Sacrament Meeting
Mary and Joseph knew who their new born son was, but I wonder how much they understood about his mission at that time. The following scriptures show that they knew who he was.
Luke 2
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 1
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Matthew 1
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Scripture study changes our character and our testimony.
If we pay attention, we can see joy where we couldn’t see it before, especially in our trials.
As you sustain a teacher or speaker that is difficult for you, you will receive great knowledge and testimony.
We as humans sometimes dawdle and don’t make where we are going a priority, so we are late. Do we sometimes dawdle in our ministering or in our family duties or in our testimony?
Sunday School
We discussed the books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah today.
Nahum preached to Nineveh a few generations after Jonah preached to that city. The people had fallen away.
“Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer”)
We must be cautious that we don't use people as property. Those that serve us in business and those in our congregations and those in our family.
If you are thankful, you can't be covetous. That includes being thankful or happy for others that get something that you don't have.
First Presidency Christmas Devotional
President Bonnie H Cordon, “Let Earth Receive Her King”
“Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught: ‘In view of all God has given to us, we ought to be pretty good at receiving, but we are not. We who regard ourselves as quite self-sufficient and independent often find receiving awkward, even difficult. …
“‘[Yet] God’s gifts, unlike seasonal gifts, are eternal and unperishable, constituting a continuing Christmas which is never over!’”
“Mary knew the gift she was carrying, but no one had room to receive it, to receive Him.”
“Unlike the shepherds’, theirs was an ongoing journey that took time. They had to seek, ask, wait, and go, and then do so again, until finally they saw the young child with Mary, His mother. They offered gifts that were most precious and fell down and worshipped Him.”
Elder José A. Teixeira, “Christmas’s Greatest Gift”
“The Savior Himself testified of His gift to us: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’
“‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
“What an extraordinary gift; what a sublime gift!”
Elder Neil L Anderson, “For the Righteous, Christmas Means All Will Be Well”
“Wherever we live, for all of us who believe in and follow Jesus Christ, one beautiful truth stays the same: we rejoice that He who was called from the beginning, He who was anticipated for centuries, He who was the Only Begotten of the Father, He came—in the meridian of time, in the humblest of conditions—He came. And because He came, the billions who have lived upon this earth will live again and may, if they choose, inherit eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God.”
“Here is the lesson I would share with you tonight: With all the worry and uncertainty, the difficulties and the trouble that follow us here in our mortal life, for those who are righteous—who have faith and trust in the Lord—in the end, all will be well.”
“In the premortal world, the Lord declared: ‘We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” And from Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.’”
Elder Dallin H Oaks, “Good Tidings of Great Joy”
“President Gordon B. Hinckley did not overstate the point when he proclaimed, “His matchless example [was] the greatest power for goodness and peace in all the world.””
“We learn from the New Testament accounts that the announcements of the birth of the Christ child in the eastern hemisphere were made to three different groups, each with very different characteristics. Those who received the heavenly announcement of the birth were the very humble, the very holy, and the very wise.”
“The first announcement was to the shepherds in the hills by Bethlehem.”
“The second announcement of the birth of the Messiah was in the temple in Jerusalem to two holy workers whose godly lives qualified them to receive the witness of the Holy Ghost.”
“A third group learned of this remarkable birth. The Bible, as slightly improved by Joseph Smith, reports that ‘there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is the child that is born, the Messiah of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.’”
“Isn’t it interesting that the miraculous event of the birth of Christ and something of the significance of that event was made known only to the very humble, the very holy, and the very wise?”
“As Elder James E. Talmage taught in Jesus the Christ, ‘Indeed God raised up witnesses for Himself to meet all classes and conditions of men—the testimony of angels for the poor and the lowly; the testimony of wise men for the haughty king and proud priests of Judea.’”
“For us, there is nothing new in the celebration of the birth of Christ. The message is timeless and familiar. It was taught to Adam. It was preached to the children of Israel. It was revealed to the descendants of Father Lehi. Again and again, prophets declared the central truths of the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ. Again and again, they declared His mission and taught His command that the children of God love and serve God and one another. Repeated through the ages, these declarations are the most important message in all eternity. For those who follow Christ, these declarations are not to be revised. They are to be renewed in each of our lives.”
“Christmas is a time to eliminate arrogance and provocation, to subdue criticism, to practice patience, and to de-emphasize differences among people.”
Leviticus 19:33–34
33 ¶ And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
“As followers of Christ, we ought to be the friendliest and most considerate of all people anywhere. We should teach our children to be kind and considerate of everyone.”
“We should, of course, avoid the kinds of associations and activities that compromise our conduct or dilute our faith and worship. But that should not keep us from cooperative efforts with people of every persuasion—believers and nonbelievers.”
“A few decades ago, President Thomas S. Monson spoke these words:
“‘The shepherds of old sought Jesus the child. But we seek Jesus the Christ, our Older Brother, our Mediator with the Father, our Redeemer, the Author of our salvation; he who was in the beginning with the Father; he who took upon himself the sins of the world and so willingly died that we might forever live. This is the Jesus whom we seek.’”
Doctrine and Covenants 76:41–43
41 That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;
42 That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him;
43 Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him.
