begin to ponder

 

At this season when we usually celebrate the Savior's

Birth by giving generous gifts to each other, we all would

Do well to remember his supernal, unparalleled gifts to us.

We might think, too, of the gifts we could give to him.

Ted E. Brewerton

"May we leave enough room in our Inn,

So the Christmas spirit, can dwell within."

"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."

Thomas S. Monson

"Christmas means 'giving,' and the gift without the giver is bare.

Give of yourselves; give of your substance; give of your heart and mind.

"Christmas means 'compassion and love' and, most of all 'forgiveness'

How poor indeed would be our lives without the influence

of His teachings and His matchless example.

"He whose birth we commemorate this season is more than the symbol of a holiday.

He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace."

Gordon B. Hinckley

  

"What will you and I give for Christmas this year?

Let us in our lives give to our Lord and Savior the gift of gratitude by living

His teachings and following in His footsteps.

It was said of Him that He 'went about doing good.'

As we do likewise, the Christmas spirit will be ours."

Thomas S. Monson

"At the focal point of all human history,

a point illuminated by a new star in the heavens revealed for just such a purpose,

probably no other mortal watched none but a poor young carpenter,

a beautiful virgin mother, and silent stabled animals who had not the power to utter the

 sacredness they had seen. Shepherds would soon arrive and later,

wise men from the East. Later yet the memory of that night would bring

Santa Claus and Frosty and Rudolph and all would be welcome.

But first and forever there was just a little family,

without toys or trees or tinsel.

 With a baby—

that's how Christmas began. It is for this baby that we shout in chorus:

'Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King! . . . Mild he lays his glory by,

Born that man no more may die; Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth'

Jeffrey R. Holland

"How can we give to the Lord? What shall we give to him?

Every kind word to our own, every help given them, is as a gift to God,

whose chief concern is the welfare of his children.

Every gentle deed to our neighbor, every kindness to the poor and suffering,

is a gift to the Lord, before whom all mankind are equal.

Every conformity to the Lord's plan of salvation

and this is of first importance is a direct gift to God,

for thereby we fit ourselves more nearly for our divinely planned destiny."

John A. Widtsoe

"Giving, not getting,

brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit

 Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed.

The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul,

and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than things.

To catch the real meaning of the "spirit of Christmas,"

we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the

"Spirit of Christ."

Thomas S. Monson

"It is possible for Christ to be born in men's lives,

 and when such an experience actually happens,

a man is "in Christ" Christ is "formed" in him.

This presupposes that we take Christ into our hearts and make Him the living

contemporary of our lives. He is not just a general truth or a fact in history,

but the Savior of men everywhere and at all times. When we strive to be Christlike,

He is "formed" in us; if we open the door, He will enter; if we seek His counsel,

He will counsel us. For Christ to be "formed" in us,

we must have a belief in Him and in His Atonement.

Such a belief in Christ and the keeping of His commandments are not restraints upon us.

By these, men are set free. This Prince of Peace waits to give peace of mind,

which may make each of us a channel of that peace."

Howard W. Hunter