Dieter F. Uchtdorf on simplifying and focusing on the Savior

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (b. 1940) served as a Seventy from 1994-2004, when he was called as a member of the Quorum of Twelve.  He has served as second counselor in the First Presidency since 2008.

"Sometimes the most precious and sacred things are right in front of us—in plain sight, so to speak—but we cannot or will not see them.

"This may be especially true during the blessed and precious season of Christmas....

"Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we become so preoccupied with responsibilities, commitments, and the stress of our many tasks that we fail to see with our hearts that which is essential and most sacred....

"Sometimes when we read about people who could not see the Savior for who He was, we marvel at their blindness. But do we also let distractions obstruct our view of the Savior—during this Christmas season and throughout the year? Some are external distractions—the gifts we worry about, the decorations, or the clamorous advertising—but often it is what is inside us that blinds us from seeing the Christ....

"This is a season of rejoicing! A season of celebration! A wonderful time when we acknowledge that our Almighty God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world! To redeem us!

"It is a season of charitable acts of kindness and brotherly love. It is a season of being more reflective about our own lives and about the many blessing that are ours. It is a season of forgiving and being forgiven.

"But perhaps most of all, let it be a season of seeking the Lamb of God, the King of Glory, the Everlasting Light of the World, the Great Hope of Mankind, the Savior and Redeemer of our souls.

"I promise that if we unclutter our lives a little bit and in sincerity and humility seek the pure and gentle Christ with our hearts, we will see Him, we will find Him—on Christmas and throughout the year."

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "How to See the Christ in Christmas," First Presidency Christmas Devotional, December 6, 2009
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President Uchtdorf warns us of something that has become one of the great traps or pitfalls of our time: the tendency to "become so preoccupied with responsibilities, commitments, and the stress of our many tasks that we fail to see with our hearts that which is essential and most sacred." We miss seeing, and experiencing, some of the most precious and blessed aspects of life when that occurs. And it often happens during "the blessed and precious season of Christmas"!

His counsel is to "unclutter our lives a little bit." I think that applies not to the physical things we accumulate, though they can be very distracting; but moreso to the commitments, the priorities, the choices. We must be careful to focus on "the things that matter most" particularly at this time of year.

Christmastime would be the right time to establish the pattern to bless our lives throughout the coming year!