My dear brothers and sisters,

what a joy it is to commence another Christmas season when we commemorate the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a sacred event every time a child is born.

Watch the reaction of one of our great-grandsons as he holds his baby brother for the first time.

It is no wonder that on that most holy night more than 2000 years ago, near the little town of Bethlehem, heavenly hosts sang for joy.

An angel taught shepherds this magnificent truth.

Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord.

And now, my dear brothers and sisters, come, let us adore Him.

As with many of you, Christmas has changed for me over the years.

My childhood memories are etched on the backdrop of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Money was scarce.

Gifts were particularly precious.

My parents made Christmas magical for me and my siblings.

Each year we became a sub for Santa family, for another family.

We prepared appropriate gifts and delivered them on Christmas Eve.

As we drove away from their home, their waving hands and tearful faces

brought us the true joy of giving.

I love the music of Christmas then and still do.

Every year, Sister Nelson and I love listening to and singing along with Handel's Messiah.

Words sung in this oratorio not only apply to the birth of the Lord,

but to His millennial reign.

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, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

It was during my young adult years that I began to gain a deep testimony of God the Father and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

I came to know for myself that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary,

who was a precious and chosen vessel.

I knew that He really is the Son of God

and the central figure in all human history.

Just think about the incomprehensible magnitude of what Jesus Christ accomplished, all according to the will of His father.

Jesus was already a God when He condescended to come to earth

to complete the most crucial feat for each of us,

a feat that was literally life saving and life changing.

A feat that not one of us could do for ourselves.

The Savior suffered pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind

so that He would know according to the flesh how to succor us according to our infirmities.

During the past few months, I have learned a lot more about pain

and its refining influence. My heart has been drawn out to our Savior

as I have tried to imagine the extent of His suffering.

My mortal mind simply cannot comprehend how He took upon Himself all of the pains, all the sins, all of the anguish, and all the afflictions of everyone who has ever lived.

In the most supreme act of compassion that defies mortal understanding or description, the Savior submitted Himself to unparalleled spiritual and physical agony.

We revere the babe of Bethlehem precisely because He later offered

the incomprehensible, infinite sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane

and on the cross of Calvary.

This offering redeems each of us as we choose to repent and follow Him.

Then, as His crowning act on Earth, He rose from the tomb on the third day,

granting each one of us the unprecedented blessing

of Resurrection and life after death.

At this season, we often happily sing or say, We wish you a merry Christmas.

My dear brothers and sisters, the wish of my heart for each of you tonight

has several components. Actually, it is not my wish for you.

It is my prayer for you at this sacred Christmastime.

First, I pray that you will feel that deep, eternal love our Savior has for you personally.

Jesus Christ has known you since the premortal realm.

He knows and sees you now. He sees your joy and your sorrows.

He has experienced each of them.

He has perfect compassion for your struggles

and rejoices every time you press forward in righteousness,

during good times and bad.

I pray that you will gain your own personal witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is filled with godly power,

and that because of His grand atoning sacrifice, you never need to feel that you must face life’s difficult challenges alone.

As you earnestly ask, seek, and knock,

you have constant access to His power to help you, to strengthen you,

and to heal you.

I pray that you will take full advantage of the Savior’s Atonement by repenting daily,

making your life increasingly pure, and seeking heavenly guidance

in all that you do. In other words,

I pray for you to experience the joy of always thinking celestial.

I also pray that you will use this holiday season to begin a season of even greater personal worship.

Begin anew to study the teachings and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

No one on this earth loves you as much as He does.

No one here understands you better

or really knows your sorrows and weaknesses.

No one on earth has the power that Jesus Christ has.

No one here is more eager for you to become everything you can become.

No one pleads with the Father on your behalf as He does.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Redeemer. He is the Son of God,

the Holy One of Israel. He is the Anointed One.

Under direction of the Father, He is the Creator of all that has been created.

Jesus Christ was the great Jehovah, God of the Old Testament. He was the promised Emmanuel. He is our great Exemplar and our Advocate with the Father. Because of His restored gospel, all the blessings of His priesthood are available to all mankind

if they come unto Him and are perfected in Him.

Brothers and sisters, let us live in the spirit of hallelujah,

ever praising the Lord God, Jehovah. At this glorious Christmas season, come,

let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. I know that God lives.

Jesus is the Christ. This is His Church.

He directs the ongoing Restoration of His gospel.

Of this I testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.