Fourteen years ago today, I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT to become a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would serve 23.5 months in the Massachusetts Boston Mission, and I would have my life changed forever. It truly was a life-changing experience. I remember preparing to enter the MTC and saying goodbye to my then girlfriend. I thought that was the toughest thing I’d have to go through. Little did I know.
Those 2 years in service to God, my life’s tithing to that point, changed who I am in many ways. It helped me understand the gospel, and really understand that the gospel more than just a set of rules and guidelines. The gospel literally translates to Good News, and that’s what I realized. It was the good news that Christ came to earth of His own choice and will. It was the good news that He was born in the humblest of circumstances, in a manger, in a barn, surrounded by lowly animals. It was the good news that He truly lived a perfect life, and through that life, He showed how we should live. He showed that we should love one another. It is the eternal good news that He atoned for my sins, even the very sins of every man to walk upon the earth, so that he could be our Mediator, our Advocate with the Father, and our eternal friend. It is the further eternal good news that He offered up his own life, so that He might taste death, that He might have power over the grave, and that He might offer that free gift of resurrection to all men.
It is the good news that He did rise on the third day, and overcame death. He setup His church on the earth that those who would follow Him might have the authority to act in His holy name. It is the good news that His church was restored to the earth after the great apostasy, and that He once again speaks to his prophets here on earth.
It is all good news, great news even. It is plain, it is precious, and it is joyous. In this spirit of Christmas, I am reminded again that His birth cannot be separated from His eternal mission and His eternal purpose. When we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we should celebrate His life and how He lived it. We should celebrate the love that He showed us, and share that love with those around us. It is the time for us to reflect that eternal light that He is to others.
I learned that lesson over two years in service of both Him, and the beautiful wonderful people of Massachusetts. They changed my life, I hope I was able to change some of theirs by sharing the most precious gift I have; my testimony of the Savior, his life, his mission and his good news. I hope the good news will lift your spirits and your lives this Christmas season, and that the joy of Christ will radiate throughout your homes.