years since and I have
tried different ways throughout the years, but I have not found a system that has
worked as well for me as I did back then☹ oh
my, have I been rambling! I will let you read the talk now, I hope you enjoy it
as much as I have, each time I read it!
Seeking Christ At Christmas
by President Deiter F. Uchtdorf the
Second Counselor of the First Presidency
To all who wish to understand who we are as members of The
Church of Latter-day Saints, I would like to offer a starting point defined by
these words: We seek Christ.
We seek to learn of Him. To follow Him. To become more like
Him. Every day throughout the year, we seek Him. But especially at this time of
the year – Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of our beloved Savior – our hearts
are ever more inclined to Him.
As part od our preparations for celebrating Christmas, let
us consider how those who lived two millennia ago were ready to welcome the
arrival of the Savior.
The Shepherds
We don’t know much about the shepherds, only that they were “abiding
in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” The shepherds were more
than likely quite ordinary people, like many commendable souls who go about
their days earning a living.
They could represent people, who, at one time, ay not have
been actively seeking the Christ, but their hearts changed when the heavens
opened and Christ was proclaimed to them.
These are they who, after hearing the voice of heavenly
messengers, immediately went to Bethlehem wanting to see.
The Wise Me
The Wise Men were academics who had been studying the advent
of the Messiah, the Son of God. Through their learning, they identified the signs
that pointed to His birth. When they identified them, they left their homes and
traveled to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?”
Their knowledge of the Christ did not remain solely
academic. Once they saw the signs of His birth, they acted. They set out to
find the Christ.
The Wise Men could represent those who seek the Christ
through learning and academic study. Their devotion to truth eventually leads
them to find the Christ and worship Him as the King of kings, the Savior of
mankind.
Simeon and Anna
Simeon and anna could represent those who seek Christ through the Spirit. These marvelous
souls were devoutly religious and, through fasting and prayer and by leading
lives of devotion and obedience, waited eagerly to see the day of the coming of
the son of God.
Trough fidelity, humility, and faith, they patiently watched
for the coming of the Savior.
Eventually, their faithfulness was rewarded as Mary and
Joseph presented to them the baby who would one day take upon Himself the sins
of mankind.
Believers Among the Nephites and the Lamanites
The touching story of how believers in the New World watched
for the signs of the birth of the Savior is found in the Book of Mormon.
You remember that those who had faith in Christ were
ridiculed and persecuted. The sophisticates of that day accused believers of
hanging on to foolish superstitions. In fact, the nonbelievers were so vocal in
their ridicule that they made “a great uproar” in the land (3 Nephi 1:7). They scoffed
at those who believed that the savior would be born.
Their anger and rage grew so great that they became obsessed
with silencing once and for all those who believed in the Savior. The Book of
Mormon records the dramatic resolution.
The believers who lived at this time could represent those
who seek the Christ even when others laugh, mock, and taunt. They seek the
Christ even when others attempt to caricature them as unrefined, unsophisticated,
or gullible.
But the contempt of others does not discourage true
believers from seeking Christ.
We Seek Christ
Throughout the year, and perhaps especially at this
Christmas season, it would benefit us to once again ask the question “How am I
seeking Christ?”
During a difficult period of his life, the great King David
wrote, “O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for
thee, my flesh longeth for thee.”
Perhaps this attitude of seeking God was one of the reasons
David was described as a man after God’s own heart.
During this Christmas season and throughout the entire year,
may we seek with our hearts and souls our beloved Savior, the Prince of Peace,
the Holy One of Israel. For this desire, in large part, defines not only who we
are as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but even more
who we really are as Christ’s disciples.
All of the talks given and the articles written and published
in the Ensign magazine are informative and usually uplifting, I know that as I read
through them each month there are a few that touch my heart and I want to share
them with my family and my friends and you are all included as my family or my
friends😊
after all, we are all children of our heavenly parents! If you want to peruse
more articles from the Ensign you can find them here:
I make it a goal each month to read the magazine from
cover to cover throughout the month, as I have done this, it has benefited me
in one way or another and enabled me to share pertinent things with those who
needed it at the time. Here is a story titled: “Sharing The Savior’s Love At
Christmas” this story is so heart-warming I had to share it with each of you.
I was excited to participate in the Church's 2016 “Light the
world” Christmas campaign. I looked forward to completing the daily challenges,
particularly for day five: “Jesus helped the sick, and so can you.”
That day I left work and walked through the gray city
streets planning to visit my grandparents. I felt great. It was Christmastime
and the world was beautiful. The peal of a charity bell ranf through the air. As
I neared the streetcar platform, the sound of the bell was drowned out by a
homeless woman yelling at the bell ringer.
“You’re a fake! She screamed. “I'm hungry, I’m cold, and you
take it all for yourself! You’re a fake!”
Most people ignored her, and the bell ringer continued
ringing his bell. I put my headphones on, but I could still hear the woman
yelling, “You’re a fake! I’m hungry, I’m cold.”
I remembered I had a twenty -dollar bill in my pocket. I considered
giving it to the woman. ”No,” I thought. “If I’m going to give this to someone, I
should give it to someone nice.” Then the Spirit reminded me of the challenge and
whom I was trying to be like. Jesus was the King of kings, yet He served the
lowest of the low. I knew what I needed to do. I walked toward the woman. She wasn’t
yelling now, but her eyes were closed and tears ran down her cheeks. I took the
twenty -dollar bill from my pocket and handed it to her.
“Rough day?” I asked. She looked up at me. “Yeah,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I wrapped my arms around her, and she
cried into my shoulder until the streetcar came. “Thanks,” the woman said when
we said goodbye. “And not just for the money. Thanks for the hug, I needed a
hug.”
Hugging a random person on the street was not something I had
planned on doing, but I know it’s something Jesus would have done. I am grateful
the Lord gave me the opportunity to serve as He would have done. Jesus helped
the sick, the poor, and the needy. So can I. – Jordan Wright, Utah, USA
Isn’t this an amazing story to share with you today? You
can find the calendar he used here: https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/multimedia/file/christmas-initiative-2016-advent-calendar
I hope and pray that each one of you will take the
challenges I have offered and make a decision to put Christ back at the center
of our Christmas celebration and do as He would do if He were here today. Remember
that each one of us are His hands upon the earth – He needs us to help all
those around us and share the His words with them as well. If you are already
doing all these things, keep up the great work!! 😊 You
are amazing!! Until my next post make it a good week.
By Elder
David A. Bednar
Doesn't the temple look so festive amongst the
trees? This picture is so beautiful I had to share it with all of you. I do
love the Temple!
