“Come, Let Us Adore Him”

My dear brothers and sisters, what a joy it is to commence another Christmas season when we commemorate the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a sacred event every time a child is born. Watch the reaction of one of our great-grandsons as he holds his baby brother for the first time.

[video]

It is no wonder that on that most holy night more than 2,000 years ago near the little town of Bethlehem, heavenly hosts sang for joy! An angel taught shepherds this magnificent truth:

“Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”¹

And now, my dear brothers and sisters, “Come, let us adore Him.”²

As with many of you, Christmas has changed for me over the years. My childhood memories are etched on the backdrop of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Money was scarce. Gifts were particularly precious.

My parents made Christmas magical for me and my siblings. Each year we became a “sub-for-Santa” family for another family. We prepared appropriate gifts and delivered them on Christmas Eve. As we drove away from their home, their waving hands and tearful faces brought us the true joy of giving.

I loved the music of Christmas then—and still do. Every year, Sister Nelson and I love listening to and singing along with Handel’s Messiah. I love the Hebraic meaning of the word hallelujah. It literally means “praise to the Lord God Jehovah.”³ Words sung in this oratorio not only apply to the birth of the Lord but to His millennial reign:

It was during my young adult years that I began to gain a deep testimony of God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I came to know for myself that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, who was a “precious and chosen vessel.”⁵ I knew that He really is the Son of God⁶ and the central figure in all human history.

Just think about the incomprehensible magnitude of what Jesus Christ accomplished—all according to the will of His Father! Jesus was already a God when He condescended to come to earth to complete the most crucial feat for each of us. A feat that was literally lifesaving and life-changing. A feat that not one of us could do for ourselves.

The Savior “suffer[ed] pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind”⁷ so that He would know “according to the flesh how to succor [us] according to [our] infirmities.”⁸

During the past few months, I have learned a lot more about pain and its refining influence. My heart has been drawn out to our Savior as I have tried to imagine the extent of His suffering. My mortal mind simply cannot comprehend how He took upon Himself all the pains, all the sins, all the anguish, and all the afflictions of everyone who has ever lived!

In the most supreme act of compassion that defies mortal understanding or description, the Savior submitted Himself to unparalleled spiritual and physical agony.

We revere the Babe of Bethlehem precisely because He later offered the incomprehensible, infinite sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary. This offering redeems each of us as we choose to repent and follow Him. Then, as His crowning act on earth, He rose from the tomb on the third day, granting each one of us the unprecedented blessing of resurrection and life after death.

At this season, we often happily sing or say, “We wish you a merry Christmas.” My dear brothers and sisters, the wish of my heart for each of you tonight has several components. Actually, it is not my wish for you; it is my prayer for you at this sacred Christmas time.

First, I pray that you will feel the deep, eternal love our Savior has for you personally. Jesus Christ has known you since the premortal realm. He knows and sees you now. He sees your joys and your sorrows. He has experienced each of them.

He has perfect compassion for your struggles and rejoices every time you press forward in righteousness, during good times and bad.

I pray that you will gain your own personal witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is filled with godly power, and that because of His grand atoning sacrifice, you never need to feel that you must face life’s difficult challenges alone. As you earnestly ask, seek, and knock,⁹ you have constant access to His power to help you, to strengthen you, and to heal you.¹⁰

I pray that you will take full advantage of the Savior’s Atonement by repenting daily, making your life increasingly pure, and seeking heavenly guidance in all that you do. In other words, I pray for you to experience the joy of always thinking celestial.

I also pray that you will use this holiday season to begin a season of even greater personal worship. Begin anew to study the teachings and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. No one on this earth loves you as He does. No one here understands you better or really knows your sorrows and weaknesses. No one on earth has the power that Jesus Christ has. No one here is more eager for you to become everything you can become. No one pleads with the Father on your behalf as He does.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Redeemer. He is the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel. He is the Anointed One.¹¹ Under the direction of the Father, He is the Creator of all that has been created.¹² Jesus Christ was the Great Jehovah, God of the Old Testament.¹³ He was the promised Immanuel.¹⁴ He is our great Exemplar¹⁵ and our Advocate with the Father.¹⁶ Because of His restored gospel, all the blessings of His priesthood are available to all mankind as they come unto Him and are perfected in Him.

Brothers and sisters, let us live in the spirit of “hallelujah,” ever praising the Lord God Jehovah. At this glorious Christmas season, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

I know that God lives! Jesus is the Christ! This is His Church. He directs the ongoing Restoration of His gospel. Of this I testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.