"We celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ at this season of the year. How grateful we are that the baby Jesus was born. His birth and life and death were the greatest of all. He died a propitiation for our sins to open the way for our resurrection, to point the way to our perfection of life, to show the way to exaltation. He died purposefully, voluntarily. His birth was humble, his life was perfect, his example was compelling; his death opened doors, and man was offered every good gift and blessing.
"Yes, every soul has his agency. We can have all the blessings Christ lived and died to give us. But Christ’s death and plan are in vain if we do not take advantage of them: 'For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent.' (D&C 19:16.)
"The Savior came 'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.' (Moses 1:39.) His birth, death, and resurrection brought about the first. But we must join our efforts with his to bring about the second, to attain eternal life....
"It is well that at this time of the year we pour out our hearts in prayers of love and thanksgiving to our Father in Heaven: We are grateful, Father, that we know so positively that thou dost live; that we know the babe born in Bethlehem was in reality thy Son; grateful that thy plan of salvation is real, workable, and exalting. We know thee, Lord. We love thee, and will follow thee. We pledge again our lives, our all, to thy cause.
"At this beautiful season, we invite all people everywhere to join us in our prayers of joy and love and gratitude for the life and teachings of our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
- Spencer W. Kimball, "Jesus of Nazareth," Ensign, December 1984 p. 4
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As we enjoy the spirit of the season of the year in which we celebrate the Savior's birth, President Kimball reflects on the blessing it is to have that knowledge: "His birth was humble, his life was perfect, his example was compelling; his death opened doors, and man was offered every good gift and blessing." We were offered every good gift and blessing; we need only use our God-given agency to claim them. The greatest of all the blessings offered to us include immortality and eternal life; the first, the gift of living forever beyond this life, is wholly and freely given to all mankind. The second, the quality of life we live in the eternities, is what we must act to claim along with His gift to us.
From time to time we hear our prophetic leaders offer prayers to God as part of their discourses, and this is a beautiful example. President Kimball shows us how to "pour out our hearts in prayers of love and thanksgiving" for the knowledge of God's existence and of the divine plan of salvation He offers to us through His Son. The spirit of gratitude is followed by a spirit of re-commitment to act in obedience and share His love.
Truly, as we ponder the Christmas season, we should feel profoundly grateful and moved to join in that prayer "of joy and love and gratitude for the life and teachings of our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God." How blessed we truly are!
(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2018)
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