What is Christmas?

Today I had the opportunity to speak to my singles congregation during our church service. Here's the text from my talk:

Merry Christmas brothers and sisters! My name is Shelece McAllister, and I’m from the Mount Herman ward. Today Brother Gardner asked me to speak on a talk by President Monson from 1998 called, “What is Christmas?”

In the modern era, the spirit of Christmas is sometimes hidden under the secular, materialistic version of the holiday. The true joy of Christmas doesn’t come from Santa Claus or the gifts under the tree. Instead, the true joy of Christmas comes from Jesus Christ. In President Monson’s words, “This joyful season brings to each of us a measure of happiness that corresponds to the degree in which we have turned our mind, feelings, and actions to the spirit of Christmas.”

What then is the spirit of Christmas? There’s something special about this season of the year. Hearts are turned to focus on the wonderful gift God gave us when He sent His only begotten son to Earth. As Christmas approaches, everyone seems to become kinder and more caring and more invested in their fellow men. President Monson explains it this way: “Of course, that which prompts such feelings is the spirit of Christmas, which illuminates the picture window of the soul, causing us to look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things. To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ.”

How can we increase the spirit of Christ in our own lives, not only during this time of year but all year long? In his talk, President Monson shares 4 places where we can find the Spirit of Christmas—in children, in remembering, in giving, and in studying.

First—the spirit of Christmas can be found in children. President Monson shared a story of a visit he made to the Primary Children’s hospital during the Christmas season. He was a young elder at the time, and he was there to give the children priesthood blessings. It was his first time being in a children’s hospital, and it was hard for him to see the little ones suffering. In his words, “A feeling of sympathy welled up within me as I noticed these tiny children, many with legs or arms in large plaster casts. Some were ever so weak and pale.

A young lad called out to us, “Will you give me a blessing?” Of course the blessing was given. I shall ever remember placing my hands on the tousled head of that faithful boy who was desperately ill. As we left his side, he looked up into my eyes and said, “Thank you, Brother Monson.”

We walked away, only to hear him call out, “Oh, Brother Monson, merry Christmas to you.” I could scarcely see him for the tears in my eyes. He had that glow about him that comes only at Christmastime. That boy trusted in his Heavenly Father. He acknowledged the priesthood of God. His faith was unwavering. I felt I was on holy ground. What made the glow emanate from the presence of this faithful boy? It was the Christmas spirit.”

How can we apply this to ourselves in the singles ward? Though we are not children any longer, the scriptures tell us to “becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father.” The world is still new to little children. They know that their parents know more than they do, and they trust their parents to teach them and guide them. We too should remember that Heavenly Father knows more than we do, and He will guide us (if we let Him) to grow to become our best selves, the people He needs us to be. The trials we face will ultimately be for our good and even our glory.

Christmas isn’t always a happy time. It can be a time we mourn lost love ones or life circumstances that don’t match the Hallmark movies. But even in the midst of all this—if we look to Christ and seek to serve Him, we can find joy. We can be like that little boy in the hospital, still finding joy in life’s hard times.

Next, President Monson says that the spirit of Christmas can be found in remembering. He shares a journal entry from a pioneer woman, Rebecca Riter, written on 25 December 1847 as the Saints spent their first Christmas in the Salt Lake Valley. Rebecca wrote, “The winter was cold. Christmas came and the children were hungry. I had brought a peck of wheat across the plains and hid it under a pile of wood. I thought I would cook a handful of wheat for the baby. Then I thought how we would need wheat for seed in the spring, so I left it alone.”

This story breaks my heart. Can you imagine not even being able to feed your children on Christmas day? During this Christmas season, we must remember those who have come before us, and the trials and challenges they faced so that we could live our lives as we do today. My family had the chance to visit Salt Lake City a few weeks ago. Now it’s a beautiful city with central heating and many food pantries to feed the hungry. But it could never have become that without the sacrifices of the pioneers. We can’t let those sacrifices be forgotten.

