'Twas the Night Before Christmas

So I had a dream last night to look up "Twas the Night Before Christmas lds version" and put it on my blog.  Kind of a random thought, but it is a nice poem, so here it is:

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
With thoughts of St. Nicholas and what he'd bring there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
Without a moment of bowing their heads.

The scriptures were thrown on the shelves without care.
Little hope of remembering the precious words there.

And I with the tinsel and Ma with the lights
Had prepared for Christmas with no thoughts of Christ.

We had snowmen and elves and of course Santa Claus.
We thought we had decorated without any flaws.

For weeks we'd prepared with lots of traditions,
Cards of course and so much work in the kitchen.

We'd been to parties galore all dressed up in frills
And spent hours at stores to get the best deals

The lights on the house were all flashing with fun
Lots of presents under the tree; we thought we were done.

We thought not of the needy, nor help to a stranger,
We thought not of the poor, and not of a manger.

No angels were singing in our house that night
We hadn't invited them so none were in sight.

The real spirit of Christmas was absent as well.
For only Christ's spirit will make our hearts swell.

And I wondered that Christmas how it could be
That the Christmas spirit wasn't stronger in me

Why Christmas didn't seem as it was in the past
Why Christmas just came and went by very fast.

When out of my wondering mind did appear.
Some scriptures I'd learned as a child so dear.
Luke 2:4-7.
Of a loving kind Father who gave His own Son
John 3:16
God saw all our needs and chose Christ as the one.
Abraham 3:27
Christ has the power to serve us so well
Healing the things that can lead to spiritual jail

I could change if I wanted with eyes that could see
"Come Follow Me," was His only plea.

I decided to change and begged forgiveness please
And asked how to serve Him while down on my knees

Serve others and do it as if unto Him
Was the answer I heard in the sound of a hymn

I rushed from my bed and I got scriptures for all.
So we could start Christmas just right after all.

So Christmas day we planed for the months yet to come
Of people we'd serve and we talked of the fun

Now Angels are singing in our home today
We finally invited them to come our way.

And Christmas is lasting the whole long year through,
With scriptures, prayer and devotion His spirit grew.

May we all remember Christ in our Christmas and give him the attention he deserves!
Credits:
http://www.of-worth.com/christmasprogram.htm

Christ-Centered Christmas

Today I thought that it would be fitting to study about the birth of the Savior since we're so close to the day that we celebrate his birth.  My all time favorite scripture about his birth is found in the chapter that tells of his birth.  Luke 2:11 says:  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."  This is what the angel said to the Shepard's that were watching their flocks.  I thought that their response was interesting, it says that as soon as this happened they said one to another: "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." Luke 2:15-16   I highlighted the words with haste and Let us now because this showed their willingness to act on the marvelous invitation they had just received as well as the eagerness to follow.  How many of us would drop everything we're doing to come unto Christ?  I think that the Shepard's provided a great example to us and that we should be willing to give up all that we have to follow Christ, especially during this Christmas season.  May you all have a very Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season!

Christmas Spirit

Christ Centered Christmas

Today for my studies, I read about the different names that Christ has in the Bible Dictionary.  He is known by so many different names and they all have a specific meaning and purpose.  Jesus was a pretty common name back then* and meant 'God is Help' or 'Savior.'  Christ means the 'Annointed' in Greek and Aramaic as well as the 'Messiah' in Hebrew.  Some of the more used names include: Immanuel, Messiah, and the Anointed One.

Immanuel means 'God with Us' and is a sign of God's deliverance.  It signifies that Christ as God will be born into mortality of a virgin and will be among the people to save and redeem them.

Immanuel

Messiah means the anointed and is used as the title of an office, it denotes the King and Deliverer whose coming the Jews were eagerly expecting.  Many Jews, as we learn from the Gospels, were looking only for a deliverer from the Roman power and for greater national prosperity; so when the Messiah came, the nation as a whole rejected him.
-Messiah

Jesus is spoken of as the Christ and the Messiah, which means he is the one anointed of the Father to be his personal representative in all things pertaining to the salvation of mankind.

