Sacrament Meeting talk on Christmas Eve

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Growing up as a boy our family moved quite often. Raising ten children made it difficult

for my parents to buy a home. By the time I was 14 we had lived in 8 different houses,

all within the small town of Middleton, just a short distance from here.  As I look back

on those years, it’s like a journal I never kept. I can tie most memories of my

childhood to a particular house, and therefore a particular time.

This is true of my childhood Christmas memories. The Christmas etched most in my

mind is when I was 11 years old. I think it’s because I began to understand and

appreciate to a greater degree the love and kindness behind the gifts I received. 

I don’t know how, but this particular Christmas, I had persuaded my mother to let me be

her little Christmas wrapping helper. This entailed staying up late in the night

wrapping the family presents after everyone else was sound asleep, and before Santa

came later in the night. 

It was that year that I began to understand why our Christmas presents were wrapped

in newspaper and not in colorful wrapping paper. I saw the love of my mother as she

would shuffle through the collected newspapers searching for just the right page. Not

from the business section or weather page, but thoughtfully chosen pages from the

comic and sports sections. I felt the love of a parents who were trying their best to

bring Christmas joy to their children.

I remember that same Christmas Eve, late in the night as my mom and I were wrapping

gifts, we heard some noise at the front porch. Peeking down through the window we

could see the two full time full-time missionaries at the front door. With red bows tied to

their handlebars, these two missionaries were leaving their bikes as a gift to my family.

I can still see the tears rolling down my mom’s face as she witnessed the love and

kindness shown by these two Elders. It left a lasting impact on me as well. I still

remember their names, Elder Cummings and Elder Garret.  It is safe to say that their

example of Christlike love helped shape my desire to one day serve a full-time mission.

I have another memory of a Gift given out of love that is etched in my mind and

tied to that same Christmas Season. 

It was a “White Christmas”, with lots of snow to play in. One particular storm brought

giant flakes of snow. The snow was heavy, making it ideal for snowballs. While out

playing, a couple of my brothers and I began to throw snow balls against the house.

We noticed that as the snow ball hit the side of the house, it would explode, leaving a

big white dot. This led to a brilliant idea of decorating the entire house with white poke-

a-dots! For the next hour or so we threw fast ball after fast ball against all the sides of

our home.

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The next morning on the way to church my dad got his first glimpse of our

masterpiece. Needless to say, he wasn’t thrilled. He told us that the snow could turn to

ice and stain the house as it melted. Sure enough temperatures stayed below freezing

through February. And sure enough, spots were left in place of the frozen snow balls in

early Spring.

Luckily for my brothers and I, over the course of that summer, the brightness of

the sun beating on the house began to fade away the spots until they were

completely gone.

Like my childhood home that winter, each of us have spots. 

 Some are more obvious, and it seems as though all the neighbors can see them.

 Some of our spots are hidden where we think no one else can see them but us.

 But we all have them.

 They can look different in size, number and shape. 

 Some may have come upon us unintentionally, and others may be rooted deep in

poor choices and lasting habits. 

 But regardless of quantity, size, or depth, they leave us all in the same

condition, marred, and spotted with sin. 

 As Paul taught the Roman Saints…. “All have sinned, and come short of the

glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

We each need the LOVE, MERCY, AND GRACE of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate

Gift of Love that anyone can receive. He offers us the ability to change, to Repent, and

become clean. That we might enter back into presence of our Heavenly Father and His

Beloved Son.

Listen carefully to the very last words of the Book of Mormon. Words Jesus Christ

would have the world hear through His prophet Moroni, as He prepared this sacred

record for the future gathering of His people. “Yea, come unto Christ, and be

perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny

yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and

strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect

in Christ; … then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the

shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the

remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot (Moroni 10:32-33).

This is the message of Christmas! 

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).

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I am grateful for the scriptures that testify to us of the reality and divinity of our

Savior. One of my favorite teachings of God’s infinite love is found in the early chapters

of the Book of Mormon.

Nephi, a prophet of the Book of Mormon, was taught by the Spirit of the Lord, the

meaning of the most desirable Gift one can receive, the Gift of God’s Love…

In a vision his father Lehi described seeing a tree, “whose fruit was white, to exceed all

the whiteness that he had before seen.” 

Nephi, in wanting to understand the meaning of the tree his father saw gives this

account: “For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had

seen, I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord…

And the Spirit said to Nephi: 

: “…. after thou hast beheld the tree …. thou shalt also behold a man descending out of

heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record

that it is the Son of God.

8 And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had

seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty….

10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?

11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof…

13 And… I looked and beheld… the city of Nazareth…

14 …and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what

beholdest thou?

15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know

the meaning of all things.

18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of

God, after the manner of the flesh.

20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the

Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

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22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad

in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

31 … And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of

men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all

manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits ….. And they were healed by

the power of the Lamb of God;

What a Glorious Gift! Not just our sins, but all our sickness, pain, grief, and sorrow. He

descended below it all. 

