Feliz Navidad! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas so far. I have! My zone got up around 6, put our presents under the tree we put together (I'll send pictures tomorrow) and opened presents. It was especially awesome to see the elders opening packages who hadn't expect to receive anything. We made sure they were taken care of. :) And then we had a devotional with Elder Nelson and I got to sit right near the front! It was great!
I hope that we all remember why we celebrate this holiday. As a missionary, I stand with the Apostles as we testify of the divinity of our Savior Jesus Christ. His birth was looked forward to by prophets for thousands of years. He was born in the small town of Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. He showed us the way to return with and become like our Father in Heaven. For three years he ministered among the people of Israel. He taught the gospel, he healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. He called twelve apostles, established His church, and then He finished the work that He came to do. In the Garden of Gethsamane, He took upon Him the sins, pains, and sicknesses of the entire world. Three times He prayed for relief, for some other way, so great was His pain. He bled from every pore and suffered far beyond what any mortal man could suffer. Yet he submitted to the Father's will. He then allowed himself to be taken and tried, mocked, spit upon, accused falsley, tortured, and finally crucified. His life was not taken. As the Son of God, He could have altered His circumstances in any number of ways. But He gave His life for us. Three days later, He rose from the tomb, breaking the bands of death and completeing the Atonement.
Christ lives. He is the Son of the Living God, and He leads this work. This is His church, and it is under His direction. The greatest gift ever given was the Atonement. He is our Savior, our Redeemer from spiritual and physical death, our Brother, and our Friend. He is very real and He can have a very real part in your life if you will let Him. Said he, "I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." He will never forget you. He gave His entire life for you. He suffered everything you have ever suffered, everything you are suffering now, and everything you will yet suffer. He loves you. "I am the way, the truth and the light. No man cometh unto the Father but by me." He IS the way. He showed us how to become like our Father. He succeeded. We just need to follow Him. "Come follow me" is His invitation to all people. I pray that this Christmas season and every other day of the year we will keep Him in our hearts.
If you don't know that Jesus Christ is you Savior, then I invite you to find out. Study His words in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon. Pray to know if He is there for you. He will answer you through the power of His spirit, and you will be filled with peace and happiness. All of us can have our testimony of Him strengthened. I invite you to all read Moroni 7:48, and consider what it means to become like Him. And then do as Mormon urges and pray with all the energy of your heart to be able to come to truly know Jesus Christ.
I am humbled to have the opportunity to spend the next two years testifying of Him, to stand as His representative on the Earth today. Again, I say that He lives!! I know it! He loves all of us and if we will come unto Him, no matter our circumstances, we will receive peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
Have a very merry Christmas!!
-Elder Lofthouse-
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