Brothers and sisters, we welcome you most warmly to the First Presidency's Christmas devotional. We are grateful for the opportunity to gather with you and reflect upon the birth, life, and mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. President Russell M. Nelson, who presides here, has asked me to conduct this devotional. The music this evening will be provided by the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square under the direction of Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, with Brian Mathias at the organ. The choir will open this meeting by singing "Joy to the World," a beautiful anthem that reminds us of the joy and peace we feel because of the Savior's advent. The invocation will be then offered by Brother Tad R. Callister, who serves as Sunday School General President.

[MUSIC PLAYING - "JOY TO THE WORLD"]

Our Father in Heaven, how grateful we are to be in a season of joy, as just expressed so beautifully by the choir. We have much to be grateful for, for living apostles and prophets, who are holy men of God and lead us by revelation. We're grateful for the scriptures that help us focus on the life of the Savior and His goodness and His kindness and His compassion, and pray that we will make every effort in our lives through our thoughts, through our spoken words, through our deeds, to be devoted disciples. We pray now that Thy Spirit will be upon all who participate in any way, that we might all leave this evening with a greater desire to give the gift of a broken heart and a contrite spirit as our offering and to go about and do as the Savior would do. And this we humbly pray for in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The choir will now favor us with "The First Noel," a favorite carol that celebrates the birth of the Savior. After the singing, we will be pleased to hear from Sister Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. The choir will then sing "Silent Night," with the congregation joining on the third verse as directed. Following the singing, we will hear from Elder Terence M. Vinson of the Presidency of the Seventy. The choir will then sing "How Far Is It to Bethlehem?" Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will then address us. And at the conclusion of his remarks, the choir will sing "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful."

[MUSIC PLAYING - "THE FIRST NOEL"]

I want to tell two stories that happened to me which have kind of stayed in my mind for many years. Even now, they're teaching me lessons that I need. The first one happened when I was 6 years old. Our music teacher in the Hunter Fifth Ward was Sister Beverly Whitley. And I realize now she was probably not even 40 years old, but she had teenaged children and she seemed so mature and wise to us in the junior Primary. She was fun, and she treated us as if we were mini adults, and so we liked her. We admired her, and we wanted to please her. And she would tell us that we could sing out so big that our parents could hear us in the other room--not to shout, but to really sing. And we sang with all of our hearts. She also taught us a song from the adult hymnbook, saying she knew we were mature enough musicians to be able to memorize these difficult words. And then she explained what all the words meant so we would understand. She taught us that every song has a special message just for us, and if we thought about the words, we would find the message that was especially for our own lives. So that Christmas, I tried to apply what Sister Whitley had taught us, and I learned all the verses to "Silent Night." Now, I apologize in advance to the translators because this is going to be tricky. But as a 6-year-old, as I thought hard about the words in the third verse, I didn't understand the punctuation. So instead of singing "Son of God, love's pure light," as in Jesus is the expression of light that flows from pure love, I understood it to say that the Son of God loves pure light--He adores anything made from pure light. Thinking like Sister Whitley, I tried to figure out how I could "love pure light" the way Jesus does.

