AREA PRESIDENCY MESSAGE
What I Remember from Christmas
“Christmas season is a great time for us to reflect on our priorities and turn our focus to the Savior Jesus Christ. It is a time to ponder about what we are doing to increase our heavenly treasures.”
Christmas has always been a special time for us as a family. Growing up in Brazil, I remember that my family would always get together with our aunts and uncles to exchange presents on Christmas Eve. My siblings and I, as kids, would act out the Nativity, sing some Christmas hymns and then, my father would always share a message about the Savior Jesus Christ.
As we grew older, we kept this tradition. For a long time, my wife and I had our own kids and their cousins acting out the Nativity story.
As I look back, I do not remember the presents I got, but I do remember the sweet spirit of watching the kids acting out and singing Christmas songs together, and either my father or my mother sharing a special message with us. Since my father’s passing, my mother is the one who shares a message with us every Christmas. I look forward to that moment and, even if we cannot be physically present, we connect through technology and enjoy those moments together as a family. I now know that those feelings that I had as a child were the Holy Ghost testifying to me of the divine nature of Jesus Christ. As I ponder about these experiences on Christmas Eve, the scripture that comes to my mind is found in Matthew 6:19–21: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
The Christmas season is a great time for us to reflect on our priorities and to turn our focus to the Savior Jesus Christ. It is a time to ponder about what we are doing to increase our heavenly treasures.
When I think about the most precious gifts that I have received, I think about the Savior Jesus Christ. Through Him, we can overcome physical and spiritual death. Because of Him, we will live again. He made it possible for us to repent and to be forgiven. He knows how we feel. He understands us even when we are going through the most difficult times. He loves us. He knows our potential and He will never leave us alone or comfortless.
President Russell M. Nelson has emphasized one of the greatest gifts the Savior has given us: the gift of personal revelation. He so beautifully reminded us of that principle in the April 2020 general conference, when he introduced “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World”, which reads in part, “all human beings are sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven, that He has a divine plan for our lives, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, speaks today as well as in days of old”1. To those wondering if God really wants to speak to them, President Nelson has said yes. He added, “You don’t have to wonder about what is true”2. What a privilege for us to receive direct guidance and comfort from our Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not need to walk in darkness even during these difficult times we are living in right now. He is the light! He brought light to Earth when He was born, and He keeps giving His light to those who follow Him.
I pray that during this special time of the year we will ponder about these many precious gifts that we have received from our loving Father in Heaven. Let’s reflect on how we are using them and how we are demonstrating gratitude for them.
I am grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I pray that we will use this time of the year to increase our treasures in heaven and develop the attributes to better hear Him. And, as we receive these gifts into our lives, may we share them with those that we love and spread His light to the world.
Elder Ciro Schmeil was named a General Authority Seventy in April 2020. He is married to Alessandra Machado Louza. They are the parents of two children.