Glad Tidings of Great Joy

Merry Christmas, Brothers and Sisters.

Several years ago, Elder Oaks gave a talk in General Conference where he spoke of a newspaper cartoon that showed a clergyman in conversation with a couple of hippies astride a motorcycle. “We are church goers,” one was saying to the clergyman. “We’ve been going for years … we just haven’t gotten there yet.”

Now, unlike these hippies, all of us have made it to church. After all, we are here today.  But have we truly arrived as dedicated disciples of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ?

On that first Christmas day the shepherds were alarmed to see the arrival of Angels from above.  Luke recorded, “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you this day is born in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

What an amazing event.  The Angels brought the GREATEST OF ALL NEWS to those shepherds.  Not just the birth of the savior, but of his life—of his gospel, and of his atonement.

Do we always see the good news in the same light the Angels declared it?  Are we truly converted unto the Lord and His gospel?

Elder Ucktdorf spoke of our acceptance of this good news a few years ago when he said, “Too often we nod our heads; we might even smile knowingly and agree.  We jot down some action points, and we may say to ourselves, ‘That is something I will do.’ But somewhere between the hearing, the writing of a reminder on our smartphones, and the actual doing, our ‘do it’ switch gets rotated into the ‘later’ position.”

Being a true supporter of our savior means more than just paying attention.  It means that we are willing to “Stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.”  

The good news of the gospel brings the opportunity to partake of the sacrament like we’ve done today.  If we act with the right preparation and attitude, partaking of the sacrament provides the cleansing effects of the atonement of Jesus Christ and qualifies us for the promise that we will always have his Spirit to be with us.

This is an important part of the good tidings of great joy declared by the angel.  It helps us to have greater consecration--greater conversion and ultimately a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

King Benjamin spoke to his people of an Angel similar to or maybe the same as the Shepherds saw.  This angel said, “Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy.”

King Benjamin was told to teach his people of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  “For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.”

While these are amazing miracles, the greatest miracles the Angel would speak of are to come when he said, “And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.”

What is the good news the angel speaks of?  Elder Oaks answers this question when he says, “He has given us His wonderful Atonement, His gospel, and His Church, a sacred combination that gives us the assurance of immortality and the opportunity for eternal life.”  That is the good news. 

Brothers and Sisters, let us not be as the hippies spoken of by Elder Oaks who are meandering on a path leading to nowhere, but rather, let us today set our ‘do it’ switches into the ‘now’ position.  Let us consecrate our heart and our lives to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  May we be dedicated disciples of His cause that we may be heirs of all that our Heavenly Father has in store for us.

I declare unto you the Glad Tidings of Great Joy spoken by the Angels.  They are the life, character, and atoning sacrifice of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.