"Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!"
Hello everyone! I hope that you've had an amazing week! I'm going to warn you all in advance right now... this email is long haha! So if you want to turn back now, I won't be offended; but if you continue on... godspeed ;)
Of course during this holiday season there are many, many things that bring us happiness. As the Grinch puts it, in Dr. Seuss’s "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", Christmas comes with “ribbons, tags, packages, boxes, and bags!” But even the Grinch, whose heart was once two sizes two small, realizes in the end that, “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”
Well, I’m grateful that you and I, and even Mr. Grinch, knows that there is more to this holiday season. In the midst of all the presents we often get wrapped up in, there is one gift that is greater than all other gifts combined!
We can find this gift, over two millennia ago, lying in a manger. Elder Holland describes the event: “In a hillside stable close to the village, in which two human figures huddled over an infant lying in a manger, with only a few domestic animals witnessing the wonder they had seen. These three, who had found no friend or willing host in crowded Bethlehem town, were, first, a beautiful young virgin mother named Mary. Second, her husband, called Joseph. Third, last, and most beautiful of all: the baby to be named Jesus, lying in swaddling clothes on the cleanest hay an anxious father could collect.”
This, my dear friends, is the greatest gift I, and all of us, have ever received. There is nothing more precious to me in my life. I echo the words of President Hinckley when he says, “My heart is subdued when I think of the great love of my Heavenly Father. How grateful I am to know that God loves us. The incomprehensible depth of that love found expression in the gift of His Only Begotten Son to come into the world to bring hope into our hearts, to bring kindness and courtesy into our relationships, and above all to save us from our sins and guide us on the way that leads to eternal life.”
“The first day of school came, and the teacher appeared for duty. One big fellow named Tom whispered: ‘I won’t need any help with this one. I can lick him myself.’( Lick or licking meaning to beat, hit, or defeat) “The teacher said, ‘Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school.’ They yelled and made fun at the top of their voices. ‘Now, I want a good school, but I confess that I do not know how unless you help me. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me, and I will write them on the blackboard.’
“The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to his neck and pleaded, ‘Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please, don’t take my coat off!’
“‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’ “‘Oh, teacher, don’t make me!’ He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The boy had no shirt on, and revealed a bony little crippled body. Everything was quiet as death. “‘How come you aren’t wearing a shirt, Jim?’ “He replied, ‘My father died and my mother is very poor. I have only one shirt and she is washing it today, and I wore my brother’s big coat to keep me warm.’ “The teacher, with rod in hand, hesitated. Just then ‘Big Tom’ jumped to his feet and said, ‘Teacher, if you don’t object, I will take Jim’s licking for him.’ “‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ “Off came Tom’s coat, and after five strokes the rod broke! The teacher bowed his head in his hands and thought, ‘How can I finish this awful task?’ Then he heard the class sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”
I can’t help but get emotional each time I read, think, or hear that story. Friends, I am little Jim. There was a price that I was required to pay, and there was a penalty that was mine. When all hope seemed lost, there was my own personal Big Tom, my Savior Jesus Christ.
I put myself in little Jim’s shoes and think of the story unfolding for me. Now, placing myself in the narrative, the story would go as such: The thief was located—an imperfect fellow, twenty year old Luke. He had made mistakes, and there was a price to pay, a price more severe than what he could handle. Trembling, he went to accept his fate, but just then… The Savior jumped to his feet and said, ‘Father, if you don’t object, I will take Luke’s licking for him’. All the Heavenly Hosts agreed, and off came Christ’s robe. And as we read in Isiah, “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
As my testimony of the Savior has grown, I find myself repeating the same words little Jim said to tom.
"Jesus, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me. Yes, I will love you forever!”
I need you all to know, I love my Savior Jesus Christ, I will love him till I die and I will love Him forever! It’s my testimony that the Savior took my lickings, He took upon Him my mistakes, my troubles, trials, and doubts. But the biggest miracle of all is, He didn’t stop with me, He went through every person that has been or ever will be.
