Happy Christmas Eve! It’s always so interesting to me what happens when you sincerely pray and then really listen. I felt very strongly this year to wrap up my Christmas tour a bit earlier than usual. I was so grateful I did because my children and some dear friends really needed my help. I could not have assisted them if I had been out on the road like I usually am. I love these tender mercies of listening to the Spirit.
Having a bit more unhurried time at home to prepare and assemble gifts has also been nice. I especially enjoyed doing some of this with my son, Matthew, as you can see in the photo my husband took of us while we were assembling one of them. One toy that needed to be put together was a wooden pirate ship and its home base for my grandkids. I was left alone with this one! Can I just say… why do they make these tasks freakishly complicated!? It was soooooo frustrating!!! Although I thought I had followed the directions perfectly, I had to take it apart four different times!🤦🏻♀️😂 After the last time of disassembling because I realized I had put one of the walls in upside down🤦🏻♀️ the thought came to me how God has given us instructions, too. These directions help us live our lives in the best ways possible if we follow them. Things like the commandments, how Jesus lived His life, His example, and the parables, etc. They were given to help us know the safest way to return home. And even when we think we are following them correctly, we make mistakes! So, we need to take things apart, reassess, and strive to reevaluate the directions to fix things metaphorically. It’s not fun, but by not giving up, we learn it is worth it in the end.
Christ's atonement is the help needed when we error, and His mercy intervenes to help us get back on track. This remarkable gift, which He gave freely, helps us fix, reassess, and gives us hope never to give up! He is always there for us because He knows the end product of our efforts, and it’s eternal and glorious.
I know this may be a silly analogy, but it helped me see another way to look at how the atonement works and why it is so amazing!
Understanding the depth of the atonement has helped me throughout my life to get back on track, fix errors, and heal from sorrows, hurts, and even bad choices. Especially the bad choices others have made towards me and those I love. I have learned, too, the absolute importance of forgiveness not just towards others but myself included.
Every decade, don’t you find, we reevaluate our lives. Those things we thought were so important in our 20s just don’t mean as much in our 50s, etc. I'm finding that aging is actually a beautiful gift we've been given. I believe it was designed to keep us humble, grateful, and reevaluating our choices. 🙌🥰 It helps us see those flaws in our armor to keep working on ourselves to be our best. We are continually humbled to evaluate throughout our lives what truly matters, and I’m grateful for this.
Christmas is wonderful in every aspect. Seeing all of you on tour at the shows brought joy to my heart as I saw you laugh and smile and even teared up as you felt God's love through music. I'm also grateful to you all for this opportunity because serving this way gives me the Christmas Spirit.
With Christmas being tomorrow, I’m grateful to be home with my husband, precious children, and grandchildren, as I know you are. Family is everything to me, and you are my extended family. I won’t be writing a Sunday message until after the new year, so I wish you all the best Holiday Season ever! Let’s find His love and joy and strive to see Christ at Christmas, especially as we look into each other’s eyes and share His light and love. Remember, I love you all. Have the best day ever, and Merry Christmas!!! 🌟🙏
Marie’s Sunday Message
December 26, 2021
I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. As I pondered what to write today, I thought to show you what I got myself for Christmas. When I was out on tour, I took some time on our last day off to go to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. That’s where I saw this. People ask me, if I’m a Christian, why I don’t wear a cross? It's not that I don’t love them; I do. The real reason is that I don’t like to think of our Savior that way, suffering and bleeding. I prefer to think of Him as overcoming all…as the risen Christ who made it so we will, too! Celebrating Him alive heals my heart, gives me hope, and heals me when I am broken and sorrowful. When we have faith to believe, that faith moves us to know so we can always be full of peace even in our trials and distress. We gain the knowledge of His grace, understanding that He will embrace us in His arms with mercy, comforting us and empowering healing through His infinite atonement. That’s why I wanted this figurine set in my home this Christmas.
So today, my Sunday message is simple: my testimony, my faith in God, and His son, Jesus Christ, who gives me strength through all things.
I know He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come. He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift on behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.
I know that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world. He rose from the grave to “become the first fruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His “other sheep” (John 10:16) in ancient America, ushering in the long-promised “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10). This is what I believe.
He said, “I am the first and the last,” I know He lives, and He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him.
This Sunday, I share my testimony that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on His Father’s right hand. He is the world’s light, life, and hope. His path leads to happiness in this life and eternally. May we thank God this season for the matchless gift of His divine Son.
I love you all!!!! #HappySunday