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Show Christmas Rflessage From President Harold B. Lee "Whenever I am requested to speak of Jesus, our Savior at Christmas time, I find it difficult to keep my mind soley upon His birth and the early days of His life. "In order for me to get the real message of the day on which we commemorate the birth of our Lord, my thoughts invariably revert to the later events of His ministry. By so doing, I believe only then can one obtain a true perspective of the meaning of His birth and what it means to us today. "I realize full well that all who are referred to as 'Christians' do not have the same ideas or concepts about Him. I assume, however, that most every one, whether Christian, Jew or Gentile, who would call to mind the great incidents, the experiences, the traits of character, and the principles and teachings of Jesus, would readily agree that, as judged by His achievements and His influence in the world, He must be ranked as the greatest man who ever lived upon the earth. Perhaps many would go so far as to declare that His were the teachings of the only perfect man who has ever lived. "If every one could today be united in accepting that as a premise, then the humble message which I may give to you would have a great significance and give to one a greater appreciation of the day of Christmas, at which time we do honor to His birth into this world. "Very often we are asked as to our favorite passages of scripture. That is a difficult question to answer because there are so many scriptures that are special, and may be thought of as the scripture most meaningful for a given time and purpose. Perhaps we might say that the words Jesus spoke to Martha at the time of the death of her brother Lazarus, would convey the most vital text for an understanding of the mission of the Saviour of mankind. The Master replied to the sorrowing Martha : "I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never ,. die.' (John 11:25-26- ) "And then to His disciples just before His crucifixion he added these meaningful words, which if clearly understood today would be of the greatest comfort to all mankind: " 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' (John 14:27) "These words bring to mind a remark of one of my great religious leaders, when he said: " 'One sentence from the words of Jesus means more than volumes of other literature, as great as they might be.' "Truly then, at Christmas time, we would do well to recall the great incidents, the experiences, the traits of character and the principles which Jesus, the one perfect man, left for the world to ponder. Our time will not permit but one or two references of which we have record. I would single out one or two that to me might be particularly applicable in these days of great prosperity and affluence, when it would seem that many have forgotten God, and which may be profitable if these significant incidents, to which I shall refer, were to cause one to ponder in his reflective moments. "There was an occasion when the Master was near the temple gate, only a few days before His crucifixion. He evidently was depressed, as we might well assume, as He was faced with this terrible ordeal. In the midst of His speaking to the multitide He said: " 'Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?' And this presumably was followed by a prayer in which He pleaded: " 'Father, save me from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.' "Then came that gentle voice from heaven saying: " 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it agin.' "The record then adds this comment: " 'The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, an angel spake to him.' "Jesus, alone, understood, and He said to them: " 'This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.' (John 12:27-3- 0 "Out of this significant incident we ought to get the thought that we should seek always to so live our lives., that when God speaks to us In whatever way He chooses, by whatever means, that we are not so insensible to that message, that when time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; . . . and behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto ihem: Behold, my Beloved Son. . . hear ye him' (3 Nephi 11:3-7- ) "Oh, that the messages of these incidents might be applied to all who are seeking for assurance and security in this troubled world. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all such might have eyes to see the glory of the Lord as it showed round about the shepherds who were tending their flocks, and hear again the voice of that angelic messenger which can and will come again to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to understand and be converted? Those consoling words of other heavenly messengers were not only for those humble shepherds but, as the messenger declared, 'shall be to all people.' The angelic messenger said, 'Fear not: for, behold, 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.' (Luke 2:10-11- ) 1 "If, PRESIDENT HAROLD it comes from God, we shall not think of it merely as thunder, but that we shall understand and know what God is saying to us. "Perhaps it would be difficult to imagine what great service this would be if we could only understand the voice of the Divine Being when He speaks to us. "There is recorded another incident when the resurrected B. LEE Christ appeared to the multitide in the Land Bountiful on the Western Hemisphere. This was the record of that experience: "While the peopie 'were . . . conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; . . . again they heard the voice, and they understood it not. And again the third as the messenger declared, this message was for all people, then this means for you and me that those same tiding of great joy are for all who accept Jesus the Christ as their Saviour. "That comforting and everlasting eternal gift which He declared to His desciples is also for those who since have lived and will follow Him and keep his commandments. "Again may I repeat that priceless gift to us so that we may hear it. This is for you and me also, as He promised ii to His disciples in their time of great anxiety: " "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as unto the world giveth, give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) "For all Christians, He was and is the Christ the only Begotten Son of the living God, our Saviour and our Redeemer, the only name under heaven given among men whereby we might 1 THE LEHI FREE PRESS Becky Meyers is 'Snow Queen' In Nutcracker Ballet in Calif. THURSDAY, DEC 20,1973 San Jose Dance Theatre this Christmas season. Becky, a sophomore at Saratoga High School, has been studying ballet for five years with the Los Gatos Academy of Dance. She is a recent recipient of an honorary scholarship from the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. Miss Becky Meyers, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John F. Meyers of Saratoga, California, formerly of l.ehi. and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Larsen of American Fork, will dance the roll of "Snow Queen" in the Kth Annual Nutcracker Ballet, to be performed in its entirety by the The Legend of Christmas Tinsel According to an old legend, a poor peasant woman, with many children, decorated a Christmas tree with such humble trimmings as .she was able to gather, mostly berries and nuts and such odds and ends as she had managed to save up during the year. She labored far into the night trying to make her tree as beautiful as she could. While she was asleep, spiders came and crawled from branch to branch IIOI.I.Y HERRI ES legend relates that on the first Christmas night, when the shepherds went to the manner, a little lamb following them was caught by the holly thorns, and the red berries are the drops of its blood that froze on the branches. A be saved. "To this humble message I add my witness and extend to all the comfort and the assurance also, of those words of the Master to the frightened disciples admidst the storm on the Sea of Galilee, 'Be of good cheer; it is 1; be not afraid." (Matthew 14:27) And again hear those words to all who were and are fearful, as the psalmist reminds us in the words of the trailing their lacy webs behind them. To reward the woman for her devotion, The Christ Child blessed the tree and all the spider webs were turned into gleaming silver. Lord: " ' The Lord of hosts is with the God of Jacob is our refuge ..." us; "' Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: will be exalted among the heathen, I will be 1 Al -- BECKY MEYERS May you and your family enjoy a happy holiday. We thank you waimly. exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge (Psalms 46:7-11- ) . . .' " Bob 500 East Tingey-m- gr. State, Lehi Open 6 to 6 daily - M ay the peace and serenity of the season be in your hearts and in your lives HffiMJyiilS 5 Christmas, but all through the year. Thanks for your friendly support and patronage. V ' ; ' not only at ' 1 s Holiday special. We're delivering season's greetings to friends everywhere. Serving you has been our pleasure. To all of you from all of us at Durfey Dry Cleaners and Shirt Laundry 9 WW W4TAr cnWfMtW Nii " tt-.- , ..V7J- a Choruses of carols fill the air. Christmas is drawing near. Rejoice . . . enjoy the season's best and accept our thanks. DR. BOYD J. lARStll O" o s ..s- - ' Lehi Free Press Editor and Staff |