The second story happened when I was 9 years old. And like a lot of kids, I was taking piano lessons. I wasn't particularly talented, and maybe to encourage me, my bishop asked if I would play a Christmas song at the sacrament meeting on Christmas Eve. So I decided to play "Silent Night." My piano teacher helped me prepare, and my parents listened to me play this literally 100 times on our black upright piano that was in the basement. Someone mentioned that maybe I could memorize the song and not use the music, but I was so nervous about playing in front of everyone in my ward that I couldn't memorize the music. Instead, I came up with a plan. I would take the music with me, but instead of putting it up on the piano, I would lay it on my lap. I could look down at my hands and see the music, and it would look like I had memorized the music. [LAUGHTER] This plan worked beautifully for 20 seconds. I had put the music on top of my taffeta Christmas skirt. And as I began to play, the skirt fabric was very slippery, and in the middle of the first verse, the music slid off my skirt and disappeared completely underneath the piano. I was completely stuck. There was no way to get the music back, and my mind was a complete blank. So I grit my teeth and I tried do the best I could, and it was a complete disaster. I am plunking wrong notes, and I can see people cringing in the audience, and I blundered through the second verse. I wisely omitted the third verse and rushed down the aisle with a red face, trying not to cry. My parents whispered, "What happened? You knew the song so well." I couldn't wait to get out of church. I didn't want to see anyone; I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was humiliated and I was embarrassed. As the meeting ended, my elderly Sunday School teacher, Sister Alma Heaton, approached me. I tried to dodge her, but she took my hand. Instead of telling me how good it was, which everyone knew was a lie, she said something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. She said, "Sharon, it doesn't matter how it turned out. Everyone could see how much effort you put into it, and we love you whether you can play the piano or not." [LAUGHTER] That was the honest truth. But it didn't sting as much as I expected it was going to. The truth was that I had worked hard, and they loved me even though I couldn't play the piano. So I smiled a little smile, and she gave me this old-lady hug, and suddenly it was all OK. Now, Beverly Whitley and Alma Heaton did nothing extraordinary. They didn't write this down in their journals. Nobody in their families knows these stories. They were simply teaching little children how to sing and how to understand the gospel. What could be more mundane? Except it wasn't. If you ask me what it looks like when a person "loves pure light"--it looks like Beverly Whitley. It looks like Alma Heaton. Each of them could recognize the "pure light" of a little child trying as hard as she could and love her for it, even if it didn't work out perfectly. Our Heavenly Father is exactly like this. He sees us--His little children--trying. Our efforts don't always succeed, but He knows how hard we are working--sometimes gritting our teeth and plunking through a disaster--and He loves us for it. For all of our dissonant, out of tune, unrecognizable music, He sent His beautiful Only Begotten Son, who is love's pure light. Jesus Christ will repair every bad note and redeem every sour overtone if we turn to Him and ask Him for His help. Because of the birth and the Atonement and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can all "sleep in heavenly peace." How happy I am for this Christmas season to sing songs that have a special message from the Savior of the world to those with aching hearts. I promise you the same thing that Sister Whitley promised the Primary: If you think about the words you sing this season, you will find a divine message tailored especially for you that will lift you and comfort you. Here is one that found me this Christmas season. I've been fretting about all the people our humanitarian aid can't reach and how the nations sometimes make it difficult for us to reach brothers and sisters who suffer. And then just this morning in Relief Society, I paid attention to the song that we sang: "Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there."

I testify the Son of God loves pure light. He is love's pure light. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[MUSIC PLAYING - "SILENT NIGHT"]

