ACT OF REDEMPTION
We honor the birth of our Lord, the Son of God who condescended to come to earth because He loved us. He came to do for us that which we could not do for ourselves. Without His Atonement we would be helpless before the unrelenting grasp of death. Our destiny would be that dark and dismal "country from whose bourn no traveler returns." We would stand hopeless and helpless in our sins, going nowhere, making no progress.
But because of Him, and Him alone, there is peace, there is light and understanding. Through His great act of redemption, through His atoning sacrifice came eternal life. The gift of the resurrection is afforded all, and the opportunity for eternal progress and eventual exaltation is granted those who will listen to Him and obey Him. — First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Dec. 7, 1997
BELIEVING IN CHRIST
[Many] have said we are not Christians. "Mormons are not Christians," they say, they do not believe in the traditional Christ. No, I don't. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. He, together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, He knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages. Am I a Christian? Of course I am. I believe in Christ. I talk of Christ. I pray in the name of Christ. I'm trying to follow Him and live His gospel in my life. — Paris, France, member meeting, June 4, 1998
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
This is not my Church. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is His Church. He stands at the head of this Church and dictates its policies and programs as well as its doctrine. — Jacksonville Florida West Stake conference, Jan. 19, 1997
GREAT EXEMPLAR
We expect . . . that every man and woman in this Church will carry in his or her heart a firm and unbending conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the living God, the Savior and the Redeemer of the world through whose Atonement has come the blessing of forgiveness and eternal life. As the Book of Mormon declares, "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Ne. 25:26.)
He is our great Exemplar. He is our great intermediary through whom we pray unto the Father. He is our Redeemer and our Lord. — New York City, N.Y., member meeting, April 26, 1998
GREATEST EXAMPLE
You will find your greatest example in the Son of God. I hope that each of you will make Him your friend. . . . I hope you will strive to walk in His paths, extending mercy, blessing those who struggle, living with less selfishness, reaching out to others.
He is the greatest example of excellence in all the world. He condescended to come to earth under the most humble of circumstances. He grew up as the son of Joseph the carpenter. He struggled with the adversary on the Mount of Temptation. He came forth resplendent and beautiful and magnificent to teach the world. During His brief ministry, He brought more of truth, more of hope, more of mercy, more of love than anyone else who has walked the earth. He died on Calvary's cross for each of us. He arose the third day, the first fruits of them that slept, bringing the promise of resurrection to all mankind and the hope of exaltation to all who would walk in obedience to His teachings. He was the great paragon of righteousness, the only perfect man ever to walk the earth. He was the wondrous example toward whom each of us might point our lives in our eternal quest for excellence." — BYU devotional, Provo, Utah, Nov. 10, 1998
LIVE WORTHILY
How do you prepare for the Second Coming? Well, you just do not worry about it. You just live the kind of life that if the Second Coming were to be tomorrow you would be ready. Nobody knows when it is going to happen. No one knows when the Savior is coming, not even the angels in heaven. Our responsibility is to prepare ourselves, to live worthy of the association of the Savior, to deport ourselves in such a way that we would not be embarrassed if He were to come among us. That is a challenge in this day and age. — Weber State University, institute devotional, April 15, 1997
ONE CONVICTION
Everywhere [I have recently visited] there have been vast congregations of people. They speak a variety of languages, but their hearts all beat with one conviction: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of all mankind. — Religion Newswriters Association, Albuquerque, N.M., Sept. 14, 1997
REDEEMER OF THE WORLD
I know that the Redeemer of the world lives, He who died on the cross of Calvary, rose the third day, and became the Living Son of the Living God, and that He lives at this time, the Creator of this world under the direction of His Father. John records, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.' (John 1:1,3,14.) That is Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. — Paris, France, member meeting, June 4, 1998
TEACH CHILDREN
Teach [your children] to love the Lord Jesus Christ. You mothers, read to your children from the scriptures. They won't understand all you read, but somehow there will filter into their very souls something of that which you read. Read from the Bible, read from the New Testament, read about Jesus to your children, read from Third Nephi, read about Jesus, let them somehow become possessed of a knowledge of Jesus and His Father. Read to them and teach them while they are young, of Jesus. — Evanston, Wyo., regional conference, Sept. 21, 1997
