Christmas is a season of light and love. It is a time of rejoicing and happiness. It is a time to gather with family and create rich memories that you will carry with you to the end of your life. This Christmas, I call upon everyone to remember who they are – children of our Father in Heaven – and to reject the perverse attempts to cancel Christmas, extinguish the Christmas spirit, and keep families apart. Instead, gather with your family, worship the Savior Jesus Christ, and celebrate this holiest of holidays with a heart full of gratitude and joy.

In Gene Autry’s original version of the now classic Christmas song “Here Comes Santa Claus,” we find these piercingly true declarations:

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane

He doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, he loves you just the same

Santa Claus knows we’re all God’s children, that makes everything right

So fill your hearts with Christmas cheer, ‘cause Santa Claus comes tonight

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane

He’ll come around when chimes ring out that it’s Christmas morn’ again

Peace on Earth will come to all if we just follow the light

So let’s give thanks to the lord above, ‘cause Santa Claus comes tonight.”

Dear reader, you are a son or daughter of God! He is the literal Father of your immortal spirit. You are His literal child and He loves you more than you have the capacity to comprehend. Your true origin – your real home – is Heaven. Your destiny, if you follow the laws and principles our Father has revealed through His Son, our Redeemer, is to return to live in eternal joy with our earthly and Heavenly family. Doesn’t this knowledge “make everything right”?

In my book The Lineage of the Gods, which discusses in great detail our Parent-child relationship with God and the incredible potential we all have as children of the Most High, I wrote:

“It is an incredible thing to realize whose children we are. This is life-changing knowledge! To know that we are literal spirit children of the literal living God should cause a paradigm shift in every mind. It should humble us and also give us confidence to know that we have some portion of divinity within us; that we are as eternal as God; that we have an inherent intelligence within us that can expand and grow indefinitely. . . .

“When we see our fellow man, we see a glimmer of God. When we deal with our brothers or sisters, we are dealing with beings endowed with godly potential. It is an incredible and humbling thing to realize we are associating with heirs of Heaven – and that we ourselves have a largely untouched reserve of divine potential inherent in ourselves. . . .

“Each of us has an untapped reservoir of divinity within us. We are all – even the very weakest and most vicious among us – potential heirs of Almighty God. Our spirits are as immortal and eternal as the Spirit of God. We have a portion of His character, attributes, and potential inside us because we are His immortal spirit children.”

Embracing the reality that we are the children of God should make everything right. It certainly puts life, our trials, and our choices, in proper eternal perspective. This sublime knowledge inspires us to do better and be better. It encourage us to treat others with more respect. It helps us please God rather than man. It propel us toward truth even if that truth is unpopular – such as the truth that we are the children of God with unimaginable potential for growth. It urges us to get on our knees and communicate with our Father in Heaven and pour out our soul to Him in prayer.

Prayer can change people. In fact, it can change nations and, ultimately, the world. This is because prayer reminds us who we are and what our true standing is before Heaven. Know that you are a son or daughter of God and that He loves you perfectly. Speak with Him heart to heart and person to person. He’s your Father; He will listen; He will respond. Develop that personal Parent-child bond and learn to rely on Him, trust Him, and follow His compassionate counsel.

We often say that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” This is true. Christmas is a time to remember and praise the Great Immanuel. And what did Jesus teach us? Among other things, the Lord came to earth in order to reveal the unequaled love of God. The Savior said:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

Jesus’ mission was to offer salvation to mankind, to be the Lamb sacrificed for the remission of sins, and to lift the children of God up to Heaven. He was and is the Light of the world and came to shine His brightness into the darkest corners of the earth. He came to “heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). During His ministry, Jesus revealed truth, because the truth sets us free – truth such as knowing our genuine Parentage. In the end, our Savior came to share God’s profound love with the all His children.

The holy scriptures are full of affirmations of God’s love for us. In a passage that applies well to Christmastime, the Apostle John taught:

“God is love. . . .

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. . . .

“. . . God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. . . .

“We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:8-10, 16, 19).

God our Father is the personification of love. And His Son, our Redeemer, equally exemplifies this eternal love. Together, the Father and Son, and the Holy Spirit which manifests Them to us, have given the world the ultimate gift of love in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Savior’s Atonement redeems us from death and hell. It offers us the ultimate hope of eternal peace and joy. It provides a refuge from the torment of guilt and regret. It offers us cool water and relaxing shade on a scorching hot day. It warms us when all is cold and dark.

In a vision of “the tree of life,” an ancient prophet was asked by an angel if he knew the symbolic meaning of tree. The prophet responded:

“Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.”

The angel confirmed the interpretation and added emphatically:

“Yea, and the most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:22-23).

God’s love is the most joyous and desirable thing to the human soul. It is the antidote to fear and loneliness, depression and pain. The Savior’s love, mercy, and grace have the capacity to transform the world into paradise. God first loved us and when we show Him love in return by following His Son, the Lord has promised “my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23).

It is because the Lord loves us, heals us, and saves us, that the Apostle Paul declared:

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

“Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

“May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Dear reader, the Apostle Paul knew of God’s love for His children and that it “passeth knowledge” and fills our hearts. John the Beloved witnessed of this profound love as well. Ancient prophets in all ages have spoken of this love. And I also testify that our Father and His Son love us! I have felt Their love. I know the peace and buoyancy it brings. I know that “God so loved the world. . .” is not just wishful thinking, but the only reality that matters.

It is my fervent Christmas wish that you remember who you are, remember you are a child of God, and remember that He loves you and sent His Beloved Son, the perfect babe of Bethlehem, to reveal His love, set you free from worry, sin, and sorrow, and lead the way back to our Heavenly Home. Unto us was a Savior truly born, who is Christ the Lord. Through Him we access the love of God our Father. In Him culminates all good, all happiness, all love.

“Peace on Earth will come to all if we just follow the light.” The Light is Jesus Christ. He is the reason for the season. His birth marked the beginning of the end for Satan’s rule on earth. When the Lord died and then rose from the grave, He forever shattered the powers of darkness. The Lord’s light is stronger than anything the Adversary possesses. His love is the most joyous to the soul, heals the brokenhearted, obliterates fear, has the power to transform our dark winters into bright ones, and frees all captives now and forever.

Give thanks to the Lord above this Christmas. Talk to your Father and express your gratitude for His Christmas gifts to you – foremost among which is His Son, Jesus Christ. Thank Him for His love and share this love with others. And remember who you are – a known and loved child of God. Merry Christmas!

Zack Strong,

December 24, 2020