What beautiful music, and what a wonderful message from Sister Eubank. How wonderful was that dawn of redeeming grace! Well, December is here. The air is cold and we're having some snow. For most, this means that Christmas is very close. But for me, this is not what Christmas feels like. For all my years on this earth, it has been long, hot days and balmy nights that herald the approach of Christmas. That's because December is summer in Australia. And in West Africa, where my wife and I have lived for the last five years, it's always hot. So December has typically brought days of beach, surf, and barbecues. At Christmas, our home carries the aroma of mangoes and the sounds of laughter. But the spirit of Christmas is the same everywhere. Whether in Sydney, Salt Lake, or Sierra Leone; whether in Nuku'alofa, Newfoundland, or Nigeria, our Savior's birth inspires people to do good things. In most places, people exchange gifts, visit others, and do kind deeds to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. Friends of ours in Samoa have a tradition that on the day after Christmas, they place food and other goodies in boxes and give them to the most needy families, not only in their ward but to others in their community. They also have a two-acre vegetable garden, with most of its produce being given to people who are in need. A very dear friend of ours from Senegal in West Africa told me that in his home village in Ivory Coast, each Christmas Eve, instead of bringing gifts, the villagers take any unresolved conflicts to their leaders. Those leaders then spend the rest of the day working with families to resolve the conflicts. The villagers require that peace and harmony be in every home in that village at Christmas, because they celebrate the birth of Christ--He who was born for the very purpose of bringing peace into the world. Earlier this year, we met a young missionary, Sister Jeanne Ingabire from Rwanda, who is serving her mission in Liberia. She related to me the heart-wrenching story of the impact on her of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Her father was from the Hutu tribe, who were full of hate for members of the Tutsi tribe. But her mother was a member of that Tutsi tribe. In order to save his wife's life and the life of their four daughters, this courageous father hid his family far away and returned to his village alone. His wife and daughters never saw him again and struggled just to survive. They finally returned nine years later to attend a reconciliation meeting organized by the government, where they learned that their husband and father had himself been killed when he returned to his village. Yet incredibly, Sister Ingabire's mother and her children forgave those who had ended the life of their husband and father. During a time in which Joseph Smith could have been consumed with anger, having been innocently incarcerated in Liberty Jail for months over the Christmas of 1838, the Lord revealed section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In this revelation the Lord helps Joseph to overcome the feelings of frustration evident at the start of this section and teaches the Prophet that kindness, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned are Christlike qualities that are essential for discipleship. Christmas holds precious family memories for me. However, not all those memories are good ones. When I was a very young boy, I remember receiving a prized green matchbox racing car from my father. We were a relatively poor family, and I loved that gift. However, one day in a fit of juvenile anger over something trivial, I threw the toy car into the thick wisteria bush that intertwined over our fence. Immediately I was sorry, not just that I'd thrown the toy away but because I felt it symbolized a rejection of my father's expression of love. I searched and searched for it, but in vain. When winter arrived and the bush lost its leaves, I searched again, unsuccessfully. I still feel the pain of having offended my father. It still hurts. You know, that is analogous to our sometimes rejection of our Heavenly Father's love and His gifts to us, the greatest of which is His having sent His Son to suffer and atone for us. What a tragedy if we reject His atoning sacrifice or the covenants and ordinances of His gospel! Oh, that we could always be more like those who work to show love to others. Recently, many have labored to help the residents of Florida and the Carolinas who have experienced devastating storms and to assist those who have suffered in the California fires or to come to the aid of others who have suffered similarly throughout the world. On December 25, 1974, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory was destroyed. In the early hours of that Christmas Day, Cyclone Tracy hit the city of Darwin. Many died, and most of Darwin's population were left homeless. The pictures of the recent devastation in Florida reflected that of Darwin. But the spirit of Christmas conquered the despair. Donations poured in from people all over Australia, and many individuals dropped everything and traveled to Darwin to help rebuild. Many years ago, when our eldest daughter was just two years old, she broke her leg just before Christmas and spent many weeks in hospital with her leg in gallows traction. That was a very tough Christmas. A family in our ward who were not well off financially came to visit her on Christmas Day. Each of their young children brought their own favorite gift, received that very morning, to present to our daughter as her gift from them. My wife, Kay, and I were moved to tears because of the raw and genuine kindness of these children and their parents. This is the real spirit of Christmas--individuals helping others. After all, an important part of the Savior's legacy was His ministering to the "one." This is certainly a principle embraced and applied by the members of His Church in Africa, and it's what He requires of us here. President M. Russell Ballard has stated that the Atonement is the ultimate act of the Savior doing just this for each "one" of us. President Ballard's words were: "If we truly understood the Atonement and the eternal value of each soul, we would seek out ... every ... wayward child of God. We would help them to know of the love Christ has for them. We would do all that we can to help prepare them to receive the saving ordinances of the gospel. "Surely, if the Atonement of Christ was foremost in the minds of ward and branch leaders, no new or reactivated member would ever be neglected. ... "... The irony of the Atonement is that it is infinite and eternal, yet it is applied individually, one person at a time. ... "Brothers and sisters, never, never underestimate how precious is the one." Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all followed this counsel and that of our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson--to live the two great commandments in a higher and holier way. And if you are skeptical of your ability to have an impact by doing so, then consider this African proverb: "If you think you are too small to make a difference, then you've never spent a night with a mosquito." [LAUGHTER] We don't need to travel to the Holy Land to make a difference or to draw closer to our Savior. Christmas is a time when we can focus on our personal gift to the Savior by continually loving and helping others. Then it's not very far to Bethlehem for any of us. It's up to us to make Christ a part of our lives--to accept the gifts He offers us and to give Him the gift of our heart. I love Him and I testify of His undying love for each of us, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[MUSIC PLAYING - "HOW FAR IS IT TO BETHLEHEM?"]

