Christmas Through the Years

Normally I would not do something like this but this time I feel impressed to do so. Below is the text from a talk that I gave today in our Ward at Church. As you would expect the actual delivered message varied somewhat from what I have included here.

Christmas Through the Years

Advanced in years

So regarding this new calling I thought I would share a short experience but first I need to give just a little background. Several months ago I injured my shoulder doing something very unexciting; lifting James out of bed. And depending on what I do this shoulder still causes me some trouble. Now fast forward to about a week ago. It was a Thursday evening when President Kuykendall came to our home to extend the call to serve in the bishopric. The following day, Friday, was James’ 7^th birthday.

So Friday morning I woke up fairly early and I can feel this dull pain in my shoulder. So I’m lying in bed reflecting on things a bit and finally the thought came to me … “Jake you’ve got three kids, one of them is 7 years old now, your body is falling apart, and you’re going to be ordained a High Priest.” It only goes one way from here. Then I followed that thought up by reading a quote from Joseph F. Smith that effectively said that “those ordained to [the office of high priest] are, as a rule, men of advanced years.”

Now to some of you this may sound silly and I know some of you have children who are 7 times 7 years old but I think for me I’m going to remember 2011 as a turning point.

The Christmas Kid

I love Christmas. As a child I was by all accounts a Christmas fanatic. It was not uncommon for me to go searching for our cassette tapes of Christmas music as early as September. My mother nicknamed me “The Christmas Kid”. I would pester my parents for weeks as to whether it was time to get out the Christmas decorations. I grew up in Utah and I distinctly remember being disappointed many mornings to find that the white I was seeing through my bedroom blinds was not a fresh layer of Christmas snow but in fact the cement driveway. In my home we had there was a rule that Christmas morning could not begin before 5:30 a.m. I did not sleep Christmas Eve and torturously watched each hour pass by on my little alarm clock. More than once my mother crept into my room to change the time on that clock so as to delay their Christmas morning awakening by a few hours. I loved the lights, the tree, the tinsel, the smell of wrapping paper.

The grown-up Christmas

Now as I’ve gotten more “advanced in years”, the meaning and excitement of Christmas have changed for me. As the Christmas season approaches, my heart is softened. All of the symbols of Christmas that I loved as a child now serve as symbols of my Savior, His birth, and His atoning sacrifice for me. They also serve as symbols of the love shared and memories made with my family. They serve as opportunities for me to teach my children a love for Jesus. They serve as reminders of the relationship that my Savior and I have forged. The anticipation of snow and decorations is replaced with an anxious desire to serve, to reach outside of myself and do something to help God’s children know that he loves them. I still lose sleep on Christmas Eve. But instead of watching hours pass on a clock my time is spent assembling complicated toys. And the anticipation and joy of watching my own children on Christmas morning far exceeds anything I could have experienced as the recipient of such.

This Christmas I am reading for the first time Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”. I assume that nearly all of us are familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of his business partner Jacob Marley who has procured for Scrooge an opportunity to change his life. Scrooge is then visited by the three Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Christmases Past

I want to share with you a few of my Christmases past that will forever stand out in my memory.

Christmas 1

The first was when I was about 11-12 years old. My father’s extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) had identified a family in need. The family consisted of a single mother raising two teenage daughters and a younger teenage son. My father’s family resolved to provide Christmas for this family.

I specifically recall my mother asking my younger brother and me if we would be willing to part with something that we owned to give to the young man in the family. I remember we were reluctant and initially selected something we felt we wouldn’t miss. My mother convinced us to offer something more significant.

I will never forget being part of the caravan of cars as we delivered an envious freight of clothes, food, toys, and other gifts to what turned out to be an extremely modest home of a family who was accustomed to having much less than I had.

And it didn’t end that Christmas Day. I remember my mother taking one of those older girls to get new eye glasses several months later.

Christmas 2

The second Christmas that stands out in memory occurred just a few years later. My mother was working as an office manager for a small manufacturing company. Many of the employees who worked on the manufacturing floor were Hispanic immigrants from Central and South America. Many of them had left their families to come earn money to send home.

