Merry Christmas!

Although this season is most commonly associated with the words “joy” and “peace”, I realize this life doesn’t always come like that. In this life, we knew we would experience the heartaches and pains of mortality. But there was He who was sent to “suffer pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind” so that He would know “according to the flesh how to succor [us] according to [our] infirmities.”

There was Hope. 

President Nelson said, “I pray that you will feel the deep, eternal love our Savior has for you personally. Jesus Christ has known you since the premortal realm. He knows and sees you now. He sees your joys and your sorrows. He has experienced each of them. 

He has perfect compassion for your struggles and rejoices every time you press forward in righteousness, during good times and bad.

I pray that you will gain your own personal witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is filled with godly power, and that because of His grand atoning sacrifice, you never need to feel that you must face life’s difficult challenges alone. As you earnestly ask, seek, and knock, you have constant access to His power to help you, to strengthen you, and to heal you.” (Nelson. Christmas Devotional 20243)

So, regardless of what your holiday season looks like now, may you look forward with the hope offered through the Savior and His Atoning Sacrifice.

Merry Christmas and have a Hope-filled New Year!

Auburn Stake Presidency