#ChristmasDevo
See
https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/christmas-devotional/2014/12?lang=eng&vid=3929047363001
These are my notes & commentary and do not represent a balanced summary of the author’s work. I’ve selected portions of the text which were relevant to me and placed them here in my own words, in an abbreviated fashion, with added commentary. Though this article introduces some main ideas from the text, it is bias toward what I felt were ideas of particular importance. This should not be considered a scholarly work, but rather an informal sharing & discussion of ideas as permitted by Fair Use law. I alone am responsible for the contents of this article.
-We declare it in song old and new, that Jesus is coming.
-Pray that we may learn and do and become what the Lord NEEDS us to become.
-President Hinckley said how the greatest forces for good in the world are babies, that God uses such to change the world.
-Shepherds are who saw first baby Jesus. This inspires me, can I not now come unto and behold him?
-when we see tiny babies, remember to love without reserve
-when we see the Christmas star, remember the light of Christ that sheds through the world.
-baby Jesus slept as a child. As an adult he would wake men from darkness and sin.
-The Spirit of Christmas is the love of Jesus Christ.
-Hearing of the Nativity should inspire us to be like Jesus and Jesus’ family
-Mary was not popular but she was humble and had great faith and obedience, hence she was highly favored of the Lord and called for a special mission in life to raise God’s Son.
-Our birth is something of a condesention also for we though not physical children of God are his spirit children (*he gave life to our spirits in pre-mortality and raised us there before he sent us here to earth). We like Jesus came to earth to do great things. Jesus needed earth experience so do we.
-Just as Jesus we came down from heaven to do the will of him that sent us.
-To ascend on high we need to defend at least below some things.
-These experiences that we can learn to have mercy on others and how to succor them according to their infirmities.
-Joseph F. Smith 6th President of the Church when a young father worked at the church tithing office 6am to 11pm he got 3 dollars of tithing pay which meant he could go to the tithing place and get flower or meat or molasses. He wanted to please his children on Christmas but had not a cent to do it with. He saw the stores, and wept. He played with his children, and was grateful and happy only for them.
Joseph F. Smith grew up without much discipline and grew up rough. This experience helped teach him tenderness.
-The Saviors experiences in mortality had redeeming purposes, and so do ours. They help us to be able to lift and help others.
-Jesus gave near constant service.
-Since we like Jesus came to do the will of the Father, our acts of service must not only be annual, but often.
-When you feel like serving others, it’s a sign that you feel more committed to the Savior.
-Christmas lights are to remind us of that bright feeling.
-The shepherds saw only a baby when the came to see the Savior at his birth. It took spiritual eyes to recognize that it was the Savior. The Savior today also says believe in him, trust the spirit which prompts to judge righteously and to do good, for this is the spirit of Jesus Christ. It fills the soul with joy.
-We can see a light in babies more than what physical eyes see, because of their purity.
-We don’t need to Holy Ghost to be able to see more of the glory of pure people etc. For example one lady not a member of the church, thought she saw halo’s over the heads of the sister missionaries who knocked on her door.
-Love people enough to ask the mission President to send missionaries to a certain home to offer someone the gift of the gospel.
-The light of Christ is the universal intelligence with which all humans are blessed.
-God’s spirit causes us to desire to stay away from sin, to be less boastful, less prideful, less critical.
-Jesus Christ is the light and the life of the world which can never be darkened, and his life can never end. (*He is the source which causes our lives to never end once we are resurrected).
-The light of Christ is what makes every hopeless dawn a joyful morning.
-“I know as surely as I live that the resurrected Savior lives” (President Eyring).
-Draw closer to him [Jesus Christ] to be able to feel more of his love and light.
