Receive the Gift

To my daughter,

                With Christmas approaching soon, there is a lot of talk about gifts in our home. It is an exciting time as we think about ways that we can give to others and gifts that we hope to receive. I want you to imagine that someone you love gave you a big gift this year wrapped in a bright red package with a shiny silver bow on top. Now suppose that you put it on your dresser and never opened it. Every day you saw it there as you got ready, but you were not interested in it enough to open it. Eventually you got tired of it sitting on your dresser taking up space, and you threw it away, unopened. Can you imagine yourself doing that? I don’t think so! But sometimes we do something similar when we don’t receive the great gift that our Father in Heaven has given us. He asked this poignant question in a revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith: “What doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:33). What is the “gift” here spoken of that we might not receive? Mormon mentioned a “heavenly gift” when he described the peaceful time among the Nephites after the Savior’s visit to them: “And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift” (4 Nephi 1:3). It is a gift that is available to all who will receive it. Moroni wrote about this gift when he said, “[Christ] has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift… In the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way” (Ether 12:8-11). The heavenly gift, the greatest gift ever given, is the gift of the Son, namely Jesus Christ. John put it this way: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). It was a gift given both by the Father and the Son, the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ in which He suffered and died for us to offer all eternal life, “which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). That is the most important gift we will ever be offered, but we must learn how to receive it.

                Moroni gave us the key for receiving this great gift: “Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith” (Ether 12:9). We can partake of the gift of Jesus Christ—His healing and forgiveness, His comfort and love, His grace to help us overcome all our struggles and weaknesses—if we will but have faith in Him. I want to encourage you today to develop more fully your faith in Jesus Christ. This includes seeking to pray more earnestly and sincerely to your Father in Heaven in the name of the Savior. It includes spending more time studying the words of the scriptures and especially the testimonies of Jesus Christ recorded in the Book of Mormon. It includes turning your thoughts to Him throughout the day as you face challenges or feel frustrated, seeking His help whenever you are in need. And it includes trying your very best to do the things He would have you do, asking yourself in stressful situations, “What would Jesus do?” I know that as you focus on Jesus Christ, as you seek to grow your faith in Him, all aspects of your life will improve. 

Love,

Dad