Seeking Christ at Christmas
Second Counselor in the First
Presidency
To all who wish to understand who we are as members of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
I would like to offer a starting point defined by these three 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 of 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.”1 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, may 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.2
The
Wise Men 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?”3
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.4
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.
Through 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.5
Believers among the Nephites and 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.6
The believers who lived at this time could represent
those who seek the Christ even when others laugh, mock, and taunt. They seek
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.”7
Perhaps this attitude of
seeking God was one of the reasons David was described as a man after God’s own
heart.8
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.
Teaching from This Message How can we better seek Christ, as
President Uchtdorf suggests? You might encourage those you teach to ask
themselves, “How am I seeking Christ?” Consider inviting them to start sharing
how they are each seeking Christ during their daily family scripture study
time. You could also watch the Mormon.org Christmas video with those you teach
and invite them to participate in this yearly opportunity to seek Christ by
following His teachings.
“Do We
See Ourselves”
cji
12/1/17
When
approaching Christmas
where do
we find ourselves
are we
on the right or the left
2000
years ago when counted;
On our
great steads mounted
or denying
Scriptures by theft
in
darkness as distant elves
flickering
as a false litmus;
Do we
see ourselves pure
understanding
the Prophets
going
forth confident sure
thus reassuring
as soffits?
Copyright © 2017 – cji
No comments:
Post a Comment