Just over a week ago, the Christmas lights on Temple Square were turned on, continuing a tradition of 53 years, and for many marking the beginning of the Christmas season. At Christmas we celebrate the birth, life, and light of Jesus Christ, the literal Son of God and the Savior of the world. We find hope in the pronouncement that accompanied His birth: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Music, excited children, gifts to give and receive, Christmas trees, decorations, and lights are all part of the joyous celebration. When you think of Christmas, what cherished memories come to mind? For me, this time of year always brings memories of Christmas celebrations from my childhood. I can still remember many of the gifts I received. I remember a football and a basketball, toys and clothes. Most of those gifts are now gone and forgotten; the clothes are worn out and outgrown. But what I remember most of Christmases past--my most poignant and favorite memories--are not about what I received but what I gave. Let me explain. Each year, on the Saturday before Christmas, the youth of our ward gathered at our church. We filled baskets with oranges, bananas, and homemade cookies and cakes to deliver to widows who lived nearby. We went to their homes, sang Christmas carols, and gave Christmas baskets. I still remember their grateful smiles. Some of them were first- or second-generation immigrants expressing their gratitude in heavily-accented English: Sisters Swartz, Zbinden, Groll, and Kackler. I will never forget the warm feeling this embedded in my heart. When Lesa and I became parents, we started a tradition of giving Christmas gifts to a family in need, as many of you do. We often received the name of a family from a community charity, along with the ages of the children. We spent much time and effort to find just the right gifts for them. Our sons seemed to enjoy this as much as receiving their own presents on Christmas Day! This family tradition of service helped to etch the true spirit of Christmas in our hearts. In my professional life, I was involved in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of fitness equipment around the world. Equipment like treadmills, stationary bikes, and elliptical machines is designed primarily to strengthen the heart. Indeed, at our company we went to great lengths to ensure that equipment users could accurately measure the condition and activity levels of their heart through heart-rate monitors. Today many of us wear technology on our wrists that monitor our heart and encourage activities to strengthen our heart. What if there were a way to measure the condition of your heart from a spiritual perspective--a spiritual heart monitor, if you will? What would your heart monitor say? How spiritually healthy is your heart? The Christmas season seems like an ideal time for us to thoughtfully evaluate the status of our own heart. For example, you might ask yourself, "Is my heart prepared to receive the Savior?" At Christmastime we often sing, "Let every heart prepare him room." How can you prepare room in your heart for Christ, especially during this busy yet wonderful season? The scriptures are replete with descriptions that can help us evaluate the condition of our heart. Some verses include words like "pure," "meek," "lowly," "broken," and "contrite." These words, and many others throughout scripture, give us insight into the Savior's heart. In order to receive Him into our hearts, surely our hearts must be pure and humble like His. To paraphrase the words of Paul, we can strive to have the words and attributes of Jesus Christ written like an "epistle ... in our hearts, known and read of all men: ... the epistle of Christ ... written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." This requires more than just pleasant Christmas greetings that fall from our lips. The Lord warned against those who "[gather] near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." During this Christmas and throughout the year, our kind deeds and good works are the best indication of our love for the Savior, written in our hearts. As I consider the condition of my own heart, I find great inspiration and great examples to follow in the hearts and sacrifice of those who helped establish the Church in the early days of its Restoration. I would like to share a Christmas story about an early Latter-day Saint convert from Immingham, England: Mary Wood Littleton. Mary and her husband, Paul, never thought they would leave their home in England. But they heard the message of the restored gospel and gained a testimony of its truthfulness. They were baptized, and just two months later Mary and Paul, along with their children, sailed to America to gather with the Saints. They arrived in New York on December 20, 1844. Five days later, they traveled by stagecoach to Nauvoo, Illinois. Just imagine--journeying in the cold weather over rough, difficult roads, they celebrated their first Christmas Day in America. Despite all these changes, Mary kept hope in her heart that her family would someday celebrate Christmas as they had in England, with wreaths, Father Christmas, and caroling. Unfortunately, their second Christmas in America, in 1845, wasn't much better--they spent it in a wagon box that Paul had turned into a makeshift home while the family struggled to establish themselves in Nauvoo. Again, with a hope-filled heart, Mary said, "Next year, Christmas will be different." The following year in 1846, the family's third Christmas in America, Mary and the children found themselves in Winter Quarters, preparing for what would be a long trek west in the spring. Mobs had driven them from Nauvoo, and Paul was walking west with the Mormon Battalion--several hundred miles away. Again, there was no caroling and no Father Christmas. Instead, there was fasting and sincere prayer in behalf of Mary's eight-year-old son, who was near death with severe malnutrition. He survived, but 25 others in Winter Quarters died that very Christmas Day. It wasn't until her fourth Christmas in America, having recently arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, that Mary and her family celebrated Christmas together in relative peace. Even then, it was not the kind of celebration she had experienced in England. Yet in some ways, it was even better. On a Sabbath day Christmas celebration, the day after Christmas in 1847, the Saints gathered to pray, express words of thanksgiving, and sing songs of praise to God for their deliverance in Zion. One of these songs was a heartfelt rendition of "Come, Come, Ye Saints," a hymn written on the pioneer trail that had become an anthem of faith to these early pioneer Saints. Thereafter, "Come, Come, Ye Saints" remained a favorite hymn, even a Christmas carol, at pioneer Christmas celebrations. I believe Mary's challenges over the years did something to change her heart. She seemed to see Christmas more clearly, with new Christmas traditions and a new song in her heart. She had truly developed a heart of sacrifice, centered in her hope in and love for Jesus Christ. The Christmas season seems to be an appropriate time to contemplate how healthy our hearts are spiritually, and so I close with a simple suggestion that might help us monitor and strengthen our spiritual hearts: I invite each of us to choose to do something that expresses, in an outward way, our inward feelings about the Savior, Jesus Christ, as the gift we give Him this year. Like Mary Littleton, we are gathered tonight as faithful followers of Jesus Christ to worship Him. Let's now listen closely as the choir joins with "choirs of angels" in a beautiful and beckoning hymn inviting "all ye faithful" to "come and behold him, born the King of angels." No matter where we may live around the world, we can each "come, ... joyful and triumphant ... to Bethlehem"--even if only in our heart--to adore and honor Him. I offer my witness of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. May we have the Spirit of Christ written upon our hearts throughout the holiday season and into the New Year is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[MUSIC PLAYING - "OH, COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL"]

