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TODAY'S THEME
TODAY'S THEME
What is it about the Christmas season that causes people to want to give to others? The group in the photo to the left, are shown giving to the needy during the 2007 Christmas season.
Long before the First Christmas, the day baby Jesus was born, did the anticipation of His birth in the distant future cause Lehi and his descendants to think of the welfare of others? The Book of Mormon scriptures I've been quoting for you show that yes, they were very concerned for the welfare of others, including your and my spiritual welfare.
In the scriptural reference I gave in my just previous blog post, one of Lehi's descendants, Omni, showed us he was looking forward to the day when Jesus Christ was to be born because he knew personally, by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, that the son of God would be born about 600 years after his not too distant ancestor, Lehi, left Jerusalem for America, and about 385 years from his (Omni's) own time.
As with Lehi, Nephi and many others, Omni really cared about people who would be born after him. He wanted each of them to have the happiness and joy that he personally experienced, that comes from accepting Jesus Christ as one's personal savior. Read again his words:
Omni: 1: 26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.Omni knew as did Enos, Nephi, Lehi and many others, whose words we read in the Book of Mormon, that Christ would be fathered by our Heavenly Father and be born of Mary of Nazareth.
They counted heavily on that and on what Christ would do in atoning for our sins and bringing about the resurrection of all mankind. I'm positive that their writing about that helped make life seem even more worthwhile to those prophets. It is easy to see that they valued service to others very highly, especially the service of bringing others to Christ, which service would be the greatest of all Christmas gifts.
There were other prophets who by writing that which would come to be contained in the Book of Mormon, were blessing others regarding teaching about the First Christmas!
Now I would like you to read the scripture for today so you can see that the prophet, King Benjamin, had the same great desire as Omni and the others before him, who all desired that you and I and everyone else, would be blessed with the conviction that Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, who was to be born about 124 years from King Benjamin's day, did fully accomplish that which only He could accomplish.
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King Benjamin Speaking From the Tower on the Temple -by Gary L. Kapp |
Please enjoy reading these verses: Mosiah 3:5-11
Certainly King Benjamin looked forward to the First Christmas as did all his people after hearing his great sermon pictured here, which was given by him not long before he died. It could be viewed as his Christmas present to his people and all the rest of us mortals even before there was Christmas. Thanks King Benjamin! We love your great words!
Log in again in several more days. More is coming!
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This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Decide To Open), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: (The First Christmas, Did Lehi and His Descendants Look Forward To That? Post 30d. When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item/s Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.
If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.
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Neil Birch
