The light of Jesus Christ has brought an enlarged sense of brotherhood into the world and declared the precious nature of every human soul, President Gordon B. Hinckley said.
The leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told a packed Conference Center and television audience Sunday night that as brothers and sisters in the family of God, "we have an obligation to one another. We are commanded to love our neighbors as our self. . . . While there is much of darkness and strife, of brutality and evil in our time, there is yet more of appreciation and respect, of reaching down and helping, of giving and loving than at any previous period in the history of the world."
His remarks came at the conclusion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' First Presidency's Christmas devotional, held for the first time in the church's new Conference Center. Music for the services, set amid brightly lit holiday trees and foliage, was provided by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square.
That Christ has done for men what no one else could through his atoning blood gives eternal meaning to the season of his birth, President Hinckley said.
"He is our Lord, our Master, our Redeemer, our King, our Ruler and our God. Without him, there is no salvation," he said.
"As you reflect on these marvelous things, may there come into your hearts the true spirit of Christmas, to bring you gladness, to bring you peace, to bring you love."
President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, praised Christ's matchless power using the story of an elderly friend whose memory has largely been lost to Alzheimer's disease. During a recent visit to the care center where she spends her final days, President Monson recounted to his friend the story of a church business trip he and his wife shared with her years earlier.
Though hesitant about staying in the home of an Australian member whose husband was indifferent toward the church, the woman spent the weekend in their home, and her influence subsequently became instrumental in the husband's conversion to the LDS Church.
As President Monson finished recounting the story for his friend, he said a care center attendant told him the elderly woman didn't recognize anyone, and questioned the woman to prove her point. Though she hadn't spoken at all during President Monson's visit to that point, she told the astonished attendant who he was.
Christ's power can overcome any earthly limitation. "Let us listen for the sound of his sandaled feet. Let us reach out for the Carpenter's hand," he said.
President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, recalled Christmas memories as a boy during the Depression, when he received a new sled at a time when such was considered an unattainable luxury. Recounting the story of how parents sacrificed the best they had to provide for their children at a time when many had nearly lost hope, he said the real gift in that Christmas was greater than the new "Flexible Flyer."
It wasn't the sled or the other gifts "that made Christmas so special. They were only the means by which we came to know how much we were loved by our parents. I wonder why it takes the Christmas season to bring out the best in all of us," he said.
"I would hope we can try to open our hearts a little more each day and not wait for the Christmas season. A gift given or an expression of kindness may be more unexpected and appreciated in July than in December."
Despite personal challenges and worldwide problems, "At this Christmas season I believe there is much reason for hope, for greater days ahead."
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