Elder Jeremy Ashton Boyd: SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Merry Christmas Mother of all Living everyone,

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.

I add my testimony that Jesus is the Christ. That he is the reason for the season. That by him and through him and of him the worlds are and were created and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters of God. May we all try a little harder to think a little more of the savior in this special time. May your worlds be lit and your halls decked with boughs of holly. ITS CHRISTMAS IN SLIDELL YALL AND WE FINNA ROLL OUT A FESTIVE SCROLL in, SLIDELL SCROLLS: CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.

Have you ever wondered what the "mas" at the end of Christmas stands for?

For those of you who speak español, perhaps mas could mean more! Maybe God in his infinite wisdom created a perfect name for a favorite holiday by pointing out the thoughts of the world... right under their noses might I add... to think MORE of Christ during the holiday season! I know that personally, I maintain my Christmas spirit throughout the year when I focus on Christ. I am more willing to be giving and charitable, as one would in the twelve days before Christmas, throughout the year!

Or perhaps, there is more to the mas than meets the eye- mas could be an acronym. My Atoning Savior. When you think of Christmas... you could think of CHRIST, (your) atoning savior! Truly, this is a time to deeply ponder not necessarily only what you can do for others but what Christ had done for you.

Christmas is really a call to repentance as I reflect on how I can be more like the Savior and follow in his example in helping others to feel a fullness of joy. We can actually learn a lot about the Gospel of Jesus Christ from this day of joy and gladness:

PRESENTING- A CHRISTMAS COMPARISON- THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST(MAS).

Christmas teaches us to have faith. To have faith is to believe in something that is not seen which is true. Do we not believe in the unknown when the silver bells start ringing? The polar express teaches us the power of faith. Belief is enough to make the bell ring. Belief is also enough to become like the King of Kings. To not only believe IN the goodness of others but to believe them too! Christmas teaches that although we may not have a surety of our faith, we can be comfortable with belief. Belief is enough to see the miracles...

"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a PARTICLE of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

Christmas teaches us to repent. To repent is to change. Do we not make every attempt to become more LIKE the Savior as we subsequently strive to remember him and his birth? I certainly do. Christmas encourages us to be better, to develop Christlike attributes, and to change our thoughts, actions, and behavior to think of others over ourselves.

"Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such, I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved."

And together they bring about a change in us! And through that change, we become more converted to Christ(mas) throughout the year.

"And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them."

Christmas teaches us to be kind, to love unconditionally, to be an example, to be humble, to get creative with service, to share the gospel, to prioritize Christ, and to remember his sacrifice. This is why this is my favorite holiday. My three favorite things... family, Jesus, and cinnamon scented pine cones. When they come together the spirit cannot be denied. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good year of remembering the Savior and becoming more like him!

This week was really an internalizing of the true meaning of Christmas.

OH AND WE HAD A WHITE CHRISTMAS!

Over the past seven months, I have found family in a place far from home. As you become more acquainted with Gods children your testimony of the premortal existence will increase- guaranteed! Well, this particular family has been dear to my heart, and this past weekend I had the opportunity of performing the ordinance of baptism for one of their sons. This sacred experience is one I will never forget! Y'all, baptism through the proper authority is both irreplaceable and essential. Earlier this week, we had a couple who we've been teaching tell us that three baptisms were enough! They understood that, yes we may have a claim on some special, "responsibility " as they called it, but that three baptisms MUST have gotten the job done along the way. Well, as we sat there in the silence of the spirit, I personally saw how much I had grown in the past 14 months of my mission...

Instead of sulking and mourning the loss of another elect, on account of my inexperience and in articulation in the gospel, I proceeded to bear solemn and sincere testimony of how III had come to know this church was true. I shared scripture after scripture (evidence that this bible study is paying off) about how relevant and integral authority was in Christ's church and how ABSOLUTELY essential it would be in our day! The spirit was tangible, and after all, was said and done... he looked at us and said, "makes sense, let's do this."

This is Christ's church! And in this season of remembrance, I invite you all to pray to know for yourselves which church is true! I bear genuine witness that I have come to know for myself that the proper authority is on the Earth today and through the covenants and ordinances made at baptism, we can truly live with our families together forever.

Other than that, I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas! Thank you so much, to everyone, for helping me to realize more of who I really am. If I have learned anything this week, it is that Christ was made for Christmas and that I truly have changed since serving the Lord for the last little bit... and I owe most of that change to all of you! So thank you! You are all Christmas miracles to me and I sincerely pray that you all receive the Lords richest blessings in this great time of joy! I love you all! MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY. ELDER VIYD LOVES YOU!!

From a Christmas convert,

Elder Boyd

This Week's Facebook Post:

Merry Christmas everyone,

Too often we think of Angel's as heavenly beings with wings that visit only on special spiritual occasions.

But have you ever considered yourself... an angel?

We are all heavenly beings who don't need wings to be angels.

Sometimes the best prayers are answered through others. Sometimes a powerful prompting can provide just the peace to some person in need. Perhaps it is in US, as children of God, to be angels to those who need it most.

Are we not all messengers? Do we not all bring good tidings of great joy through the sweet peace brought by the Restoration of the Gospel?

Everytime you pray to have an experience to help someone in need, you can be a ministering angel. We can comfort those that stand in need of comfort and mourn with those who mourn. Heaven is heaven to the heavenly and earth can be a heaven on earth when we all choose to be Angel's.

Then we can join the concourses of our friends in heaven in singing holy praises to him who is most angelic- may we all sing on high this Christmas season as we contemplate the ways that we can be Angel's in the lives of others.