It’s my prayer that this Christmas season we all feel as little Jim felt,... overwhelming love and gratitude for our Savior, Mediator, Advocate, and Friend. I’m grateful we have the opportunity to celebrate the Savior’s birth and all the blessings that were brought with it. My invitation to you all is to ponder how you can show your love to Him this holiday season. How can you wrap your arms around Him and express your love?
I know that the Savior lives! Yes, I know it. I have never seen Him, never had a verbal conversation, or any sort of vision. Neither do I need to, to know that He lives and loves me. I have felt Him pick me up in my lowest moments, I have felt Him heal my heart when I thought it was broken beyond repair, and I can see His light in many of you.
I love Him and am blessed to be celebrating Him this holiday season. I say these things in His sacred name, the King of Kings, even Jesus Christ, amen.
Have an amazing week everyone! Your Savior loves you! And I love you too:)
Elder Steadman (司长老)
Of course during this holiday season there are many, many things that bring us happiness. As the Grinch puts it, in Dr. Seuss’s "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", Christmas comes with “ribbons, tags, packages, boxes, and bags!” But even the Grinch, whose heart was once two sizes two small, realizes in the end that, “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”
Well, I’m grateful that you and I, and even Mr. Grinch, knows that there is more to this holiday season. In the midst of all the presents we often get wrapped up in, there is one gift that is greater than all other gifts combined!
We can find this gift, over two millennia ago, lying in a manger. Elder Holland describes the event: “In a hillside stable close to the village, in which two human figures huddled over an infant lying in a manger, with only a few domestic animals witnessing the wonder they had seen. These three, who had found no friend or willing host in crowded Bethlehem town, were, first, a beautiful young virgin mother named Mary. Second, her husband, called Joseph. Third, last, and most beautiful of all: the baby to be named Jesus, lying in swaddling clothes on the cleanest hay an anxious father could collect.”
This, my dear friends, is the greatest gift I, and all of us, have ever received. There is nothing more precious to me in my life. I echo the words of President Hinckley when he says, “My heart is subdued when I think of the great love of my Heavenly Father. How grateful I am to know that God loves us. The incomprehensible depth of that love found expression in the gift of His Only Begotten Son to come into the world to bring hope into our hearts, to bring kindness and courtesy into our relationships, and above all to save us from our sins and guide us on the way that leads to eternal life.”
What a remarkable gift our Heavenly Father has given us! The scripture rings true which says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Begotten Son." I am beyond grateful for the Savior's birth, but not only his birth, but also what followed. During this holiday season I rejoice in him: his life, his ministry, his teachings, and most of all, his atonement!
President Hinckley, in the same address mentioned above that was given at the 2000 Christmas devotional, said, “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.” How grateful I am that we not only celebrate the Savior’s birth, but we celebrate all that His birth entails, the many prophecies that He fulfilled, and the life that we had anxiously waited for Him to go through.
I’d like to share a story that has had a special place in my heart since I was around 11 years old. My brother shared it in his farewell talk before he left on his mission and it has stuck with me ever since. The story goes like this:
“Years ago there was a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough that no teacher had been able to handle them. A young, inexperienced teacher applied, and the old director scanned him and asked: ‘Young fellow, do you know that you are asking for an awful beating? Every teacher that we have had here for years has had to take one.’ “‘I will risk it,’ he replied.
President Hinckley, in the same address mentioned above that was given at the 2000 Christmas devotional, said, “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.” How grateful I am that we not only celebrate the Savior’s birth, but we celebrate all that His birth entails, the many prophecies that He fulfilled, and the life that we had anxiously waited for Him to go through.
I’d like to share a story that has had a special place in my heart since I was around 11 years old. My brother shared it in his farewell talk before he left on his mission and it has stuck with me ever since. The story goes like this:
“Years ago there was a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough that no teacher had been able to handle them. A young, inexperienced teacher applied, and the old director scanned him and asked: ‘Young fellow, do you know that you are asking for an awful beating? Every teacher that we have had here for years has had to take one.’ “‘I will risk it,’ he replied.
