SALT LAKE CITY — The swelling strains of a familiar Christmas hymn echoed through the Conference Center Sunday night as choir members sang with gusto beneath a colossal evergreen wreath decked in red and gold.

“O come, let us adore him: Christ the Lord!” the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square intoned.

Below, sat the First Presidency, the highest governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ready to begin their annual Christmas devotional where four church leaders spoke of the true meaning of the Christmas season.

Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary general president

A little girl hurried through a packed department store with her mother during a crowded day of Christmas shopping when she saw a sign up ahead that advertised “the gift that keeps on giving,” Sister Joy D. Jones said.

After a moment of thought, she excitedly said to her mother, “I know what the gift that keeps on giving is! It’s Jesus!”

In a hurried tone, her mother turned to her and said, “No, it’s diamonds.”

Though her mother may have known what the sign was advertising, the little girl understood the true gift that keeps on giving, Sister Jones said.

The perfect gift is one that shows the character of the giver, meets the needs of the receiver, and holds its value for a long time after, she explained. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and atonement is that perfect gift, she said.

Elder Patrick Kearon, Presidency of the Seventy

Joy has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and more to do with the focus of our lives, said Elder Patrick Kearon as he quoted President Russell M. Nelson, the church’s leader. If the focus of life is on Christ, it’s possible to find joy no matter what is happening or not happening, since he is the source of all joy, Elder Kearon explained.

During Christmas time, it’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of the season and forget the true reason we celebrate, he said. Maybe this is the year to skip Christmas cards or other social expectations and refocus on aiding the weary and giving voice to the voiceless.

Take time to be still, to wonder, to look up, and to ponder the knowledge of “who you truly are,” Elder Kearon said. Remember that the joy here on Earth is only a small part of the joy that is yet to come.

Elder Ulisses Soares, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When Elder Ulisses Soares’ family moved from Brazil to Bountiful several years ago, they were unprepared for the cold that would come with winter.

After the first snowstorm hit Utah, Elder Soares slipped and fell on some ice, leaving him in a full arm cast for several months. After prolonged exposure to the cold, his wife developed two ear infections, leaving her nearly deaf for a couple months. And shortly after, their son injured his back sledding.

Bedridden, deaf, and in a cast, they must have seemed in dire straits to more seasoned Utahns, Elder Soares said.

But one morning, the church leader awoke to find his 70-year-old neighbor clearing the Soares' driveway by himself at 5 a.m. while another neighbor came to pick up Elder Soares for work since he was unable to drive himself with his cast.

Elder Soares compared his neighbors to angels who visited the socially-isolated shepherds to tell them of Christ’s birth.

“As we approach Christmas, I wonder if we could become more like the angelic host by visiting modern shepherds to provide the good news of Christ, peace and comfort,” Elder Soares said.

President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency

President Dallin H. Oaks began the final talk of the devotional by quoting the famed author Charles Dickens, who wrote to his children in an effort to teach them more about Jesus Christ.

“Remember! It is Christianity to do good always — even to those who do evil to us,” Dickens said. “If we do this, and remember the life and lessons of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and try to act up to them, we may confidently hope that God will forgive us our sins and mistakes, and enable us to live and die in peace.”

Peace is something we all search for throughout our life, but he who is righteous shall receive it, President Oaks said. Peace is our Savior’s promise, and peace is our goal, he continued. To build a peaceful community is to have people who are lovers and makers of peace.

“The blessings of the gospel are universal, and so is the formula for peace: keep the commandments of God,” he said. We cannot have peace among nations without achieving general righteousness among the people who comprise them.”

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