We express appreciation to the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for the beautiful Christmas music that has filled our hearts. We likewise give thanks to our speakers this evening and recognize the efforts of all who have assisted in any way to make this devotional possible. As we enter this beautiful season, we pray that each of you will be blessed to experience the peace, hope, and joy that is manifest through the redeeming love of our Savior.

The concluding speaker for this devotional will be our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. Following his remarks, the choir will close the meeting by singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. The benediction will then be offered by Sister Becky Craven, who serves as Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.

My beloved brothers and sisters, what a treasured season this is! We love the strains of "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful" and eagerly come to adore Him: Jesus the Christ--that singular babe of Bethlehem--"the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament [and] the Messiah of the New." Tonight let us consider together the blessings that come to us as we focus on the life, mission, doctrine, and Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. I invite you, as King Benjamin did for Saints in his day, to "consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God." That blessing is for us here and now, but added to it is the eventual promise of "never-ending happiness." Simply stated, true followers of Jesus Christ have the privilege of experiencing unspeakable joy forever. I was reminded of this the other day when I met an angel named Lydia. This angel was not dressed in white, and she made it easy for us to visit by coming to my office.

Lydia is 12 years old. I was told that she is suffering from a rare, aggressive form of brain cancer.

She has an angelic face and a poise beyond her years. As we talked about her life and what lies ahead, she was calm and at peace. When I asked if she had any questions, she quickly replied, "What is heaven like?"

This led to a heart-to-heart discussion about the purpose of life and the blessings that our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son have offered to those who honor and follow Them. Tonight we are pleased to have Lydia here with her parents. Lydia, would you and your mother and father please stand for a moment?

Turn around so everybody can see you.

Thank you, Lydia, Brother and Sister Terry. We continue to pray for you.

I am deeply moved by the faith of Lydia and her family! Though facing a monumental challenge as far as this earth life is concerned, Lydia is filled with faith. She has an eternal perspective. She knows that the Lord loves her and will care for her. Her devoted family is filled with the same peace and composure that only faith in the Lord can bring.

Lydia's wish was to meet the President of the Lord's Church, but her desires run much deeper than any one-time experience here in mortality. Her deepest desire is to be with her family forever in the celestial realm. That includes her desire always to be with Heavenly Father and Jesus, too.

Indeed, our desires influence each of us in profound ways, not just here and now but beyond. Consider the significance of this statement from Alma: "[The Lord] granteth unto men according to their desire." Desire is important in this season of gift giving, when we are particularly mindful of the desires of those whom we love.

During this season, I invite you to consider your own desires.

What are your deepest desires? What do you really want to experience and accomplish in this life? Do you really want to become more and more like Jesus Christ? Do you really want to live with Heavenly Father and with your family forever and live as He lives? If you do, you will want to accept many gifts offered by the Lord to help you and me during our time of mortal probation. Let us focus on four of the gifts Jesus Christ gave to all who are willing to receive them. First, He gave you and me an unlimited capacity to love. That includes the capacity to love the unlovable and those who not only do not love you but presently persecute and despitefully use you.

