Peace on Earth, Good Will To Men

As I went to choir practice today in preparation for our Christmas Service next Sunday one of the songs we practiced is one of my favorite Christmas Carols “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. It is a beautiful carol with a message that is timeless. It reminds us that in spite of hate, war, sickness and chaos that surround us we can have peace. Peace comes to the broken hearted, the downtrodden and those cast away. It comes through Jesus Christ, the one whose birthday we celebrate during this most wonderful time of the year. Here are the words to that song:

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

31243, Hymns, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, no. 214

1. I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

2. I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th'unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

3. And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

5. Till, ringing, singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882

Music: John Baptiste Calkin, 1827-1905

Henry Longfellow penned the words to that song just days after one of his sons was mortally wounded while fighting in the Civil war for the Union Army. It had only bee two years since he lost his wife in a fire that destroyed their home. He was burned as he tried to save her and he suffered a long time and was left a widower with five children. He was able to find peace and comfort in the babe of Bethlehem.

Christmas is a time of peace. Most of us are familiar with the story of how peace broke out on the WWI battlefield between the German and the Allied forces on Christmas day 1914. As the Allied troops were in the trenches on that Christmas day they heard the German’s singing Christmas carols and they joined in. Then they climbed out of their foxholes and met in the middle and exchanged gifts. Here is a video clip that Paul McCartney did where he plays a British soldier meeting himself as a German soldier on that eventful day of peace.

Today all around us are those that are filled with hate and despair. Are we one of them? Have we been on the receiving end of someone’s hate, unkind words or deeds? Have we experienced the loss of a loved one as Longfellow had through war, sickness or accident? We can find peace as we follow the example of our Savior. In a 2006 BYU Devotional address, Julie Franklin spoke of the suffering of Christ and how he rose above it all:

“Jesus Christ, that highly anticipated infant whose birth has been celebrated with the ringing of Christmas bells, is a perfect example for us of how to feel peace and good will. The circumstances of His life were anything but tranquil. His world was politically unstable. He and His family experienced life under Roman rule and a Jewish king who wanted Jesus dead. Jesus was challenged and criticized. He felt hunger, fatigue, sorrow, temptation, and frustration. He was mocked, abandoned, and betrayed. In the world where Jesus lived there were problems in families and people had severe illness, injuries, and tragic losses. Neighbors were not always kind to one another, at times business was bad, salt lost its savor, and occasionally folks ran out of refreshments during wedding receptions; and yet every incident we have recorded of the Savior’s life points to a life of peace.

“When Christ was in situations where He was challenged, confronted, or pestered, we read of a man who stood firm and unshaken. When He rebuked individuals who needed correction, His words were measured and delivered with the precise level of emotion to bring about the desired result. During the events leading to the Crucifixion, Jesus Christ did not shrink. I love the account where Christ was taken into custody and Peter, the loyal Apostle, drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. Jesus did not use the opportunity to run, nor to feel smug that someone else might suffer a fraction of what He had and would endure. He also did not criticize Peter. With a few of what I would characterize gentle words to Peter, He simply touched the servant’s ear and healed him.¹¹ We have no evidence Jesus was ever out of control; instead, in all things He displayed peace.” (“Peace on Earth, Some Restrictions Apply”, Julie Franklin, BYU Devotional Address, December 5, 2006).

The world we are living in similar to the turmoil that Christ experienced The scriptures say he descended below all things (Doctrine and Covenants 88:6) so there is nothing that we are going through that he did not tread before us and through him we can find the peace that he offers us. As we find peace, then we must give that peace to others that we come in contact with.

The second part of my message today has to do with the “good will to men” part of the song. Just what is good will and is it something we have or is it something we give? I believe it is both. The scriptures teach that Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever” (Moroni .7:47) I believe that if we have this Charity in us, then we truly will love our neighbors as ourselves as we are commanded. We then will teat all of Heavenly Father’s children as our brothers and sisters. There is no class distinction found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Race, religion, political affiliations do not matter; we are all God’s children. Kristin Matthews spoke of this in another BYU Devotional address on August 6, 2013. She said:

