Our son Sam was baptized, into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a couple of weeks ago. It was a joyous occasion. Before then, I needed to review the baptismal covenant so I could effectively talk about baptism with him. As I read through the scriptures, I found something interesting. Mosiah 18: 8-9 reads “…here are the waters of Mormon…and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—”
Did you see it? Read it again, “to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in…” To me, that sounds a lot like Christmas. Serving others, thinking of others, and focusing on Christ.
The Christmas season is the time that we give extra focus on Christ and extra focus on serving others. We know that “…when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” Mosiah 2:17 As we serve others, we draw closer to Christ which helps us give that extra focus to Christ. Doing these things, helps us to have a more meaningful Christmas season. Here is my question, in the baptismal covenant does it say to give extra focus at one time of the year? It doesn’t. It says, “at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in…”
As I get older the more, I see people giving great effort during the Christmas season to spread joy and love, representing and celebrating Christ. Singing praises to Him with more gusto. Being more observant of others around them and looking for ways to serve their fellow man. Which is a wonderful thing, but I can’t help but think why don’t people sing praises to Him with great effort all year?
Tyler told me of a talk given by Elder Holland that goes along with what I’m saying. Elder Holland talks about a young friend of his whose life experience teaches a great life lesson. His young friend was able to play college basketball but didn’t get to play much. He decided to transfer to another college. At the new college, he got to play more ball. One of the games was going to be back in Utah, against the old college he used to play for. When he entered the court, he was met with complete rudeness from the fans of his old college. Let’s say these fans were not great examples of Christ. Elder Holland continues to say, “…The day after the game, when there was some public reckoning and a call to repentance over the incident, one young man said, in effect: “Listen. We are talking about basketball here, not Sunday School. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. We pay good money to see these games. We can act the way we want. We check our religion at the door.”
“We check our religion at the door”? Lesson number one for the establishment of Zion in the 21st century: You never check your religion at the door.
That kind of discipleship cannot be—it is not discipleship at all. As the prophet Alma taught, we are “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in” (Mosiah 18:9)—not just some of the time, in a few places, or when our team has a big lead.
Whatever the situation or provocation or problem, no true disciple of Christ can check his or her religion at the door.” I don’t share this story to be accusatory, but I share it to help us remember “we don’t check our religion at the door.” I want to add that we should give more effort to our discipleship not just during one season of the year, but all year.
Christmas time is a time of celebrating Christ, where we try to be better and draw closer to Him. As a youth, I remember hearing, “what gift are you giving to Christ this year?” At the time, I didn’t fully understand what that meant. I thought in terms of a physical gift. It took several years for me to understand that the best gifts I could give Christ are my obedience, discipleship, and a change of heart.
President Eyring said, “The spirit of Christmas puts in our hearts a desire to give joy to other people. The celebration of Christmas helps us keep our promise to always remember the Lord and His gifts to us. And that remembrance creates a desire in us to give gifts to Him.” I think the best gift we can give to Christ is what we covenanted to do at baptism and renew each Sunday as we partake of the sacrament, “[we] are willing to take upon [us] the name of [Christ], and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us]…” D&C 20:77. Part of the covenant is to do this “at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in” not just at one time of the year.
Something that helps me to do this is I have a t-shirt. It technically is a Christmas shirt, because it says on it “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” I like to wear this shirt all year round. It helps me to remember that I need to do my part to draw closer to Him. I need to do my best to stay on the covenant path. I need to try to celebrate Him as best I can all year, and not just at Christmas time.
I would like to end with what Mr. Scrooge learned after his great journey, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” We celebrate Christ’s birth at Christmas, but his birth led to his life and we need to follow the example of Him throughout the entire year. That is the best gift you can give to Christ. Maybe put Him on your list of those who need gifts this Christmas season. I know as we obey Him, draw closer to Him, and celebrate Him all year it will make the Christmas season more enjoyable.
Comments
Post a Comment