Unto you...

The Christmas season is, of course, a wonderful time to remember the brith, life, death, resurrection, appearance to restore the gospel, and second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. That is quite a bit to remember! We are truly blessed.

But more particularly, we remember his humble birth. The Living Christ, prepared by living witnesses--modern apostles and prophets-- of the Savior, makes the following statement:

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.
As a family, we add our testimony to this. We know it is true.

Last week in our Sacrament meeting, we had a wonderful program arranged by the choir. Our ward bishop had asked me to conduct, and I chose to read a few words from the Gospel of Luke. While doing so, the spirit taught me a truth that I won't soon forget.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

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.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

I was struck by the words "for unto YOU is born..." The angel did not say, "unto Mary" or "unto Joseph", though it certainly was the case. Previously, an angel had explained to Joseph that Mary would "bring forth a son, and... call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." Just 8 days after his birth, Simeon would prophecy in the temple that Jesus would be "a light to lighten the gentiles." The Savior was born for us.


I think of the final words of The Living Christ: God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.

Come What May and Love It

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin passed away on December 1, 2008 at age 91. He was sustained as a member of the twelve apostles on October 4, 1986 during general conference. I think we all have those 'favorite apostles,' someone that sticks out to you more than the others, and he was one for me.

Not only was I drawn to him for the feeling I got when seeing him, but he always shared good messages, things I felt that were really heart felt and made me love him more. I recall one year when he spoke of his wife who had passed away, they were words of such love, devotion and affection. It always melts my heart when I see two people that loved eachother so much. It makes me look forward to the future with my husband as I know our love can continue to grow if we nourish it.

So his last talk in General Conference before he passed away was no different and I thought I would highlight some things in honor of him. This time, I felt his great love for his mother and appreciation for her. He spoke of coming home from a football game being very disappointed to which his mother replied, "Joseph, come what may, and love it."

He went on to say:

"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.

The Lord in His wisdom does not shield anyone from grief or sadness.

How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life."

What great words and applicable to every one. He gave some guidelines on how to react to adversity to ensure that we do experience happiness. First, he taught "learn to laugh," second, "seek the eternal," third, 'understand the principle of compensation" and lastly, "trust in the Father and in the Son."

It was a very pleasant talk which he shared some cute stories, to read the whole thing further visit http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=b5f44bb52a73d110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1

As I read through it a second time the line that stuck out most to me was "The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss." He promises "while it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.that every tear we shed will be compensated with tears of joy." That in itself brings peace. I hope we can all take these principles into practice and remember Elder Wirthlin for the great man he was.