President Gordon B. Hinckley on the wondrous and true story of Christmas

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1961. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1981-1995, then as Church President until his death in 2008.

"This is the wondrous and true story of Christmas. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea is preface. The three-year ministry of the Master is prologue. The magnificent substance of the story is His sacrifice, the totally selfless act of dying in pain on the cross of Calvary to atone for the sins of all of us.

"The epilogue is the miracle of the Resurrection, bringing the assurance that 'as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive' (1 Cor. 15:22).

"There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection.

"I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal, Living God. None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His Beloved Son, who reached out long ago and said to each of us, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest' (Matt. 11:28)."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Wondrous and True Story of Christmas,” First Presidency Christmas Devotional, December 4, 1995
Click here to read a report of the devotional
Click here to read a later reprint of the message

To truly appreciate Christmas, President Hinckley suggests, we must see it in the context of the Savior's complete ministry. Each Christmas we commemorate the beginning; but without the rest of the story, the birth has no real significance:

What a beautiful testimony from a prophet of God! The Christmas Story truly is wondrous and powerful when we recognize all that followed. As we commemorate Christmas this year, we should take time to ponder and study the rest of the life of the Savior, and in particular, His atoning sacrifice and the healing power it offers to each of us.

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