This Day—With Its Problems and Promises – Sunday, December 25, 1949
Some nineteen centuries or so ago there walked among men one Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace. His fortunes varied from being acclaimed King to being condemned to death. Even the sick whom he healed did not always pause to give gratitude. And in his time of greatest need he could not even count on those who but a few days before had strewn his path with palms. The principles he proclaimed were not popular with the prevailing powers of his time, and were not well understood by the people. And because his precepts and principles apparently have not prevailed, men have sometimes become cynical, have sometimes despaired, have sometimes lost hope and faith in the future.
But let no man lose faith in the future: The spirit of this day is proof of what life could be like when his precepts are put even into partial practice. And the spirit of many darker days is proof of the price we pay for departing from his principles. But even though men have made many mistakes in the use of their God-given freedom, the promising part of the picture is this: not that so many men forsake these principles—but that the principles themselves persist—that they are here and await only a time when men shall turn to them. If there were no plan, no pattern, no purpose, if there were no all-prevailing Providence, no way provided for the solution of the problems, the depth of despair would be unbounded; but the fact is that there is an answer, that there is a pattern for peace, that there is an all-prevailing purpose, and that there is sound reason for an unfailing faith in the future—in the gospel of the Prince of Peace, which is here, and ever—ready for us to turn to, whenever men shall have learned their lessons.
And now soon again, after this day and tomorrow, we shall go back to our pressing problems, back to the pressure of the daily pursuits that make more and ever more demands upon our patience. And as we do, we could well determine to take with us the spirit of this day, which lights the eyes of children, and puts laughter on their lips, and mellows the hearts of men. In the words of Dickens: “Nearer and dearer to our hearts be the Christmas spirit.” “God bless us, everyone.”
“The Spoken Word,” heard over Radio Station K S L and the nationwide Columbia Broadcasting System from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Sunday, December 25, 1949, 11:30 to 12:00 noon, Eastern Time. Copyright 1949
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December 25, 1949
Broadcast Number 1,062