Christmas Bells Are Ringing

The Real Joy of Christmas

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb.

If I were a Wise Man

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him?

Give my heart. 
- Christina Rossetti

Joy To The World - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Lyrics

1. 1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
   Let earth receive her King!
   Let ev'ry heart prepare him room,
   And Saints and angels sing,
   And Saints and angels sing,
   And Saints, and Saints and angels sing.
2. 2. Rejoice! Rejoice when Jesus reigns,
   And Saints their songs employ,
   While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
   Repeat the sounding joy,
   Repeat the sounding joy,
   Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
3. 3. No more will sin and sorrow grow,
   Nor thorns infest the ground;
   He'll come and make the blessings flow
   Far as the curse was found,
   Far as the curse was found,
   Far as, far as the curse was found.
4. 4. Rejoice! Rejoice in the Most High,
   While Israel spreads abroad
   Like stars that glitter in the sky,
   And ever worship God,
   And ever worship God,
   And ever, and ever worship God.
5. Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748; alt. by William W. Phelps, 1792-1872. Included in the first LDS Hymnbook, 1835.
   Music: George F. Handel, 1685-1759; arr. by Lowell Mason, 1792-1872

The Nativity

Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-19; Matthew 1:20-21

26And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

32He 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:

33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Let Your Light So Shine

“Every person who lives in this world radiates light, which affects and influences every other person in the world. Our choices in life determine what we really are. The radiance of the light that emanates from our countenance is determined by the choices we make, and is a powerful force in human relationships. And every person is the recipient of that radiation. The Savior was conscious of that reality; and to a degree so are we.

Whenever Jesus came into the presence of an individual He was conscious of a light emanating from that person’s soul, and which was mirrored in his countenance. He knew the behavior and conduct, and the choices a person had made because that behavior and those choices were reflected by the radiating light in one’s countenance. My dear brothers and sisters, we must make nobler choices. We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations. We shall radiate them if we do. Every moment of life we are affecting, to a degree, the life of every other person with whom we may come in contact, and who comes within the sphere of our influence.

Every person is affecting every other person who lives. We cannot for one moment escape this emanation, this radiation of light that emanates from our countenance. Life is a constant state of radiation and absorption of light. To exist is to radiate light; to exist is to be the recipient of light. And we choose the qualities we permit to be radiated by the light within us, determined by our behavior, and by the choices we make.”  [The Prayer of Adam and Eve by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (A. F. Segal, Paul, p. 152. President David O. McKay)]

To the Rescue

     I've pondered the concept of rescuing and being rescued.  Our Lord Jesus Christ, our head of the church, is our master example of being a rescuer and savior.  He rescues and saves us from our sins. He also commands us to rescue others. Earlier this week I went home teaching two widows.

     The message I brought them was from President Monson, our prophet.  See this link:

Our Responsibility to Rescue

     The other morning I watched the following from President Packer, our president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  He said, "We live in perilous times; nevertheless, we can find hope and peace for ourselves and for our families. Those living in sorrow, despairing at the possibility of children being rescued from where the world has taken them, must never give up. “Be not afraid, only believe.”⁶ Righteousness is more powerful than wickedness." See this link:

The Key to Spiritual Protection

     I also watched the following from Elder Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  See this link:

1964 World's Fair

I am reminded of the following story:

   A man was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help.

   Soon another man in a rowboat came by and he shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."

   The stranded man on the roof shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."

   So the rowboat went on.

   Then a motorboat came by. "The person in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."

   To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."

   So the motorboat went on.

   Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."

   To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."

   So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

   Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. 

   On the other side of the veil he finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with the Savior.

   He exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you l let me drown. I don't understand why!"

   To this Jesus replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?

We have both opportunities to be rescued and to assist in rescuing others.  May we ever be vigilant in recognizing and acting upon these opportunities!

Our Search for Happiness

Our Search for Happiness by James E. Faust

…..In Tolstoy’s book War and Peace, the Russian writer had his character Pierre Bezúkhov learn “that man is created for happiness, that happiness is within him, in the satisfaction of simple human needs, and that all unhappiness arises not from privation but from superfluity” (trans. Louise and Aylmer Maude [1942], 1176). So often we find ourselves striving for the superfluity. We are not content with what we have and think that happiness comes from having more or acquiring more or being more. We look for happiness but go in the wrong direction to find it…..

….. In the story The Little Prince, the fox was wiser than he knew when he said, “Now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, trans. Katherine Woods [1943], 70). The odyssey to happiness lies in the dimension of the heart. Such a journey is made on stepping-stones of selflessness, wisdom, contentment, and faith. The enemies of progress and fulfillment are such things as self-doubt, a poor self-image, self-pity, bitterness, and despair. By substituting simple faith and humility for these enemies, we can move rapidly in our search for happiness…..