“The first day of school came, and the teacher appeared for duty. One big fellow named Tom whispered: ‘I won’t need any help with this one. I can lick him myself.’( Lick or licking meaning to beat, hit, or defeat) “The teacher said, ‘Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school.’ They yelled and made fun at the top of their voices. ‘Now, I want a good school, but I confess that I do not know how unless you help me. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me, and I will write them on the blackboard.’
“One fellow yelled, ‘No stealing!’ Another yelled, ‘On time.’ Finally, ten rules appeared on the blackboard.
“‘Now,’ said the teacher, ‘a law is not good unless there is a penalty attached. What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’ “‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response from the class. “‘That is pretty severe, boys. Are you sure that you are ready to stand by it?’ Another yelled, ‘I second the motion,’ and the teacher said, ‘All right, we will live by them! Class, come to order!’
“In a day or so, ‘Big Tom’ found that his lunch had been stolen. The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old. ‘We have found the thief and he must be punished according to your rule—ten stripes across the back. Jim, come up here!’ the teacher said.
“The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to his neck and pleaded, ‘Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please, don’t take my coat off!’
“‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’ “‘Oh, teacher, don’t make me!’ He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The boy had no shirt on, and revealed a bony little crippled body. Everything was quiet as death. “‘How come you aren’t wearing a shirt, Jim?’ “He replied, ‘My father died and my mother is very poor. I have only one shirt and she is washing it today, and I wore my brother’s big coat to keep me warm.’ “The teacher, with rod in hand, hesitated. Just then ‘Big Tom’ jumped to his feet and said, ‘Teacher, if you don’t object, I will take Jim’s licking for him.’ “‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ “Off came Tom’s coat, and after five strokes the rod broke! The teacher bowed his head in his hands and thought, ‘How can I finish this awful task?’ Then he heard the class sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”
I can’t help but get emotional each time I read, think, or hear that story. Friends, I am little Jim. There was a price that I was required to pay, and there was a penalty that was mine. When all hope seemed lost, there was my own personal Big Tom, my Savior Jesus Christ.
I put myself in little Jim’s shoes and think of the story unfolding for me. Now, placing myself in the narrative, the story would go as such: The thief was located—an imperfect fellow, twenty year old Luke. He had made mistakes, and there was a price to pay, a price more severe than what he could handle. Trembling, he went to accept his fate, but just then… The Savior jumped to his feet and said, ‘Father, if you don’t object, I will take Luke’s licking for him’. All the Heavenly Hosts agreed, and off came Christ’s robe. And as we read in Isiah, “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
As my testimony of the Savior has grown, I find myself repeating the same words little Jim said to tom.
"Jesus, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me. Yes, I will love you forever!”
I need you all to know, I love my Savior Jesus Christ, I will love him till I die and I will love Him forever! It’s my testimony that the Savior took my lickings, He took upon Him my mistakes, my troubles, trials, and doubts. But the biggest miracle of all is, He didn’t stop with me, He went through every person that has been or ever will be.
It’s my prayer that this Christmas season we all feel as little Jim felt,... overwhelming love and gratitude for our Savior, Mediator, Advocate, and Friend. I’m grateful we have the opportunity to celebrate the Savior’s birth and all the blessings that were brought with it. My invitation to you all is to ponder how you can show your love to Him this holiday season. How can you wrap your arms around Him and express your love?
I know that the Savior lives! Yes, I know it. I have never seen Him, never had a verbal conversation, or any sort of vision. Neither do I need to, to know that He lives and loves me. I have felt Him pick me up in my lowest moments, I have felt Him heal my heart when I thought it was broken beyond repair, and I can see His light in many of you.
I love Him and am blessed to be celebrating Him this holiday season. I say these things in His sacred name, the King of Kings, even Jesus Christ, amen.
Have an amazing week everyone! Your Savior loves you! And I love you too:)
Elder Steadman (司长老)
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| Kyle's baptism!! |
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| So, there's that. |
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| At least I'm not the only one! |
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| Our Christmas tree :) |
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