I was asked to share some thoughts in our Christmas programme. It was suggested that I share some thoughts of examples of faith, hope and resilience. I reflected on several thoughts that I have had over the many years that I have thought of the example of that Babe who was born in Bethlehem, and the example that He set over the years, ending with His sacrifice that made possible the immortality and eternal life of man. Here is what I shared...
My parents encouraged my two sisters, two brothers, and me to remember some important things. They stressed some often. I guess that they felt that we needed to be reminded very regularly! Here are two things that we heard very frequently, especially during FHE.
- 'Remember that you are princes and
princesses in Israel.'
- They often had us read in 3 Nephi 11
'...And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto
been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points
of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. For verily, verily I say unto
you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the
devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of
men to contend with anger, one with another.'
My parents really
hoped that we would choose to live worthy of the title of Prince or Princess in
Israel. It was not easy!
We watched My Fair Lady yesterday, and my mind turned to how my parents treated us as princes and princesses in Israel, and not as useless gutter snipes. I also reflected on how King Charles stressed during his Coronation that as king, he was there to serve and not to be served.
I have often reflected
on how the babe born in Bethlehem whose birth we celebrate at Christmas time
would have grown up with bullying, hate, and contention shown towards Him
because His mother Mary was pregnant with Him before she married his supposed
father Joseph. That rumour or accusation would have gone around - that kind of
rumour or news, true or fake, sure does spread rapidly in 2024!
This man who had grown
up with such a childhood and youth then frequently stressed that I - that you -
should love my/our enemies - those bullies, those mean neighbours who spread
false rumours and stories about me/we on social media, or are simply mean,
'orrible an' nasty in any way.
Angels appeared to
some 'shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night', and this caused them to be sore afraid. They said 'Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'
Then, this babe in
Bethlehem needed to have His nappies changed, to be fed, and I have no doubt
had to learn everything from scratch just as you and I did, adult spirits
suddenly having an infant's body. I have no doubt that there was a veil drawn
over His rememberance just as for every one of us, causing Him to forget
everything. He had to grow, to take baby steps, to slowly become less dependent
on Mary and Joseph.
Then, at some stage,
wise men came from the East and visited Him, declaring things that Mary and
Joseph had no doubt taught Him - that He was indeed conceived in a miraculous
way and that He had some special mission to fulfil.
Following this, there
was a threat on His life that Herod would condemn all children to death in
order to remove the potential threat to his ruling over Israel, under the
direction of the Romans. He then had to live as a refugee in Egypt for a while.
I have often pondered
how He surely had to live in faith just as you and I did. He would have needed
to wrap His mind around what His mother told Him about His Divine Nature. I
have wondered how much personal confirmation from His Heavenly Father He might
have had, and how much He had to live by faith as I had to when my parents
taught me that I am a prince in Israel and so need to live like a prince in
Israel ought to live. His Divine parentage would have been an infinitely bigger
concept and challenge than I had. I am confident that He had to push on in
faith that He wasn't delusional! With big dreams of himself! The accounts
of the angels appearing to shepherds who then came to the stable, of Simeon and
Anna, and of the wise men, would probably have been reassuring to Him. But it
would not have been easy for that young man to live up to those immense
expectations.
I was looking at a
book that my sister has about the snares of Satan and the first part of this
quote that was unfamiliar to me. It referred to Luke 17:1 'Then said he unto
the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him,
through whom they come!'? I was surprised to see how it links to verse 2
that is familiar to me 'It were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of
these little ones.'
Brothers and sisters,
we need to heed His counsel - our duty as members - to manifest a 'Godly
walk and conversation … walking in holiness before the Lord.'
(D&C 20:68-69) This is particularly important at this time when we
celebrate the words spoken by the angels 'Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men.' Luke 2:14
May we remember that, probably the most frequently quoted scripture in all of Christendom is the prayer that the Lord taught in the sermon on the mount. 'Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.' Should there any doubt that if our Father is a King, then we are Princesses and Princes?
I am impressed as I read some of my thoughts about Mary and Joseph from my studying their stories a few years back. After the angel appeared to Joseph during the night, he would be realising that he was being called to be the 'father' to the child that would be born to a virgin as had been prophesied. This would be a daunting call! I salute Joseph and Mary for how they accepted and fulfilled their calls. It would have been a heart rending decision for both Mary and Joseph, and for their families! The stigma would be attached to the whole family of Mary being pregnant out of wedlock. Yes, there was the prophecy, but it would not be easy to sell their situation as being the fulfilment of that prophecy as opposed to unchastity or fornication. Being put to death, probably by stoning, was a possible threat, although this might be seen as fornication and not adultery. Roman law might have prevented stoning, but the stigma was real. This was a difficult challenge to accept!
I suppose that there might have been times during the pregnancy, during early years, at any time, when doubt might have returned? Satan would surely have caused doubt, mistrust, accusation, slander, misery towards Mary, Joseph, and towards their respective families, and towards the boy Jesus! There would certainly be moments of comfort as someone would see indication or evidence of support for this baby, this boy, this youth, this man being special, different, prodigious, divine. But how often were there moments of doubt, niggling, casual, that he was just normal, even distasteful because of the stigma behind his conception out of wedlock? I'm sure that Satan would have used every opportunity to sow and nurture doubt.
Of course, the word that was spread by the shepherds after visiting the stable, of Anna and Simeon in the Temple, and of the visit of the wise men would have been reassuring to them and the families as well. But they would all have needed faith, hope, charity and resilience in fulfilling their unusual and special missions.
It takes faith, hope and perseverance to faithfully remember and live up to what Jesus of Nazareth chose to live up to from childhood, and all the way to adulthood when He fulfilled His mission and promise to live as the Son of God. You and I are princes and princesses in Israel. I think this is somewhat lower than He was. May we each choose to desire to keep the promises that we made at baptism and that we reaffirm every time that we partake of the sacrament - to 'eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them'. (Moroni 4:3) We are then promised that we will always have His Spirit to be with us. We need His Spirit. Oh, don't we need His Spirit! Heavenly Father will keep His promise. May we keep our promise and freely give the ultimate gift of surrendering our agency to Him at this Christmas time. May we live in faith, hope, charity, and perseverance as princesses and princes in Israel, is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
