December 13, 2021
Give the Gift of Gratitude this Christmas
Christmas is a season for friends, family, and, oftentimes, gifts! Giving gifts allows us to express love and appreciation. Before He gave the ultimate gift of His Atonement, Christ was given many gifts throughout His life. Some were material — like gold, frankincense, and myrrh — but after healing a leper, Christ was given the subtle, precious gift of gratitude.
This Christmas season — and always — know that President Brian and Sister Melinda Ashton, as well as instructors, service missionaries, mentors, and employees at BYU-Pathway Worldwide, are grateful for you!
President Ashton said, “Our beloved brothers and sisters, we love you. You are a gift in our lives! We are cheering you on wherever you are in the world. We are so grateful for your efforts to improve yourselves and your relationship with Jesus Christ.
“We testify that Jesus Christ is the only Begotten Son of our Heavenly Father, that He was born in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life, suffered for our sins, and died and was resurrected. All of our blessings come because of Jesus Christ. Because of Him we can have joy in this life and eternal life with our families. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and feel the Savior’s love!”
You can give the gift of gratitude too! What or whom are you grateful for this Christmas? Hear how accepting President Russell M. Nelson’s challenge to express gratitude blessed your fellow BYU-Pathway students.
“As we take time to pause and reflect upon our life, we will find that there are so many things that we are blessed with. Giving thanks helps me feel more hope because gratitude pushes us to look forward to a better tomorrow, making us better individuals today.”
— Ada Jezrael Mendiola, Philippines
“Amidst the many reasons to feel afraid and uncertain about the future, giving thanks pointed me to many blessings I have received. Through those blessings, I know Heavenly Father’s love is infinite enough to take care of the future.”
— Obiesia John-jaja, Nigeria
“Giving thanks was a powerful experience for me. Every day I would get up to write and share with others my reasons to thank God. It really helped me deal with my depression. I felt blessed, and my negative feelings and sadness left me during those days.”
— Camila Caza, Ecuador
“None of us can do it alone, but with the help of our Heavenly Father, it can be done. He will fight for us if we ask Him. He will bless us if we remain faithful, obedient, and grateful. He will help us through ANYTHING.”
— Pamela Crouse, Ohio, USA
Comments on "Give the Gift of Gratitude this Christmas"
Life is a gift and a gift from our dearest Heavenly Father who loves us so much. The gift of gratitude is a wonderful thing to give to our Heavenly Father for all his innumerable blessings. In this Christmas period offering something would seem small but very significant to the people around us. It is also something that can cause great joy in our hearts.
I am so grateful for all the wonderful opportunities given to all people who want to better themselves and their lives.
Gratitude is shown all around by the testimonies of so many who have taken up this blessing !
May the Lord show the way to all men of good will !!! Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas! May the light of our Lord shine in our path.
Love this week’s missionary message. Particularly, I appreciate Pamela Crouse’s succinct assessment of Christ’s willingness to help us: “He will fight for us if we ask Him. He will bless us if we remain faithful, obedient, and grateful. He will help us through ANYTHING.”
I give thanks for my life, the children I have, the other students in BYU-Pathway, and the opportunity to serve and be able to help others!
Giving the gift of gratitude this Christmas 🎄🎄 seasons, I am grateful:
for the gift of life to reach where I am today;
for my family and children;
for my parents who raised me since birth — they are still watching and guiding me to make good choices every day;
for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the gospel of Christ Jesus;
and for the gifts of tongues. I am now able to speak good English since working with the full time missionaries in my community as a translator;
May God help our president, Russell M. Nelson, our prophet, seer, and revelatory.
This is true! We celebrate Christmas with gifts from our Heavenly Father, so let us follow His path with humility of heart just as children do. Glory to God and to those who choose to follow Jesus Christ.
Giving thanks for all He has done for me, my family ,my friends and everyone around me, am so grateful for all his promises that i now enjoy and i testify that His words are true. Merry Christmas.
Giving thanks is a sign of gratitude. I have a personal duty to thank God for His many blessings in my life since I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 5 years now. The greatest blessing in my life is to have been endowed in the Temple and to have a good wife whom I married less than a month ago. There are many blessings, and I know Heavenly Father still has much in store for me and my family.
— Fuende Bowell Mutondo, Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo
I am truly grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ who is paving the path that I am striving to follow. Because of Him and His example of kindness, a faithful person has generously paid for half of my tuition fees for this semester! Overwhelming joy and relief have entered my heart to know of the Savior’s love for me. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Just saying thanks to our Heavenly Father will never be enough to show our gratitude for all that He has done for us. I have come to learn that I must keep all the commandments in order to show my sincere gratitude, and that is what I am trying to do. It is hard, but I will manage with the help of the Holy Spirit, family, friends, and all those who are following our Savior.
Each week my wife and I express how blessed we are to receive extra spiritual nourishment from the testimonies and teachings of our students, and we are grateful for their progress and success. The Pathway goal of “getting the gospel down into their hearts” is also working on us! Thank you!
Most people discourage recognition (or attributes like pride and selfishness). The life of Christ has been that of gratitude, so we should demonstrate gratitude during this festive season and throughout our life as well!
Giving thanks really remind me on what am to be grateful for, everyday has the prophet said that we should.I follow the cancel of our prophet and I realize the blessing he had for each of us.
Gratitude and appreciating the love that Jesus Christ has for me and my family has helped me develop a stronger testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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