With the Savior's help, we can learn to love as He loved. It may require a change of heart--most certainly a softening of our hearts--as we are tutored by the Savior how to really take care of each other. My dear brothers and sisters, we can truly minister in the Lord's way as we accept His gift of love.

Ask for the Lord's help to love those He needs you to love, including those for whom it is not always easy to feel affection. You may even want to ask God for His angels to walk with you where you presently do not want to tread.

A second gift the Savior offers you is the ability to forgive.

Through His infinite Atonement, you can forgive those who have hurt you and who may never accept responsibility for their cruelty to you.

It is usually easy to forgive one who sincerely and humbly seeks your forgiveness. But the Savior will grant you the ability to forgive anyone who has mistreated you in any way. Then their hurtful acts can no longer canker your soul.

A third gift from the Savior is that of repentance. This gift is not always well understood.

As you know, the New Testament was originally written in the Greek language. In passages where the Savior calls upon people to repent, the word translated as "repent" is the Greek term metanoeo.

This is a very powerful Greek verb. The prefix meta means "change." We also use that prefix in English. For example, the word metamorphosis means "change in form or shape." The suffix noeo relates to a Greek word that means "mind." It also relates to other Greek words that mean "knowledge," "spirit," and "breath."

Can we begin to see the breadth and depth of what the Lord is giving to us when He offers us the gift to repent? He invites us to change our minds, our knowledge, our spirit, even our breathing. For example, when we repent, we breathe with gratitude to God, who lends us breath from day to day. And we desire to use that breath in serving Him and His children. Repentance is a resplendent gift. It is a process never to be feared. It is a gift for us to receive with joy and to use--even embrace--day after day as we seek to become more like our Savior.

King Lamoni's father caught a glimpse of what lay ahead for those who believed in Christ and followed Him. He declared that he would give away all his sins for the privilege of knowing the Lord. True repentance is not an event. It is a never-ending privilege. It is fundamental to progression and having peace of mind, comfort, and joy.

A fourth gift from our Savior is actually a promise--a promise of life everlasting. This does not mean simply living for a really, really, really long time.

Everyone will live forever after death, regardless of the kingdom or glory for which they may qualify. Everyone will be resurrected and experience immortality. But eternal life is so much more than a designation of time. Eternal life is the kind and quality of life that Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son live. When the Father offers us everlasting life, He is saying in essence, "If you choose to follow my Son--if your desire is really to become more like Him--then in time you may live as we live and preside over worlds and kingdoms as we do."

These four unique gifts will bring us more and more joy as we accept them. They were made possible because Jehovah condescended to come to earth as the baby Jesus. He was born of an immortal Father and a mortal mother. He was born in Bethlehem under the most humble of circumstances. His was the holy birth foreseen by prophets since the days of Adam. Jesus Christ is God's transcendent gift--the gift of the Father to all of His children. That birth we joyfully celebrate each Christmas season. With our thoughts and feelings so focused on the Savior of the world, what, then, do we need to do to receive these gifts offered to us so willingly by Jesus Christ? What is the key to loving as He loves, forgiving as He forgives, repenting to become more like Him, and ultimately living with Him and our Heavenly Father? The key is to make and keep sacred covenants.

We choose to live and progress on the Lord's covenant path and to stay on it. It is not a complicated way. It is the way to true joy in this life and eternal life beyond.

My dear brothers and sisters, my deepest desires are for all of Heavenly Father's children to have the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to heed His teachings and for Israel to be gathered as promised in these latter days. And I desire that we will believe and receive the love the Savior has for each of us. His infinite and perfect love moved Him to atone for you and me. That gift--His Atonement--allows all of His other gifts to become ours.

In a coming day--in that Millennium for which we are now preparing--"every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess" that Jesus is the Christ. And it won't be just this magnificent Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square singing "Hallelujah." Every person who has chosen to follow Jesus Christ will sing and shout: "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever," "King of kings, and Lord of lords." I testify that God lives! Jesus is the Christ--the Messiah. This is His Church, which He directs through His prophets. Humbly we invoke His blessings upon each of you, including desire and ability to accept all gifts the Savior offers to you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[MUSIC PLAYING - "HALLELUJAH CHORUS"]

Our dear Father in Heaven, we are so grateful for the gift of Thy Son and the many blessings and privileges and opportunities that are ours because of Him. We are grateful for the beautiful messages and music that we heard tonight that bear testimony of Him. Please help us to remember Him, Thy Son, always. And please help us in our efforts to follow Him, is our prayer in the name of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, amen.