Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Forty-Eight
The Temple and the Why of Christmas
The Bible speaks of shepherds, wisemen, angels, and a star – We learn that an angel told the shepherds that he brought “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). Because of the wonder and beauty of the Christmas Story we might overlook the most important part of Christmas which is to understand the why of Christmas. The why of Christmas is taught in the Book of Mormon.
It is the why of Christmas that brings salvation to the children of men. An angel taught king Benjamin the doctrine of Christmas or why the Lord came down from heaven to live on the earth as a man:
"For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice;;and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy." (It is the why of Christmas that brings joy and rejoicing)
"For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity shall come down from heaven......
"And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary..
"And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all of this they shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.
"And he shall rise the third day from the dead" (Mosiah 3:4-5, 8-10)..
At the temple king Benjamin expounded on the why of Christmas – When the people understood the why of Christmas they “[fell] to the earth…"And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.
"And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them" (Mosiah 4:1-3).
It is the why of Christmas that brings exceedingly great joy - As Benjamin concluded his temple sermon he asked, "if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them. And they cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually….And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy" (Mosiah 5:1-4, emphasis added).
In the temple we receive great views of the atonement of Christ and are therefore able to rejoice with exceedingly great joy – Benjamin's people had great views of the atonement Christ which was to come. (See Mosiah 5:3). In the temple we can have great views of the atonement of Christ which has taken place. The temple is the House of the Lord. There we learn of Him, to walk in His paths and learn of His ways. Everything we are given in the temple is intended to help us to know Him and to become more like Him. As we worship in the temple we can experience the full redemptive power of the atonement of Christ. This will allow us to rejoice with exceedingly great joy in this life, and it will bring eternal life in the world to come.