“Christ Himself refused to recognize distinctions of class, nationality, race, gender, politics, or faith among people but instead saw each individual as a child of God worthy of His time, service, teachings, and love. When a diseased woman who was shunned by all others approached Him for help and took hold of His garment, He neither condemned nor dismissed her but blessed her (see Luke 8:43–48). When a fallen woman approached Him to wash His feet, Christ didn’t chastise her but instead accepted her act of charity (see Luke 7:37–38). When the Pharisees criticized Him for dining with a publican—a man who represented the wrong profession, the wrong politics, and an alien occupying nation—Christ rebuked them saying that His word and His love was for all (see Mark 2:15–17; Luke 15:1–2). Finally, when Jesus saw the Samaritan woman at the well He did not shun her as taboo would demand for being a woman and a Samaritan but spoke to her, taught her, and loved her (see John 4:5–42).

“Likewise, Christ’s parables teach that we need to see beyond human-created divisions that classify and evaluate people in order to see them for who and what they are: children of God. The good Samaritan in Luke 10 is a perfect example of this. We all know the story: Before the Samaritan came along, a priest and a Levite passed the injured man by. Along came a Samaritan. This alleged enemy of Israel could have said, “Oh, this guy is a foreigner,” “This guy is my enemy,” “This guy is from another church,” or “Somebody else should take care of him because he is not my problem nor worth my time.” Instead of seeing these differences and divisions, the Samaritan saw this man as a human being of worth and acted on that vision. It was this man from the outside—this stranger—who had compassion on the robbed man, binding up his wounds and providing for his shelter and further care.

Using this parable Christ taught that we need to love and care for all people—not just those like us—because all are of worth to Him. Furthermore, since He is sharing this lesson with His disciples, He is teaching that a measure of our discipleship to Him is how we treat all others. Do we pass judgment on and pass over others? Or do we stop to aid and minister unto them?” (“The Worth of Souls Is Great”, Kristin L. Matthews, BYU Devotional, August 6,2013).

During This Christmas season I hope that we will all find peace in our lives and then spread that peace to others. I also Hope that we will extend good will to men and women of all sizes, color and shapes and love them for who they are - Heavenly Father's children, our brothers and sisters.

I challenge you to do something for someone that is feeling down and in despair. We can alos spread good will by doing an act of kindness for someone we don’t even know. When you are in the drive-through getting something to eat, pay for the car behind you. If you see someone at the restaurant you are at that is in a military uniform, pay for his or her meal. Instead of getting impatient with the mother that is struggling with a crying child in line at the store, help her. Open the door for the person that has their arms full of gifts. If someone shows us kindness in some way express your gratitude to him or her. It does not matter what it is just do something everyday to help others find peace on earth and bring good will to men. 

I invite you to watch the video clip below, it is the story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writhe the song and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square as they perform the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". I hope that this Christmas season you will find peace in your life as you spread good will to men.

Your questions and comments are welcome.

Do You Believe in Santa Claus?

 As we enter the Christmas season, I would like to share some of my thoughts about Christmas and what it means to my family and me. Sometime ago I was talking to one of my grandsons who did not believe in Santa Clause. I told him I believed he was real and then put together a little booklet about some of the stories around the world about Santa Clause.  I would like to share some of those thoughts with you.

Santa Claus has many different names such as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and as Sinterklaas. Here in America we know him as Santa Claus. He lives at the North Pole with his elves and reindeer. Santa has a naughty and nice list and he takes toys to the good boys and girls in his sleigh that is pulled by eight magic reindeer. Santa is able to enter into the homes by going down the chimney. He loves eating the cookies and milk that the children leave out for him.

We are now living in the 21^st Century. Some people believe the real Santa lived Seventeen hundred years ago in the 4^th Century. His name was Saint Nicholas and he was a Greek Catholic Bishop of Myra. He is also the primary inspiration for the Dutch version of Santa called Sinterklass.

In the Catholic Church, St. Nicholas is the patron saint for children, sailors, and is the friend and protector of all in trouble and in need. One story of St. Nicholas tells of how he saved three children who had become lost and were captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and asks God to restore the children’s life and the three children were given back to their families. December 6^th is St. Nicholas Day in many places in Europe and is a day of feasting and giving gifts.

Father Christmas was said to live in the mountains of Finland. He did not give gifts to children, but was known for his good cheer. He did not wear a red robe, but a green one.

