The Spirit of Christmas

    So, how is life suddenly different?  Just because of a change in months?  I am not talking about whether school is in or out of session, or a change in the weather patterns, but the change in how we act towards one another during this time of year.  Just think about it for a while.  What time of year to do you see the the seemingly soul-less come to give help to the needy, when the rest of the year he is as mean as ever?  What time of year do you see the soup kitchens suddenly so full of volunteers they do not know what to do with them, but the rest of the year, they barely have enough people to run the place?  What time of year do you see the general population looking for ways to serve their fellowman, when the rest of the year we are out to serve own interests?  Why is this time of year so very different from the rest of the year?
    Now, this is not to say that the rest of the year is all horrible, but this season, we are all striving to do just a little bit more to help those in need.  That little extra we give every Christmas season is what we remember from year to year, beyond the gifts we receive.  It's the stories we tell around the fireplace with the family all gathered round.  Many of these stories center on the joy we feel from rendering service to others.  It's an absolutely marvelous time of the year.  Everyone is striving to do what they can for others and trying to put others' needs above their own.  These acts of service are what make this time of the year so very special in everyone's hearts.  It's not about the sparkle of the wrapping paper, its not about what we did or did not get, or even how much we spent for others, although those acts of giving are a wonderful thing.  It's about our Savior's birth and coming closer to Him by trying to be like Him, the Perfect Example.  These wonderful acts of service help us to feel the Spirit of Christmas and to have that wonderful joy this time of year.  What's really cool, though, is this quote from President Thomas S. Monson:

"When we Keep the Spirit of Christmas, we keep the Spirit of Christ, for the Christmas Spirit is the Spirit of Christ."

     How cool is that!  What I got from this is that we can do the same wonderful things and express our love for our fellowman throughout the year, and we can feel the same marvelous feelings as we do the same things we do during the Christmas Season.    Let us all strive to keep the spirit of the season throughout the year so we can all feel the Spirit of Christ a little bit more in our lives.

Come Unto Christ

     You know that time when you all of a sudden remember something that you used to do, and now want to start doing it again?  Well that happened to me the other day.  Now while that may seem like a bizarre set of circumstances, this actually did happen to me and I would love to share it with you.
     So, the other day I received some news of a friend of mine who was going through a really rough time in her life.  It seemed to her like everything was adding up against her, and there seemed to be no end in sight for all the pain that was hers to bear alone.  After learning about her struggles, I decided to do just about the only thing I can do out here on a mission for her, which is to fast and pray.  After I started my fast, I put her on the back burner of my mind so I could continue to focus on the work that was ahead of me that night, because I still had two lessons to help teach and people to help bring closer to Christ.  So, I went forth unwavering in my determination to do the very best that I had been called to do:  inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  In short, I focused solely on other people's needs and not on what I wanted or needed.  Indeed, my heart was turned outward in my attempt to be as Christ-like as I could be.  Now, I really did not notice all of this until a few days afterwards when I was writing in my journal.
     Tonight as I was writing in my journal, I was in a reflective type of mood, connecting the dots of my actions to who I want to be in the future.  As I was doing this, I was remembering the night I just described a tiny portion of, and I started to understand a little more about how we can have true happiness in this life.  In a talk given by Elder David A. Bednar that I watched while I was in the MTC he says, "Christ always turned out when the natural man turns in."  True happiness is being able to live with God again, and to live with God again, we have to become like Jesus Christ.  To become like Christ, we have to be completely unselfish, and have charity in all that we do.  This night gave me an example of why this is so very important to have charity towards my fellowmen and to do all that I can to serve them.