FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE Make Time for the Savior
By President Thomas S. Monson
Another Christmas season is upon us and with it the dawning of a
new year. It seems as though only yesterday we were celebrating the Savior’s
birth and making resolutions.
Among
our resolutions for this year, did we resolve to make time in our lives and room
in our hearts for the Savior? No matter how successful we may have been thus
far with such a resolution, I am confident we all wish to do better. This
Christmas season is the perfect time to examine and renew our efforts.
In our
busy lives, with ever so many other things competing for our attention, it is
essential that we make a conscious, committed effort to bring Christ into our
lives and into our homes. And it is vital that we, like the Wise Men from the
East, remain fixed upon His star and “come to worship him.”1
Down
through the generations of time, the message from Jesus has been the same. To
Peter and Andrew by the shores of Galilee, He said, “Follow me.”2 To Philip came the call, “Follow me.”3 To the Levite who sat at receipt of customs
came the instruction, “Follow me.”4And to
you and to me, if we but listen, will come that same beckoning invitation:
“Follow me.”5
As we
follow in His footsteps today and as we emulate His example, we will have
opportunities to bless the lives of others. Jesus invites us to give of
ourselves: “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.”6
Is
there someone for whom you should provide service this Christmas? Is there one
who awaits your visit?
Years ago I paid a Christmas call at the home of an elderly
widow. While I was there, the doorbell rang. There at the door stood a very
busy and prominent physician. He had not been summoned; rather, he had just
felt a prompting to pay a visit to a patient who was lonely.
During
this season, the hearts of those who are confined reach out and yearn for a
Christmas visit. One Christmas while visiting a care center, I sat and talked
with five elderly ladies, the oldest of whom was 101. She was blind, yet she
recognized my voice.
“Bishop,
you are a little late this year!” she said. “I thought you would never come.”
We had
a wonderful time together. One patient, however, looked longingly out the
window and repeated over and over, “I know my boy will come to see me today.” I
wondered if he would, for there had been other Christmas seasons when he had
never called.
There
is yet time this year to extend the helping hand, the loving heart, and the
willing spirit—in other words, to follow the example set by our Savior and to
serve as He would have us serve. As we serve Him, we will not forfeit our
opportunity, as did the innkeeper of old,7 to make time for Him in our lives and room
for Him in our hearts.
Can we
comprehend the magnificent promise contained in the message of the angel given
to the shepherds abiding in the field: “I bring you good tidings of great
joy. … For unto you is born this day … a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord”?8
As we
exchange gifts at Christmas, may we remember, appreciate, and receive that
greatest gift of all gifts—the gift of our Savior and Redeemer, that we might
have eternal life.
“For
what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not
the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither
rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.”9
May we
follow Him, serve Him, honor Him, and receive in our lives His gifts to us,
that we might be, in the words of Father Lehi, “encircled about eternally in
the arms of his love.”10
Teaching
from This Message
President
Monson calls on us to “make a conscious, committed effort to bring Christ into
our lives and into our homes.” Consider discussing with those you teach how
they can make this conscious effort individually and as a family.
You might consider asking them to think of a specific person or family whom
they could visit or serve this Christmas. “There is yet time this year to
extend the helping hand, the loving heart, and the willing spirit.”
Youth
Ways
to Serve at Christmastime
President
Monson takes the time to visit the elderly and those in care centers,
especially at Christmastime. He noted that there are those who are happy
because they’ve received visitors, while others only hope for visitors who
never come. There are people waiting for somebody—maybe this Christmas, you can
be that somebody.
The
following is a list of just a few ways you can help make sure no one feels
alone this Christmas. Feel free to think of more ways you can reach out in your
community this season. “Is there one who awaits your visit?”
·
Make Christmas cards to send to the missionaries and the single
and elderly members of your ward or branch.
·
Volunteer with a local community organization.
·
Make treats to deliver to your neighbors.
For
more ideas on how you can serve in your community, go to lds.org/topics/humanitarian-service/help.
Children
“Making
Time”
cji
12/1/15
Making
time for others
especially
the Savior
for He
gave his all
that
each of us might
have
eternal life as one
enjoining
our families
while
his sacrifice infinite
ours
requires obedience
what
betting time of year
to recommit
to our Father
our
love, time, even our all
in his
service our all
doing
his will not ours
until
they become one!
Copyright © 2015 – cji
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