And, we shouldn’t take for granted the blessings that we have now. I’ve never been in a destitute circumstance like Rebecca Riter where I didn’t have enough food, and I admit I eat my meals each day without stopping to think about what a great blessing it is to have enough to eat. Satan tries to distract us from the blessings that we do have by reminding us of the blessings we don’t have yet. Comparison is a thief of joy. The Christmas season, at the end of the year, is a wonderful time to pause and think about all that we have been blessed with.

Of course we must always remember the Lord and His great love for us, every day of the year and not just at the Christmas season. Even greater than the gift of His birth is the gift of His atonement. The Savior suffered for all of our sins, sorrows, and griefs. Because of His sacrifice, we can repent and be made clean, so that someday we might return to our Father in Heaven. Above all else, we must never take that gift for granted. Remembering the Savior and His sacrifice every day helps motivate us to follow in His footsteps and walk on the strait and narrow path.

President Monson also speaks about experiencing the Spirit of Christmas through giving. He isn’t speaking of the commercialized gift giving which sometimes takes over this holiday season. In fact, he quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thoughts on the matter: “Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only [true] gift is a portion of thyself.”

How can we give of ourselves during the Christmas season? One way is by serving as Christ has served. This year, the Church put out a social media campaign called “Light the World.” Many of you have probably watched the videos they’ve created. These videos focus on showing us ways that we can serve as Jesus did. The works He did were miracles. Miracles still happen today through priesthood power—I bear testimony that that’s true. But more often, the ways we serve are more subtle—yet still very meaningful. We may not heal the blind, but we can read to someone with failing eyesight or donate eyeglasses to a charity. We may not feed 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes, but we can feed the hungry by volunteering at a soup kitchen, donating canned goods, or even by signing up to feed the missionaries.

President David O. McKay has said: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.”

Finally, President Monson talks about feeling the Spirit of Christmas through studying fulfilled prophecy. From the days of Adam and Eve, God taught His children to look forward to Christ’s birth and atoning sacrifice. The Bible and the Book of Mormon are filled with prophecies of the coming Messiah. Isaiah, more than 700 years before the birth of Christ, prophesied, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

On the American continent, King Benjamin said: “For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent … shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay. … He shall suffer temptations, and pain. … And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.”

And yet despite all the prophecies—many doubted. We see over and over again that believers were mocked for believing in a coming Savior.

Five years before Christ’s birth, a prophet named Samuel prophesied to the people in the American continent that the Savior would be born in 5 years, and that there would be “a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day” (Helaman 14:3). He said this sign would occur “the night before [the Lord] is born” (Helaman 14:4). In addition to prophesying of a night without darkness, Samuel told them to watch for “a new star … , such an one as ye never have beheld” (Helaman 14:5).

Five years passed. “But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.” The unbelievers set a deadline for the sign to appear—and if it did not, on that day they would kill all of the believers.

I’m sure this was a terrifying time for them. They believed in God and His promises, but they feared their pending execution. The prophet Nephi prayed mightily on behalf of their people. And the voice of the Lord came unto Nephi, saying, “Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.”

And then came the night when the shepherds were abiding in their fields and an angel appeared bearing good tidings of great joy. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” In the Americas, Samuel’s promised signs did appear—and the believers were spared.

Christ’s birth, life, atonement, and resurrection show us that God always keeps His promises. In the end, things are always made right.

In our lives now, we are in the decade of decision. As we seek to build our lives, sometimes promised blessings are delayed. Sometimes they even seem impossible. But we must not lose faith. Just as the Father fulfilled His promise to send His only Begotten son, so He will fulfill every promise He has made to us. We need only be faithful and trust in His timing.

Brothers and sisters, I hope you all have a wonderful and merry Christmas today. May we all keep the spirit of Christ with us not just during the Christmas season but all year long. I’d like to close with my testimony. I know that Heavenly Father sent His Son to us. I know that Jesus lives, and because of His Atonement, we can become clean and forgiven for all our sins. Because of Him, we can return to live with the Father someday. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.