Winter Wonderland

Our first snowman together.

David

Every day is like Christmas in our house. I receive the gift of kindness each morning as I wake up to an always-chipper husband singing around the house and preparing both breakfast and lunch for the two of us as we go about our day. I see the excitement of a child every afternoon as I walk in the door as if my mere presence is as good as all of Santa's reindeer landing on our roof. I am showered with daily service and compliments worth more than anything that comes beautifully wrapped in a box. And I am reminded of Christ in all that he strives to become and the pure goodness that shines from all of his actions. While it might not always be December, I have a year-round Christmas husband and I adore him.

Testimony

In Matthew 24:24 it reads, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” President Harold B. Lee said that Joseph Smith’s Inspired Version of the bible added “who are the elect, according to the covenant.” President Lee said that unless we gain a testimony for ourselves we will be among those who are deceived. It is essential that we gain testimonies for ourselves. I like verse 37 of JS-Matt it says “And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived.” He didn’t say to hold the bible, to study it, or even to read it, but to treasure up his word. I believe this means that we take action based on his teachings. Obviously we’ll have to read the scriptures to know Christ’s word, but it’s more than that. We don’t need to know every detail of the scriptures, but we do need to learn the principles and live by them. We need to apply them to our daily lives. If we do that, we will not be deceived at the last day, because we will really know who Christ is, and we will now the truth. It will be engraved on our hearts.

To Be A Disciple of Christ

In John 13:34-35 we learn that if we are to be disciples or true followers of Jesus Christ, then we are to love one another just as Jesus Christ has loved us. By reading the New Testament or the Book of Mormon (Another Testament) we learn how loving our savior Jesus Christ really is. Many times Jesus heals the sick, causes the lame to walk, gives sight to the blind and forgives the sins of those that seek repentance through faith. Jesus never thinks of himself, but only his brothers and sisters. Jesus’ ultimate act of love was when he took upon himself the sins and afflictions of all of mankind so that through him we can receive mercy on our part at the last day. He has taught us that no unclean thing can enter into the presence of God and since we are all sinners we are unclean. But because of his atonement for us, each of us will live again and if we repent his sacrifice will heal us and make us clean before the Father.

Jesus Christ loves us and has done great things for everyone. He asks in return that each of us be his disciple which is done by following him and loving others as he has loved us. After pondering on the acts that he did to show love it may seem difficult to duplicate the love that he has shared with us but it can be done one act of kindness at a time. As disciples of Christ each of us should and can reach out to others with a helping hand and be thoughtful of the needs of others. Charity is the pure love of Christ and as we pray to be filled with that gift we are more able to serve others see them as Christ would see them.

Perhaps one person is making fun of another persons way of dress or speech, we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, can follow the example of Jesus Christ and stand up for that person. If someone is new at church, then we can reach out to the person and be their friend.

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ it is important to look outward in order to know what our brothers and sisters are in need of. As we are concerned about others needs we think less of our selves and strengthen our faith and become better disciples.

As I ponder my life, I realize there have been many moments were I have failed to be a disciple of Christ by the way I acted. It is my goal to pray for charity and think about the way I treat others despite the way they treat myself or those around them. I truly believe that as I strive to be a disciple of Jesus Christ I will feel the spirit more abundantly in my life, and I will be more in tune with the things that God is trying to tell me. I hope that those who read this will make it a goal for themselves to become disciples of Jesus Christ as well and treat others as Jesus would treat them.