Today’s Santa is a combination of St. Nicholas and Father Christmas. In the early 1800’s St. Nicholas’ name was changed to Sante Claus in some publications. Then in 1823 Washington Irving published “A Visit from St. Nicholas” now better known as “The Night Before Christmas”.

In 1897 a little girl wrote to the local paper and asked if Santa was real. She wrote:

Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon

Well the Sun Times wrote back to Virginia and said:

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies.  .  . Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there.”

The Real Santa Claus

If you asked me if I believe in Santa Claus, I would answer absolutely. The “real” Santa gave us the best gift ever – His Son.

The real reason we celebrate Christmas is not because of Santa, or St. Nicholas or whatever you call him; it is to remember the birth of the baby Jesus Christ.

In the Bible, John 3:16 it says: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son”. So Jesus Christ is God’s gift to us. Do you remember the story of Jesus’s birth?

The Angle of the Lord came to Mary and told her that she would have a son and she should call his name Jesus and he would be to the Son of God.

Later we are told that Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. While they were in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus

In Luke Chapters 1 & 2 we read about the Shepherds:

“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 is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”

Joan M. Olenycz tells us in the December 2010 Ensign:

“Heavenly Father gave this gift to all of us, young or old, rich or poor. We did not have to search the shops for it. It did not cost a single penny. The most treasured gift of all was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. It was sent to us with love from our Heavenly Father.

Our Heavenly Father is real and so is his Son Jesus Christ. May we always remember this precious gift. My hope this Christmas season is that we will remember that the reason we celebrate Christmas because we have a loving Heavenly Father that gave us the greatest gift of all, the birth of his Son Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas to all.

Your comments and questions are welcome

You Cannot Serve Two Masters

Yesterday, my grandson and I went down to Salt Lake City, Utah to the Energy Solutions Center (the home of the Utah Jazz professional basketball team) to watch Brigham Young University and Utah State University play each other in a basketball game. It was my grandson’s birthday and I took him to the game as a birthday present. We had a great time. The Arena was packed and the game was close for most of the game before BYU pulled ahead midway through the second half and ended up wining by eleven points.

I graduated from BYU with my undergraduate and graduate degrees and now work for Utah State University. I love both teams. I enjoy watching the BYU football teams and basketball teams and cheer for them. My grandson and I go to many of the USU basketball games that are at home and even some of the football games and love cheering for them. My problem is whom do I cheer for when they play each other, which they do several times in basketball and football. My solution is to cheer for both teams. As you can see by these pictures I had shirts showing support for both teams.

                              

Whichever team was ahead at that time in the game, that was the shirt that I had on. I thought it was fun, but I was sitting mostly among other USU fans. There were a few BYU fans scattered around but it was mostly USU fans. Both sides were not happy that I was willing to “sell my soul” to the opposing team and they let me know of their displeasure. During most of the game the USU Student section was obsessed with putting down the BYU team and the BYU fans on the other side of the floor were constantly yelling obnoxious things towards the USU team and fans. This has become the norm for most sporting events. One side vilifying the other. 

Most of the game it was easy to cheer for both sides, though I did feel intimidated by the other Aggie fans as they growled at me for supporting BYU. As the game went on and the Aggies started struggling, I found myself cheering for them and their struggles to come back into the game, but it was not to be. Both sides thought I was suffering from a split personality and just ignored my craziness.

Then there were the “obvious” miss calls by the referees that were continually going against the USU Aggies. I again found myself getting angry with the BYU Cougars and their “foul deeds” that went unpunished. I found myself getting pulled in by the fans around me that were feeling the same things.

While the BYU team had no “obvious” advantage by the official and the Aggies played just as physical as did the Cougars, I was being influenced by the crowd and getting caught up in their emotions and it was getting difficult to switch sides and cheer for the other team. I was facing a dilemma – I could not continue supporting both sides. I had to chose one over the other.

The Savior in the Sermon on the Mount taught in Matthew 6:24 :

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Now I am not going to say which team is represented in this scripture as God or mammon because both sides traded being on one side or the other, but I can tell you I understand why you cannot serve two masters at the same time. We live in a time today when it is getting more and more difficult to support both teams in the spiritual battle or even sit on the fence and not take either side.

