We rise by lifting others

“Righteous character is more valuable than any material object you own, any knowledge you have gained through study, or any goals you have attained no matter how well lauded by mankind. In the next life your righteous character will be evaluated to assess how well you used the privilege of mortality.”

Richard G. Scott

“Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in the purchasing of gifts. We find real joy when we make the Savior the focus of the season. We can keep Him in our thoughts and in our lives as we go about the work He would have us perform here on earth. At this time, particularly, let us follow His example as we love and serve our fellowman.”

Thomas S. Monson

“Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. It is peace because we have found peace in the Savior’s teachings.

It is the time we realize most deeply that the more love is expended, the more there is of it for others.”

Thomas S. Monson

“The path to exaltation is rugged and steep. Many stumble and fall, and through
discouragement never pick themselves up to start again. The forces of evil cloud
the path with many foggy deterrents, often trying to detour us in misleading trails.
But through all this journey there is the calming assurance that if we choose the
right, success will be ours, and the achievement of it will have molded and formed
and created us into the kind of person qualified to be accepted into the presence of God.”

Harold B. Lee

“We hope in Jesus the Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered. Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will ‘work together for [our] good’ as we follow the counsel of God’s prophets. This type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair.”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Those who reach out to lift and serve others ‘will come to know a happiness … never known before. … Heaven knows there are so very, very, very many people in this world who need help. Oh, so very … many. Let’s get the cankering, selfish attitude out of our lives, my brothers and sisters,

and stand a little taller and reach a little higher in the service of others.’”

Gordon B Hinckley

 

By pondering, we give the Spirit an opportunity to impress and direct. Pondering is a powerful link between the heart and the mind. As we read the scriptures, our hearts and minds are touched. If we use the gift to ponder, we can take these eternal truths and realize how we can incorporate them into our daily actions.”

Marvin J. Ashton

“The light of Christ is easier to discern at Christmastime, when we are more likely to pray to know what God would have us do and more likely to read in the scriptures and so more apt to be on the Lord’s errand. When we forgive and feel forgiveness, when we are lifting the hands that hang down,

we are being lifted ourselves as we move toward the Source of the light.”

Henry B. Eyring

“The opportunity to give a compliment came unexpectedly. It was the Spirit that stirred my heart, sending a prompting of something that needed to be said just then to the person waiting there. It was only after I said the compliment out loud that I realized it was true. The Spirit knew before I did. Through discernment I was allowed a glimpse of the good there. A powerful good. And I was reminded that God knows each of us down to the tiny details.  And He knows the good within us.  And sometimes He reminds us of that good through someone else. That is the importance of a compliment. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind work, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”  What started as a simple task, one that I thought wouldn’t require thought or effort, turned out to be a learning moment for me. I was taught that the Spirit knows the good within, and through the Spirit we can receive promptings that will allow us to discern that goodness and share it. Our willingness to share that truth in the form of a compliment has great power. That simple compliment has the potential to turn a life around.”

Emily Freeman

“Keep your faith. Look for the good in your situation. Do something kind for someone. Seek Christ devoid of wrapping and tinsel. You will find that despite external circumstances,

Christmas like the kingdom of God is ‘within you’

Jeffrey R. Holland

Innkeeper

Who decides if there is room for Jesus

Neal A Maxwell

“Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. To us He has said, ‘Come, follow me.’ As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. We shall learn to forget ourselves. We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others”

Thomas S. Monson