Relief Society Christmas Message ~ 2014

Taught by Heidi H.

For the Relief Society Christmas message, I decided to step away from the manual. I spent time not only reading scriptures from the story of the birth of our Savior, but focusing on his mother Mary.  We talked a lot about her character and even though there isn't a lot written about her, we tried to infer what we could about who she was.

Mary came from a family that loved God and studied the scriptures. We inferred this because she must have read the scripture Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."  

Can you imagine how she felt when she was asked to be the mother of Jesus whom she had studied about all her life?

This allowed us also to infer that she was chosen of God and prepared in advance for the Angel Gabriel to appear.  That is why her response wasn't shock in Luke 1:27-28. This scripture tells us that she was prepared to be an instrument in God's hands.  Then we discussed how we too can always be prepared to be an instrument for our Heavenly Father.

Another quality of Mary was found in Luke 1: 37-38. Mary shows unwavering Faith as she says, "For with God, nothing is impossible."  

Ask yourself how you too can show unwavering faith in your life, even in impossible circumstances.

In Luke 1:29-31 and 34-35, Mary shows faithful obedience to God.  Even though Mary couldn't grasp how she was to be the mother of the Son of God, she trusted in Him and His plan and obeyed.  

Consider how your life would change if you, like Mary, openly and willingly offfered yourself without delay or question to God's will?

The last quality of Mary that we talked about was in Luke 1:46-49. Mary shows open expressions of joy for the Lord's blessings.  

..... And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, ... And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

Think about if there are times when the Lord gives you blessings that give you joy.  How do you express gratitude for those blessings?

As I studied the role of Mary in the birth of my Savior, and who she was, I truly felt the spirit of the Lord declaring to me that she was a chosen and wonderful daughter of God.  I know that she has qualities that I would love to portray as she did.  I hope one day that I will be able to meet her and bask in her light and joy that she must have shared with all she came in contact with.