My mother informed me that she had invited one young man from Mexico to spend Christmas Day with our family. I remember being upset that she would interrupt our Christmas traditions by inviting a stranger to our home. I’m ashamed now for having felt that way.

The young man spoke little English and I was learning Spanish in school. As a result I became the de-facto translator. We ate together. We played games together. My mother had purchased some small Christmas gifts for him so that he would feel welcome.

I cannot remember a single gift that I received those Christmases but I will never forget the opportunity that my parents provided to love and serve beyond our own home. Not only did my parents set the example, but they saw the value of involving their children in helping others feel the love of God in their lives.

Christmas in the Mission

The last Christmas past I wish to mention is actually two Christmases as I served as a full-time missionary in Costa Rica. My first mission Christmas was spent in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT. I did not have an earthly care in the world. All of my needs were provided and then some. I was inundated with talks from Apostles and Seventies. My only job and focus was to draw closer to my Savior and to prepare to teach His gospel to His children.

A year later I was in Costa Rica, in a small apartment above the home of members of the church. I was far from my family. There was no Christmas tree, no lights, no stockings, no snow. None of the symbols that made Christmas so magical as a child were present. But I was as happy as could be. I remember receiving two bags of beef jerky from home as a Christmas gift. I gave one of the packages to my companion from Guatemala. He’d never seen an oxygen packet before and tried to eat it.

During the days surrounding Christmas people were more receptive to our message about Jesus Christ and we took every opportunity to sing Christmas Carols for which we were frequently compensated with a Christmas tamale wrapped in a banana leaf. We were serving the Lord. We were teaching His gospel to His children. I developed a love for the people of Costa Rica. I can’t think of a better Christmas.

I know I’ve made this statement before but to you young men I’ll say again; There is nothing more valuable that you can do with those two years than serve a mission. Remember the call is already extended to every worthy young man to serve a mission. Your only choice is to accept or reject that call. School can wait. Sports can wait. Girls can wait. They usually don’t wait but there will be others. Your relationship with your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ cannot wait.

Christmas Present

I return to our story of Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge’s dead partner Marley emphatically expresses to Scrooge his deep remorse, torture, and regret from not knowing how precious his short misused time on earth was. Scrooge, seeking to comfort himself, reminds Marley that he was always a “good man of business” to which the Marley replies …

“Business! … Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business! …

Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?”

The prophet Joseph Smith taught …

“A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”

So as we think about Christmas present; we can lift our eyes to the Savior and ask whose life we can bless this Christmas season. We can invite others to share what we have. We can let them know that they are loved.

As mentioned the ward has copies of the “Joy to the World” DVD. What an easy gift to give to help someone remember the true meaning of Christmas; or even better to invite someone to share with you.

Christmas Future

As we think about Christmas Future, let us think about our children. In our day it is easy to give our children too much. It is easy to let the consumer Christmas crowd out the true spirit of Christmas, the Spirit of Christ. What will our children be left with when with age the magic of Christmas trees, lights, sleighbells, and gifts begin to fade? Are we giving them a Christmas centered around the spirit of Christ that will last through their life?

I’d like to share a one of our family’s Christmas traditions with you. Among our Christmas decorations is a small tin. There is nothing remarkable about the tin. It has a picture of a snowman on it and it opens somewhat like a small chest or trunk.

Jesus Christ taught:

“For inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

During the Christmas season whenever we do something for “Jesus” by serving his children, we write it down on a small piece of paper and place the paper in the tin. On Christmas morning, we open the tin and read the gifts that we’ve given to Jesus. We look for every opportunity to let our Christmas traditions draw us closer to the Savior, to God’s children, and to each other as a family.

Now I wish to conclude. I know that my Savior lives. I give you my witness that His atonement is real. I have experienced first-hand His ability to provide forgiveness for our sins. I know that through His atonement we can be forgiven of our sins and improve and become more than we presently are. I testify that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson is His prophet on the earth today. I am so grateful for all of you and all that you have done for our family. We love you and look forward to serving you and serving with you. I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.