The Greatest of All the Gifts of God

By Elder Brent H. Nielson

Of the Presidency of the Seventy

As I observe the spirit of Christmas, my thoughts will be on three gifts.

Joseph and Mary with night sky in background

I have always been fascinated by the phrase “the spirit of Christmas.” During the month of December, in Christian nations, there exists a recognizable kindness, peace, and love. My wife, Marcia, and I have lived in the United States, Finland, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Wherever we have lived, we have found that during the month of December, nations, communities, and individuals experience the spirit of Christmas.

I spent 30 years as a trial lawyer. I was always interested to observe how many people hold off with litigation or try to settle their legal case or even drop their case during the month of December. There was a desire to not be contentious at Christmas. Many were trying to achieve peace. I have noticed that during the month of December our neighbors are friendlier; the clerks in the stores, banks, and post offices are more helpful; and there is a spirit of kindness and peace as we celebrate the Christmas season.

What Is the Spirit of Christmas?

As I have pondered this question, I have thought about our own personal experience with the miracle of the Savior’s birth. The scriptures teach us of our premortal life and a Grand Council in Heaven.¹ You and I were present as our Father presented His plan for us to come to this earth, obtain a body, and be tried and tested. Our Father explained to us that we would sin and that we would need a Savior who would pay for our sins. As our Father asked, “Whom shall I send?” Jesus Christ said, “Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27; see also Moses 4:1–4). When the Father presented this plan to us and we learned of the Savior’s willingness to come to this earth, we all shouted for joy (see Job 38:7).

In our premortal existence, we knew that in order for us to obtain eternal life, be cleansed from sin, and return back to the Father, the Savior would need to be born and perform the Atonement, including the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.

In the meridian of time, when the Savior was finally born, it seems reasonable to suppose that we joined with the heavenly host praising God and expressing gratitude for this event that we all had anticipated. Luke records it this way:

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13–14).

Because those of us who dwell on this earth today were witnesses in our premortal life to the plan presented by the Father and because it is possible we were then observers of the birth of the Savior, it is no wonder that during the Christmas season when we celebrate His birth, the veil becomes thin and the miracle of the Savior’s birth awakens inside the soul of every Christian a love for God and for their fellow man.

Annunciation to the Shepherds, by Del Parson

Miracles at the Time of the Savior’s Birth

There are many other miracles of the Savior’s birth that influence Christians during the Christmas season. They include:

An angel appearing to Mary to let her know that she would participate in a miraculous virgin birth (see Luke 1:26–35).
An angel appearing to Joseph to instruct him about Mary’s role in bringing the Savior into the world and the need for Joseph to sustain and support her (see Matthew 1:20–24).
The miracle of a virgin birth (see Luke 2:7).
The miracle of Elisabeth understanding that Mary was carrying the Savior of the world (see Luke 1:39–44).
An appearance by an angel to those shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night (see Luke 2:8–12).
The fulfillment of the angel’s prophecy that the shepherds would find the Savior wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (see Luke 2:12, 16).
The star that appeared in the heavens that was not only observed in Jerusalem and the surrounding communities but also observed by those in the Book of Mormon (see Matthew 2:1–2, 9; 3 Nephi 1:21).
And finally, a heavenly host, possibly including you and me, joining together with the angel to praise God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (see Luke 2:13–14).

The miracle of His birth led ultimately to the miracle of our rebirth and eternal life, “the greatest of all the gifts of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). As we ponder that gift, our thoughts rightly focus on the miraculous birth of the Savior Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement. The Savior’s gift to us is remarkable and beyond comprehension.

The Love of Heavenly Father

The other significant gift that embodies the spirit of Christmas was given by the Father, who willingly allowed the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son. The Savior teaches us in the New Testament that this gift was motivated by the love the Father has for each of us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That gift of everlasting life is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

Ponder for a moment the deep and incomprehensible love that the Father has for you. That love led the Father to ask His Son to take upon Himself our sins and infirmities.

Because of His love for us, the Father watched His Son bleed from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Doctrine and Covenants 19:18); be scourged (see Matthew 27:26); have a crown of thorns placed upon His head (see Matthew 27:29); be spit upon (see Matthew 27:30); and be crucified on the cross (see Matthew 27:35).

Both the Father and the Son could have stopped this at any moment, but out of love for us, They allowed it to proceed, knowing that in order for mercy to satisfy justice, in order to pay for our sins and infirmities, this needed to be the “great and last sacrifice” (see Alma 34:14–16). Imagine for a moment the relief the Father felt when His Only Begotten Son uttered His final mortal words, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and bowed His head and left His mortal body.

What does the Father ask of us in return for this wonderful gift? King Benjamin answers that question when he says, “All that he requires of you is to keep his commandments” (Mosiah 2:22). We keep His commandments as we love Him and as we love our neighbor (see Matthew 22:37–39). If we can understand the great gift of the Father and the great gift of the Son, we will know that “because [we] have been given much, [we] too must give.”²

The spirit of Christmas was manifest when the grace of the Father and the grace of the Son culminated in the long-awaited day that the Savior of the world would be born. The miracles continue in each of our lives as the Savior’s birth makes possible the miracle of our rebirth. Through His grace, we can be made perfect in Christ (see Moroni 10:32). The gift of the Father and the gift of the Son bring us eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God.

This Christmas as I observe the spirit of Christmas, my thoughts will be on three gifts: (1) the gift of the Son as He willingly paid an infinite price for sins He did not commit and bore the burden of sorrows He did not cause (see 1 Corinthians 7:23); (2) the incredible gift of the Father as He allowed the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son that we may have eternal life; and (3) the gift I must give in return as I follow Their divine example.

May our thoughts this Christmas be turned to Them. May we follow Them as we contemplate the gift They gave to us and accept the grace that so fully They offer us.³