The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shared a message of gratitude for the birth of Jesus Christ on Friday.

President Russell M. Nelson along with his two counselors President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring released the church’s annual Christmas message ahead of the upcoming devotional. The First Presidency testified that Jesus is the son of God and that because of him, we can have eternal life.

“Although he was born in humble circumstances, he is the central figure in all human history,” said the First Presidency in the message. Through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the First Presidency said Jesus did what we cannot do — he was reconciled to God after overcoming death.

“We share our witness and knowledge of this most important gift and invite you to do the same this Christmas season,” said the First Presidency.

The full message can be found on the Church of Jesus Christ’s newsroom.

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Church of Jesus Christ announces First Presidency Christmas Devotional

How to watch the First Presidency Christmas devotional

The annual Christmas devotional of the First Presidency will be broadcast internationally on Sunday at 6 p.m. MST. It’ll be broadcast from the Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City.

The Church of Jesus Christ’s devotional features Christmas-themed messages and music from The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. Latter-day Saints celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas and this devotional is one way many in the faith honor him.

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square perform during the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

The devotional will be streamed live on Broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, the Gospel Stream app (English, Spanish, Portuguese and French), BYUtv, the Gospel Library app and a YouTube channel called Inspiration from the Church of Jesus Christ.

The broadcast schedule has more details about how to watch the Christmas devotional. While in-person tickets were available, the devotional is sold out. If you have a ticket and will be attending, the Church of Jesus Christ has a webpage detailing attendance rules and parking guidelines.

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After the devotional is over, the video and audio recording will be available on Gospel Library and Gospel Media.

The Church of Jesus Christ has a library of previous Christmas devotionals available online — it includes messages from 2010 to the present.

President Nelson’s latest Christmas devotional was in 2023. It was titled “Come, Let Us Adore Him” and it reflected on what the sacrifice of Jesus means for the world. He also spoke about the importance of developing personal worship habits during the holiday season.

“We revere the babe of Bethlehem precisely because he later offered the incomprehensible, infinite sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary,” said President Nelson. “This offering redeems each of us as we choose to repent and follow him.”

Christmas lights shine around the Conference Center prior to the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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