President Ezra Taft Benson on keeping Christ in Christmas

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1943, and served as the 13th President of the Church from 1985 until his death in 1994 at age 94.

"Without Christ there would be no Christmas, and without Christ there can be no fulness of joy....

"And now, my beloved brothers and sisters, what must we do this Christmas season—and always? Why, we must do the same as the Wise Men of old. They sought out the Christ and found Him. And so must we. Those who are wise still seek Him today.

"'I would commend you,' urged Moroni, 'to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written.' (Ether 12:41.) And God has provided the means—the holy scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon—that all who seek may know that Jesus is the Christ....

"What a gift it would be to receive at Christmastime a greater knowledge of the Lord.

What a gift it would be to share that knowledge with others."

- Ezra Taft Benson, "Keeping Christ in Christmas," First Presidency Christmas devotional, 1 December 1985; see Ensign, Dec. 1993, 2, 4-5
Click here to read the full article

We proclaim "Joy to the World!" during the Christmas season, and President Benson reminds us that there is no fulness of joy without Christ at the center of Christmas. And so the key for us, as for wise men of old, is to seek Him, to find Him:

President Benson goes on to teach that the means given to us to "seek Him" is through the scriptures that God has provided for us, "particularly the Book of Mormon." We should seriously consider during the Christmas season how we can better receive a gift of knowledge of Him in our personal lives, by feasting on that source of knowledge. And with the knowledge, how we can then share the gift with others, blessing their lives with the testimony and light of Jesus Christ!

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2017)