Our Gifts for the Savior

One of our most spiritual family home evenings was held at Christmas time two years ago. We began with a lesson on the birth of Christ and talked about the gifts he had given us, then discussed some of the gifts we could give him. We decided that we would each give a Christmas gift to Jesus, an acknowledgement of our appreciation for his gifts to us of repentance, forgiveness, and the Atonement. Our gifts would be a promise to reach some specific self-improvement goal.

Earlier that day I had purchased some special little boxes, and I gave one to each family member. Each wrote down his gift—his goal—on a piece of paper, put it in the box, gift-wrapped it, and placed it under the tree.

On Christmas Eve we each opened our own box and read aloud to the rest of the family our gift for the Savior. I promised to fast more faithfully, and I have kept that promise; my husband, Michael, resolved to read the scriptures; our twelve-year-old would say his prayers morning and night; our nine-year-old would try to stop fighting with her brother and sisters; and our five-year-old would help her mother more.

They were not spectacular gifts, but they were sincerely and lovingly offered. We all benefitted during the next year from that special home evening. Claudia Burrows, Salt Lake City, Utah

Illustrated by Mary W. Garlock