President Marion G. Romney, 1^st Counselor in the First Presidency, in 1983 said:

“Earth life is a period of trial for every person of two mighty forces pulling in opposite directions. On the one hand is the power of Christ and His righteousness. On the other hand is Satan and his fellow travelers. Mankind, in the exercise of their God-given moral agency, must determine to travel in company with the one or the other. The reward for following the one is the fruit of the Spirit—peace. The reward for following the other is the works of the flesh—the antithesis of peace...

“…Now there are individuals who try to serve the Lord without offending the devil. They raise in the minds of many truth seekers the vexing question, is there not some middle ground upon which peace may be secured and maintained? Must the choice lie irrevocably between peace on the one hand, obtained by compliance with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and contention and war on the other hand?

“In answer to this question, I feel safe in saying that if there is a middle ground it is as yet undiscovered; and that, too, notwithstanding the fact that the search for it has been long and tortuous. Ignorant of, or ignoring, and without any thought of paying the price of peace, men have tried many approaches.” (“The Price of Peace”, Marion G. Romney, Ensign, October 1983)

Today we live in a time where a person of faith is ridiculed and sometimes condemned for believing in the commandments of God and teaching against the evils of abortion, homosexuality and other sexual perversions. We are told that religion has no place in our civil governments and that salespeople cannot even tell someone “Merry Christmas” for fear of offending someone. Our right to worship “according to the dictates of our conscious” (12^th Article of Faith) is being lost and driven out by those who teach their “religion” of non-belief as being the true religion of governments. In response too many believers are being driven into the closets and out of the public, while the agnostic and atheistic beliefs are being taught freely in our schools. There are even those who once boldly stood on the Lord’s side, that have switched sides as easily as I did at the basketball games by switching shirts and are now taking up the cheer of those who support Satan and his lies. D. Todd Christofferson said in a conference address in 2008 had some advice for those who struggle with which side they should be on in this spiritual war. He said:

“The Savior was critical of some of the early Saints for their “lustful … desires” (D&C 101:6; see also D&C 88:121). These were people who lived in a non-television, non-film, non-Internet, non-iPod world. In a world now awash in sexualized images and music, are we free from lustful desires and their attendant evils? Far from pushing the limits of modest dress or indulging in the vicarious immorality of pornography, we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. To come to Zion, it is not enough for you or me to be somewhat less wicked than others. We are to become not only good but holy men and women. Recalling Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s phrase, let us once and for all establish our residence in Zion and give up the summer cottage in Babylon (see Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light [1990], 47).” (“Come to Zion”, D. Todd Christofferson, General Conference, October 2008)

President Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told of a letter he received from a man that had tried to have a home in Zion and a cottage in Babylon and eventually repented and became committed to living the commandments fully. He shared a paragraph from the letter, it said:

“I have had to learn for myself (the hard way) that the Savior was absolutely correct when He said, ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’⁸ I tried, about as hard as anyone ever has, to do both. In the end,” said he, “I had all of the emptiness, darkness, and loneliness that Satan provides to those who believe his deceptions, illusions, and lies.” (“Dare to Stand Alone”, Thomas S. Monson, General Conference, October 2011)

In that same conference address President Monson tells us that those of faith must be willing to stand alone if we must in defense of the truth and the gospel standards. He said:

“…none within the sound of my voice should be in any doubt concerning what is moral and what is not, nor should any be in doubt about what is expected of us... We have been and continue to be taught God’s laws. Despite what you may see or hear elsewhere, these laws are unchanging.

As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone?” (“Dare to Stand Alone”, Thomas S. Monson, General Conference, October 2011)

While there are no eternal consequences in switching between two basketball teams, the choices we make in choosing to be on the Lord’s side and disregard all those who are screaming that we should be more tolerant, more accepting of other’s choices to disobey or that there should not be any choice at all; these do determine our eternal destinies and happiness.

So even though I will continue to choose to support both BYU and USU and their athletic teams, when it comes to choosing between Satan and the world or keeping the commandments of God, then “as for me and my house we will choose the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). It is my hope and prayer that you will choose to stand with me. Together we will win, even against all the “obvious” advantages and in spite of those who would tell us that the game is lost and there is no chance of victory. Just ask any fan from Auburn if they had any chance of beating Alabama the number #1 team in the nation in football until yesterday. But that is a story for another day.

Your comments and questions are welcome.