Welcome 2014

I am not really sure where 2013 has gone, but it's come and gone so quickly. So, naturally I have been thinking about what I've learned this year, how I've grown, and the many things I still need to work on. In one of my favorite talks given by Elder Uchtdorf  he suggests three ways that we can live without regrets, these suggestions are applicable to us as we start this new year.  The first is to spend time with those we love. There is nothing more meaningful than relationships with those we love. "Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life. Is it? I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished. I can’t see it. Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each day. When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved. He knew the infinite value of the people He met. He blessed them, ministered to them. He lifted them up, healed them. He gave them the precious gift of His time. Let us resolve to cherish those we love by spending meaningful time with them, doing things together, and cultivating treasured memories."

The second, live up to our potential.  "Our Heavenly Father sees our real potential. He knows things about us that we do not know ourselves. He prompts us during our lifetime to fulfill the measure of our creation, to live a good life, and to return to His presence.Why, then, do we devote so much of our time and energy to things that are so fleeting, so inconsequential, and so superficial? Do we refuse to see the folly in the pursuit of the trivial and transient?" We will be happier when we live as He would. "Declaring our testimony of the gospel is good, but being a living example of the restored gospel is better. Wishing to be more faithful to our covenants is good; actually being faithful to sacred covenants—including living a virtuous life, paying our tithes and offerings, keeping the Word of Wisdom, and serving those in need—is much better. Announcing that we will dedicate more time for family prayer, scripture study, and wholesome family activities is good; but actually doing all these things steadily will bring heavenly blessings to our lives."

And the last, be happy.  "So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness: a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial. The older we get, the more we look back and realize that external circumstances don’t really matter or determine our happiness. Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey. Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?"  There is something to be grateful for in every day, even the hard ones. There is good in every day, but it takes effort for us sometimes to find it.

Let us resolve that in 2014 we will spend more time with those who matter, try every day to reach our potential, and to enjoy the journey! I know that the Savior will help us we try to better ourselves and strive to live as He did. "It is my testimony that many of the deepest regrets of tomorrow can be prevented by following the Savior today. If we have sinned or made mistakes—if we have made choices that we now regret—there is the precious gift of Christ’s Atonement, through which we can be forgiven. We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and remove the burden of our sins. His Atonement allows us to leave the past behind and move forward with clean hands, a pure heart, and a determination to do better and especially to become better. We must begin to walk that eternal path today; we cannot take for granted one single day. I pray that we will not wait until we are ready to die before we truly learn to live."

A gift to the Savior

My mind, like many of yours, has probably been on this Christmas season. This week I was thinking about some of my favorite family Christmas traditions, one of which is each Christmas Eve my parents give me and my siblings the gift of new pajamas. After my mom attempts to take a million photos, and is left with maybe 3 where all of our eyes are open (see picture for proof), we read in the Scriptures about Christ's birth. This gift from my parents has helped me understand another gift my Heavenly Parents have given me, the Gift of a Savior. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace."

President Eyring said this of Him, "This little child, born in a stable and cradled in a manger, was a gift from our loving Heavenly Father. He was the promised Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the Son of the living God. He was with His Father before He came to earth in mortality, the Creator of the earth upon which we stand." Each and everyone of us has been given the gift of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, our personal Savior. "O remember, remember, [..] that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world. (Helaman 5:9)

This morning I was reading in The Book of Mormon, and a particular verse really stood out to me. It says, "I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. (Mosiah 2:21)"

There is literally no way that we will ever be able to pay Jesus Christ back for paying the price for our sins. Brad Wilcox, a former member of the Sunday School General Board, describes it likes this, "He paid our debt in full. He didn’t pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished.We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God’s presence. What is left to be determined by our obedience is what kind of body we plan on being resurrected with and how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and how long we plan to stay there. Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate perfection or a punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took that punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection (see Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us reach that goal. He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements (see 3 Nephi 28:35).

I love this.  We can not pay back the debt to our Savior Jesus Christ, but we can show him appreciation. There is no better time to give this gift of appreciation than this holiday season. We know that the Christmas season is full of gift giving, and who better to give a gift to than our older brother Jesus Christ. For there truly "is no gift greater than the gift of salvation." My invitation to each of you who reads this is to think of "a present" that you can give the Savior this year. President Eyring has suggested the following gifts, "We can, out of faith in Him, give a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We can repent and make sacred covenants with Him. You can give Him the gift of doing for others what He would do for them."



There is a beautiful song sung by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir about giving to the Savior, the song suggests this:

"What shall we give to the babe in the manger,

What shall we offer the child in the stall?
Incense and spices and gold we've a-plenty-
Are these the gifts for the king of us all?
What shall we give to the boy in the temple,
What shall we offer the man by the sea?
Palms at his feet and hosannas uprising;
Are these for him who will carry the tree?
What shall we give to the lamb who was offered,
Rising the third day and shedding his love?
Tears for his mercy we'll weep at the manger,
Bathing the infant come down from above."

Our Father in Heaven loves us. He loves us so much that  He sent His son (John 3:16) Jesus Christ to give us the gift of ever lasting life. "And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7)  Surely there is no greater gift. Let us give a gift to the Savior this Christmas Season so that we might come close to Him, for in Him we will find true and everlasting peace.