Area Leadership Message
The Birth of Jesus Christ Brought Life and Hope to the World
The birth of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate on the 25th of December each year, brought life, hope and peace to the world. Through His birth, we are assured that hope and peace are attainable, and it is only through Him that we can discover life’s true meaning, resilience in the face of challenges, and peaceful resolutions to the trials and tribulations of this world.
The love of the Lord and His mercy can free us from the many forms of wickedness and evil in the world. The Lord said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
Where Jesus Christ is born, hope is born. Where Jesus Christ is born, peace and love are born, and where peace and love are born, there is no longer room for hatred, wickedness, evil thoughts, rumors of wars and wars. This brings life and hope to the world.
When the angel proclaimed the birth of Jesus Christ to the shepherds in the fields, the first words were, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10).
That great joy was the truth that the Lord, who had seemed far-off, had come to them in human flesh. He was to be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23; see also Isaiah 9:6–7;).
Jesus Christ came to rescue, to save, to heal, and to make mankind right with God (See Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:17–21) That was cause for great joy!
In his 1939 Christmas broadcast to the British nation, King George VI recited a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins that resonated deeply:
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”1
While those words were undeniably significant to George VI and his subjects during a mounting conflict with Germany, they continue to resonate within the thoughts and hearts of people today. We find ourselves in an era of considerable uncertainty and anxiety, with the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts within and between nations, political disturbances in select countries, and economic hardships resulting in the deprivation of fundamental necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare, for the children of our Heavenly Father. Even in our personal family lives, individuals are treading through darkness, seeking a guiding light to illuminate their path.
Amid these challenges, hope still endures in the world. Our motivation lies in the Savior and in His redemptive sacrifice.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to teach the world how the birth of Christ has brought life and hope to the world. One such initiative is “Light the World”. The focus of this is to remind us of the importance of the birth of Christ by sharing daily inspired messages about the Savior to bring joy to someone everyday through the month of December. Another important activity is the Strengthening Family Conference which focuses on uniting families to have hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.
President Dallin H. Oaks taught that “Jesus Christ is the light of the world because He is the source of the light which ‘proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space’. His light is ‘the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world’. …This is the light that quickens our understanding. It is ‘the light by which [we] may judge’. It ‘is given to every man, that he may know good from evil’.
“Jesus Christ is the light of the world because His example and His teachings illuminate the path we should walk to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven. Before Jesus was born, Zacharias prophesied that the Lord God of Israel would visit his people ‘to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide [their] feet into the way of peace’.”2
To live without hope is to cease to live!
Although some of us may feel lonely or isolated, it is important for us to remember the hope that Jesus Christ brings. The incarnation, God becoming a man, is the very reason why we have hope. Without Jesus Christ, we have no hope and only death to look forward to. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14.) But for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, we are no longer hopeless! Scripture says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
This living hope is the hope and promise of eternal life (See Titus 1:2.) through Jesus Christ, “our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1). We have hope because Jesus came as a man, lived, died, and rose again.
The Savior’s birth taught us another important doctrine; that we should be one, irrespective of color, religion, tribe, faith or other differences: “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27)
Life would be boring if we all looked, thought, believed, or behaved in the exact same manner. What’s more, carbon copies would make us vulnerable to illnesses and other issues.
Diversity can strengthen us, even when we view it as a problem. Yes, it can be difficult to handle diversity of thought and faith, but when viewed in a different light, it can actually reinforce our personal beliefs. The scriptures teach us to appreciate diversity and recognize our similarities as humans. The Lord commands us to love one other, despite our differences. 1 Peter 1:22 states “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”
May God bless us all with the fortitude to strengthen our hope in Jesus Christ. I bear witness that He is our Savior and Redeemer, the light and the life of the world.