-Anointed One

There are many, many more and they all have a purpose as I said before.  My favorite reference to his different names is found in Isaiah 9:6 which says: 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.

Kids and Christmas

Christ Centered Christmas


Today for my studies about Jesus Christ I looked up the different references in the Topical Guide under Jesus Christ, Mission of.  It caught my eye, because I'm on a mission and I thought about how my mission and the Savior's mission are similar in ways.  Some of the parts of the Savior's mission include that he was to:
-Swallow up death in victory(Isaiah 25:8).
-Save His people from their sins(Matthew 1:21).
-Fulfill all righteousness(Matthew 3:15).
-Reign over the House of Jacob(Luke 1:33).
-Heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recover sight, set at liberty them that are bruised. And to preach the acceptable year of the Lord(Luke 4:18).
-Save the world(John 12:47).
-Publish Peace(Mosiah 12:21).
-Redeem His people(Mosiah 15:1).
-Satisfy... justice(Mosiah 15:9).
-Atoneth for the sins of the world(Alma 42:15).
-Bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man(Moses 1:39).

I am so grateful for the life and mission of our Savior Jesus Christ.  I am also thankful to be one of His representatives at this time and helping Him fulfill His purpose.  Each of us has own mission and plan for our lives.  Each one is different, but equally important in God's eyes.  I bear you my testimony that Jesus is our Redeemer and only through Him we can have eternal life.

http://mormon.org/jesus-christ

Christ Centered Christmas

Today I studied the references found in the Topical Guide under Jesus Christ, Light of the World.  There are many references to Jesus being the light of the world.  Psalms 27:1, John 9:5, etc.  The more I read about him being the light of the world, the more I thought about what this means.  Light Illuminates our paths, makes darkness flee, and helps others to see the way as well.  A couple of scriptures that helped me to realize this are found in John 8:12 which says that he is the light and Matthew 5:14-16 which says that we are the light of the world.  
Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world and we are able to see our path back home to our Heavenly Father because of him.  We too can be lights in the world and let our examples shine to others.  One more scripture that I love is when Thomas asks the Lord how they can know the way when Christ if gone.  Jesus responds and says I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).  I love this analogy and have a better understanding of what the scriptures mean.  I am glad that I am able to be a light to the world in these times of darkness.  I am also glad to follow the path shown by the master who made it possible.

A Christ-Centered Christmas

Our mission president has recently asked us to study the over 18 pages of references to our Saviour Jesus Christ in anticipation of our upcoming zone conference.  It has been great to have time to study about the Redeemer of the world as we approach this Christmas season.  Most recently I have looked up the different verses that talk about the coming of Christ and there are a lot of them.  Here is what I have found:

-Jesus Christ is the bread of life and this was shown as early as in the days of Moses with the Manna that was fed to the Children of Israel.  This is found in Exodus 16:11-15 as well as in John 6:48-58.

-Jesus Christ is the Rock of our Salvation as well as the living water.  When Moses smote the rock in the wilderness this was symbolic of when Christ was beaten.  Jesus also provides us of the living water that "springs up into everlasting life."  This is found in Exodus 17:5-6 as well as in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4.

-Just as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent, Jesus Christ was to be lifted up on the cross to bear the sins of the world.  This is one of the most symbolic references and is applied in a lot of scriptures and other church material.  In this month's (December 2010: Modern-day Fiery Serpents) issue of the Ensign it talks about the modern day serpents that plague our world.  All we have to do is look to Christ in these perilous times to find the answer to our concerns.  Having faith in Christ and his Atonement and truly repenting of our sins is the only way we are able to overcome spiritual death.  I also like how this is referenced in John 3:14-17 as I had never made that connection before.  

I am so blessed in my life to have the knowledge of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This knowledge has given me hope in my life as well as a willingness to always improve myself so that I can one day return with honor to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as well as my family.  I love the work that I am involved in and love the people of Montana and Wyoming.