"Christmas" when our thoughts are turned to thee

                                     Reflections of Christ


     One day I was sitting in our family room reflecting on our Savior and the many blessings that I had received from him or because of him. My heart was so full of gratitude for my Savior Jesus Christ and my mind began to speak these words, when I soon realized that what I was doing and thinking was bearing my testimony to myself. I thought I should write these words and thoughts down on paper.

     At this time of year when I am reflecting on our Savior and his birth, I think back to the thoughts that I had that day.

                           My Personal testimony of Jesus Christ

"I bear witness of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His life and his mission here on earth.

I know He came voluntarily to this earth, because He loved us so much. He is the Son of God, our eternal Heavenly Father and bore witness of this fact. His gospel is left to us in full, in the scriptures, that we might be able to have direction and personal revelation in our lives.

I bear testimony of the scriptures and the importance of reading them daily in our lives.

He taught the gospel in word and in deed, or by example, that we might know how to act and how to treat others and how to love others unconditionally.

He was and is the example of perfection;
He overcame the world-all things
He loved unconditionally
His mercies know no bounds
His arms are outstretched always waiting for us to ask for his help
He is one whose compassion heels the broken heart and body of all who would believe on him
And whose purpose iss to bring to pass the eternal life and glory of us all.

I LOVE Him! He is my protector, my comforter, he soothes my troubled heart. He leads me, and guides me, and walks beside me.

His spirit goes out before me daily and prepares the way for me. He stands as a witness before God in my behalf as my mediator and petitions our Heavenly Father to have mercy on my soul."


I know our Father lives and loves us! I love Him too. I am thankful for Jesus Christ, for all that he suffered on the cross for me, that I might, if I live worthily, return to live with my Heavenly parents again. These things I humbly bear witness of in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

    
 My wish at this time of year is that we all remember our Savior and His gifts to us and in turn try to emulate these gifts in how we treat others.

     I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

  "Come and Learn of Me"



We are studying the New Testament this year in our Sunday School classes. So I decided that I would study about Christ from the set of books written by Bruce R. McConkie, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints or LDS Church, or commonly known as the Mormons.

The second book in this set, The Mortal Messiah, and actually printed as Book 1, is where I have taken most of my thoughts and quotes from today.

This invitation is always issued when the Lord has a people on earth; to "Come and Learn of Me". In every dispensation people have been invited to learn of Christ. In our day the invitation is,

"Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me, I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of my Father, and I do His will." D&C 19:23-34

We are told in 1 Corinthians 12:3, to "Come unto me and receive my spirit, THEN shall ye have power to learn of me." Joseph Smith taught us this "No man can know that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost,"

Everyone learns from someone else. Bruce R. McKonkie said,

"If all instruction and education ceased, if all patterns of living were taken away, civilization would cease in one generation, and all of earth's inhabitants would sink to a state of barbarism. Because of this, our merciful Heavenly Father endows his children, when they come to this earth, with the Light of Christ, a righteous power and influence which proceeds forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space."

It is the Spirit of Christ that allows us to learn and understand the truth of all things. We just need to
live so that we are worthy to have his spirit with us. We can pray to our Heavenly Father to know the truth of all things. When we have hard decisions to make in life and we don't know which way to turn--we can turn to our Father in Heaven who will tell us in our hearts and minds what is the right course to take. Even if we have to step out into the darkness, the Lord will not let us get too far into our decision without letting us know whether or not we have made the right choice. But we must always be listening so we can feel and hear that still small voice.

These answers often come to me in the early morning hours, when things are peaceful and when I am not distracted by earthly matters. I have learned when I hear the words in my mind, "I should" or "I wonder if" then the Lord is telling me that I need to go and do the things I was thinking of. I might have a feeling inside of heaviness or uneasiness about something. Or I might doubt or have hesitations about something. I have learned that the Lord is telling me that whatever it is, it is not for me, or the timing might not be right. It takes a long time to learn these feelings and what they mean. I have learned by trial and error, as we all must. But we are all here to learn from life's experiences that we might know the good from the evil. These experiences will make us grow closer to our Heavenly Father.

He wants us to be happy! He is very aware of us and what is going on in our lives. He will prepare the way for us if we just ask him to. He loves us. He loves you. He wants us to Come to Him.

Love, Nanna

The Peace this Season brings,


I woke up this morning to a most peaceful scene. SNOW! Lots of snow! Did I ever tell you how much I love snow? Well I do. And today was one of those moments I wait for all year.

I hurried and bundled myself up and ran outside and just listened, yes, listened!: not with my ears, but with my heart!

When the snow comes down there is a peace that you cannot hear but only feel. It is the most beautiful feeling. It always make me want to jump in my car and go driving in it, or just walk through the neighborhood in my boots.  I want to be the first person to leave their mark in the snow. I know it sounds crazy, but there is just something inviting about the snow.

There aren't very many things in this world that can fill us with peace. Our Savior Jesus Christ brings us the only true peace! Christ said,

         "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,
          give I unto you." 

When I feel the Lord's spirit, it is such a personal thing. I know at that moment, what I am feeling is only between me and Christ. It is the same feeling I get when I am out in the snow by myself; just me and the Savior, as I take in the beauty of His creations! It is the closest thing this world can bring to the true feeling of the spirit of Christ; For His spirit is in His creations!

At this special time of year, when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, I pray that we will all feel the Peace that only Christ can bring! I hope that you can look for those moments of peace when it is just you and Him and you can feel His peace.  I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!


                                                                      Love, Nanna