I love these words of Alma in the Book of Mormon:

 “…And he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy,

according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his

people…. (Alma 7:12). 

Our infirmities! The things we are personally struggling with. None are forgotten by

Him. 

 Chronic sickness and disease 

 Worry and sorrow felt for a wandering child

 Pain of divorce, or a struggling marriage 

 The stress of financial burdens

 Deep habits of sin

 Unintentional or even intentional hurt caused by others poor choices 

 Loneliness, Depression

 Grief from the loss of a loved one

 All of it. He descended below it all. Why? That He might know perfectly how to

heal us.

And then He offered the ultimate sacrifice.  Nephi continues:

32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked

and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the

everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the

world.

This is the Light and Love and Hope we celebrate and share at Christmas. 

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In closing I would like to share a Christmas Miracle that our family witnessed this

Christmas Season. It is best summed up by what we can see on the East End of the

Temple Grounds. There, sits a life size manger scene of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.

This, the humblest of scenes, with the backdrop of the Temple, encompasses this

miracle perfectly.

A few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon, our family was preparing to go to the temple

to perform baptisms. Earlier in the week my sweet wife had encouraged the kids to print

family names from “Ordinances Ready”, and to take some time to learn more about

them.

That Saturday morning as we were backing out of the drive, I asked my three children if

they had their names and recommends. My little 12-year-old daughter Lainey replied,

“Hey dad, you want to know something about one of my names?” She went on to

share that she was preparing to be baptized for a young girly by the name of

Helen Lucile Soeten, from Iowa. She told me that this young girl had died at the

age of 13 on December 23, 1924, just two days before Christmas. 

As we drove to the Temple my mind reflected on the grief this family must have felt that

Christmas, 99 years ago. The pain must have seemed unbearable. The fear of the

unknown, the fear of never seeing their little girl or sister again. 

Not knowing much of this family’s faith or beliefs, I do know that they lacked the peace

and understanding and doctrine of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, witnessing of

eternal families, of binding covenants, and sealing ordinances that would tie little Helen

to them forever.

In digging deeper into this family’s story, I’m left believing that despite the unknown

that this death brought them, the Light of Christ must have stirred in this mother’s heart.

Later in her life she moved to California where she passed away at the age of 74. But it

was important to her to have her body transported nearly 2000 miles back to that small

cemetery in Iowa to be buried next to her little girl. It wasn’t the doctrine of her faith that

drove this desire. I can only imagine it was the Light of Christ that she felt as a daughter

of God, that stirred this Hope inside of her, and witnessed to her heart that something

greater lay ahead. That she might perhaps one day be blessed to see her daughter

again.

As I thought about this family I wondered if the joy of future Christmases may have been

lost. If this time of year would be tied to the memory of the loss of their daughter and

sister? It made my heart ache thinking of all they had endured.

But as we drove to the Temple the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Elijah, burned strong.

God has placed it within our ability to participate in offering to our ancestors,

what He has offered to us. His Greatest Gift of Love. That in and through the

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Power and Atonement of Jesus Christ and God’s glorious Plan of Salvation, we

can each make binding covenants with God, and receive sacred saving

Ordinances.

Ordinances that will enable us to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father

and His Son Jesus Christ, where we can be reunited with our loved ones in an

Eternal Family unit.

So two nights ago, my sweetheart and I knelt across from one another at an alter of the

temple in behalf of Arie and Myra Soeten. There they were sealed for time and all

eternity. And then Helen, this sweet little girl, along with her siblings were sealed to their

parents, bound together as an eternal family.

The Power of Godliness truly is manifested in His Ordinances. These sacred

ordinances, performed in His Holy House, have left our family feeling an added

measure of this power. We have felt:

 An increase of love and devotion for our ancestors

 A greater spiritual mindedness of our purpose 

 A greater appreciation for Priesthood Power that binds and seals us to each

other and to God

 And a deeper testimony of our loving Heavenly Father’s Plan

Surely, this is in part, what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant in speaking of our

kindred dead, when he declared: “For their salvation is necessary and essential to our

salvation … that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our

dead be made perfect.” (D&C 128:15)

I am grateful for this Christmas miracle. 

 A miracle that a 12-year-old young lady found one of her ancestors, a young

woman her very same age, that needed her help. 

 A miracle that the Power of the Spirit of Elijah can direct us in God’s Work to

seek after and care for the One. 

 And a miracle that this family, after suffering such great heartache, now has the

opportunity to be healed through God’s merciful Plan of Redemption.

Because of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Beautiful message of

Christmas, this December can be a Merry Christmas for the Soeten family. 

Is it any wonder that Saints and Angels sang and continue to sing “Joy to the

World” & “Glory to God in the Highest”

May we each exercise our faith by turning towards our Savior, and on bended

knee, give thanks to our Heavenly Father for His greatest Gift of Love, His Only

Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.