Recently I heard a profoundly beautiful Christmas song that was sung by some gifted and
talented individuals from this beautiful valley. The song is entitled “The Work of Christmas”. It was
composed by Howard Thurman, an African American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader.
From his powerful lyrics I would like to share a Christmas message.
The Work of Christmas
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart.
How grateful we are that the baby Jesus was born, but do we place more emphasis on His birth
than upon other phases of His life? Is birth the major event in any of our lives? We might ask: To what end
are we born? For what purpose is our birth?
In the Gospel of Luke in Chapter 4 we learn from the Savior the purpose of His life:
16 ¶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book,
he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he
hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to
the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
As the Christmas season passes and we turn our attention to making resolutions, along with the
desire lose a few pounds and walk a little more, may I invite you to join with me and find a righteous resolution
to “SEEK HIM”. Find something in His life and make it a part of your life. Seek to find a way to find the lost, to heal
the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among others
and to make music in the heart.
It is my witness that the Savior fulfilled every aspect of His life’s mission. Jesus Christ is the
Savior and Redeemer. He preached deliverance to the captives and set at liberty those that are bruised.
I pray that we do not try to hold hostage those that the Savior seeks to set free.
The aim of all is to become more like Jesus Christ. When we strive to be like HIM, we’re not just
looking for new information; we want to become a “new creature”. This means relying on Heavenly Father
and Jesus Christ to help us change our hearts, our views, our actions, and our very natures. That is when
the real work of Christmas is accomplished.
In the spirit of that great challenge, may we all rejoice this blessed Christmas season.
David J. Anderson
Mesquite Nevada Stake President
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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