In his address at the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional, President James E. Faust told of a 1941 Christmas-time incident in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, to illustrate charity, "the pure love of Christ."
"When we think of Christmas, we not only think of Santa, but also of giving gifts, because Christmas is a great time to demonstrate the pure love of Christ," said President Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency.
In the incident he related, the Lunt family's father had died, leaving their mother and nine children in meager circumstances. With the eldest daughter married and two other daughters serving missions, there was nothing for the rest of the older children that year except some oranges and peanuts.
As related in the journal of one of the younger sons, Gary, quoted by President Faust in his address, the mother's main concern was the younger children, who expected something from Santa. The problem was partially solved by a neighbor, John Telford, who made a little wooden wheelbarrow and a small wooden wagon for Gary and his younger brother Berkley. The more pressing problem was how to provide something for the two youngest daughters, LuDean and Sylvia.
On Christmas morning, the two boys found the wooden toys, but the mother had to choke back tears as she told the young daughters that Santa got behind and couldn't come.
Later, their friends Barbara and Carole Clark came over to show the new dresses and a doll they had received for Christmas. The Lunt girls had to tell them that Santa was delayed and couldn't make it to their home the previous evening but that he would come later.
Later that morning, upon hearing from her daughters about the situation at the Lunt home, Sister Clark "spent much of her Christmas day sewing two little dresses. She also managed to find two little dolls," the journal account stated.
"Late that evening, Sister Clark knocked on our door and came in with two packages. One had LuDean's name on it, and the other had Sylvia's. She said something about seeing Santa and being asked if she could please drop off these two packages at the Lunt home. He was running way behind and didn't have time to stop at every home in town."
President Faust commented, "Sister Clark was not only one of Santa's best helpers that memorable Christmas Day, but her kindness to those two little girls was also a great example of the pure love of Christ."
He said the pure love of Christ goes beyond caring for one's own, citing recent contributions to the Church's Humanitarian Aid fund that helped thousands of people whose lives were devastated by hurricanes and earthquakes.
He told of Jack Rice, a Catholic with whom he practiced law for many years, who every Christmas and Thanksgiving, would load his car with as many turkeys and other holiday treats as he could and then, with his wife and two children, go to the areas of the valley where there was a need. There, they would search out the poor and needy and bestow the gifts upon them.
"When we see a need, we should fill it promptly," he said. "We should ever be mindful that it was the Savior who gave the greatest gift of all in offering Himself as our Redeemer through the Atonement."