“Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
Christmas
LDS Quotes on & about Christmas
“Christmas means giving. The Father gave his Son, and the Son gave his life. Without giving there is no true Christmas, and without sacrifice there is no true worship.”
| "What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?", Ensign, Dec. 1983, 3
“There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is the time to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart — and our neighbors as ourselves. It is well to remember that he who gives money gives much; he who gives time gives more; but he who gives of himself gives all.
“Let us make Christmas real. It isn’t just tinsel and ribbon, unless we have made it so in our lives. 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.”
“Every gift that is offered to us — especially a gift that comes from the heart — is an opportunity to build or strengthen a bond of love. When we are good and grateful receivers, we open a door to deepen our relationship with the giver of the gift. But when we fail to appreciate or even reject a gift, we not only hurt those who extend themselves to us, but in some way we harm ourselves as well.
“The Savior taught that unless we ‘become as little children, (we) shall not enter … the kingdom of heaven.’
“As we watch the excitement and wonder of children at this time of the year, perhaps we can remind ourselves to rediscover and reclaim a precious and glorious attribute of children — the ability to receive graciously and with gratitude.”
| "The Good and Grateful Receiver"
“I feel certain that, as premortal spirits learning of the plan of salvation, we not only beheld and adored but also shouted for joy when he voluntarily and humbly offered himself as the Savior of the world. In five of the most profound words ever uttered, he meekly said, “Here am I, send me.”
| "Oh, Come, Let Us Adore Him — and the Plan!"
“The day Jesus was born was a day of deliverance for the believers in the New World. Light as the sign of the Savior’s birth literally saved their lives.”
| "The Light and Life of the World"
“Who has not heard the wail of despair, and indeed of resentment, when, at the last moment, just as everyone hoped that the nuisance was over for one more year, the unwanted gift from Mrs. Busy (whom we hardly remember) flops unwelcomed through the letterbox, and back to the dreadful shops one of us has to go.”
“Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him, they didn’t find it quite like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also solemn.”
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“In the Christian story, God descends to reascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still, if embryologists are right, to recapitulate in the womb ancient and pre-human phases of life; down to the very roots and seabed of the Nature.”
| Miracles
“It seems appropriate that giving and receiving gifts is a central part of Christmas. After all, we are celebrating the matchless gift of God’s Son, the Savior Jesus Christ. Of course, our gifts to each other will never compare to this gift, but I believe that the joy of giving and receiving gifts can turn our hearts toward the ‘gifts of God.'”
| "The Gift of the Holy Ghost"