Brightening My Light

The following is adapted from the devotional I gave at my Relief Society's Christmas party. “At Christmastime we talk a lot about giving, and we know—we all know—that it is more blessed to give than to receive. But I wonder if sometimes we disregard or disparate the importance of being a good receiver,” said President Uchtdorf at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. He continued, “I hope that this Christmas and every day of the year we will consider in particular the many gifts we have been given by our loving Heavenly Father.” At Christmastime, we celebrate God’s greatest gift He has given us: His Son. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King!” exclaims the joyous hymn. But what does it mean to receive Him?  To receive something requires action: we must accept the gift being given to us. First we “prepare [our] hearts” ( Alma 16:16 ). In fact, the next line in “Joy to the World” is “Let every heart prepare Him room.” We do that ...

lds.org Mary the mother of Jesus is revered in Christianity, particularly in Catholicism. She was "highly favoured" and "blessed . . . among women" ( Luke 1:28, 30 ). But we seldom talk about her husband, Joseph. He too must have been highly favored and blessed among men to have been given the honor of raising Jesus. Joseph was a "just man" and not spiteful: when he learned of Mary's pregnancy, he did not publicize it, but wished to divorce her privately ( Matthew 1:19 footnote b ). He was also very unselfish toward Mary during her pregnancy ( Matthew 1:25 ). Joseph was obedient to the Lord, as shown when he followed angels' commands to still marry Mary ( Matthew 1:20-24 ) and flee to Nazareth to protect little Jesus from King Herod ( Matthew 2:13-15 ). Joseph served as young Jesus's example of a righteous husband and father. The Bible Dictionary states, "Joseph was naturally regarded in Nazareth as [Jesus's] father, and the ho...

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We hear the sacrament prayers every week, but do we listen to the words and know the purpose of the prayers? I have broken down the blessing on the bread to help us better understand the sacrament, something I was advised to do in my patriarchal blessing. O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy son, Jesus Christ, First, we address Heavenly Father. Then w e ask Him in humility and verify that we are doing so in Jesus's name, as we are commanded to do all things in His name ( 3 Nephi 27:7, 9 ). to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, The Guide to the Scriptures on lds.org defines the words bless and sanctify as follows: Bless: To confer divine favor upon someone. Anything contributing to true happiness, well-being, or prosperity is a blessing. All blessings are based on eternal laws ( D&C 130:20–21 ). Because God wants his children to find joy in life ( 2 Ne. 2:25 ), he grants blessings to them as a result...