The meaning of Christmas

Tonight, I attended a beautiful Christmas program. The program wasn’t about how today’s world sees Christmas. It wasn’t either about service or gift giving. It was about the women at Christ’s birth: Joseph’s mother, the inn-keeper’s wife, the shepherd’s wife, Elizabeth and Mary. It was about what these women saw and testified of. Some of the program was from the scriptures, some was what they might have thought, and all of it was wonderful. In the excitement of all the store-bought items we desire and the lights and the window fronts and streets, we tend to forget about the true light, the Savior. These women saw what was truly important; a son, a grandson, a second-cousin, a child, a savior. They saw Jesus as we all should see Him, as a child, then a man, who was born on this earth, lived, learned, loved all and ultimately gave His own life for us. Christmas is about remembering that He lived and how He lived His life. It’s about trying our best to pattern our own lives after the Savior’s. I love this picture of the child Jesus praying with his mother, Mary. It reminds me that, as a mother, the best way to emulate the Savior is to love and teach my children about Him. I love the Savior and my family. I love the spirit of Christmas that puts everything back in focus. As President Monson said during the Christmas devotional in 2006: "Most of all, let it be a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds and the worship of the wise men." Merry Christmas!