Christmas Day – Sunday, December 25, 1983
In some parts of the world military flares light up the night sky, the same sky once lit by the radiant star of Bethlehem. And tracers seek their mark not far from where the baby Jesus lay. There in that war-riddled land, Christmas Day reveals the might of armies poised along hills where humble shepherds might have wondered at the sight of angels calling for peace on earth and good will toward men.
Longfellow observed in his time that there are moments of despair: “There is no peace on earth,” he wrote, “for hate is strong and mocks the song, of peace on earth good will to men.”1
But Longfellow went on to say in his poem there is hope: “God is not dead, right will prevail.” The message brought to the world to celebrate Christ’s birth is not entirely forgotten. Even now, on this morning, in a thousand chapels, cathedrals, and tabernacles across the land, a sea of upturned faces still sings the theme of peace on earth.
We should not be dismayed, though war is not abolished, for neither is love abolished in the world. Simple hearts full of charity still visit the sick, remember the widowed and the poor, and exchange gifts of love upon this day and every day.
Be not disheartened that the sounds of the artillery and the groans of the dying still break the stillness where ignorant armies battle—for the hope of world harmony did not die with Jesus on the cross but has been inherited through the centuries by each generation of peacemakers.
There are still disciples of the Gospel of Christ, though not enough, not perfect, yet, still, disciples. Those who seek the Kingdom of God with the same fervor as the wise men who saw the star shining in the distance.
In the simple hearts of good people, the seed is still alive, nourished by faith, encouraged by hope, renewed each holiday season as we recall the angelic refrain.
The years have turned to decades, the decades to centuries and the centuries roll towards eternity—and still what we believe in waits, waits patiently, faithfully, for its time. And every year, each Christmas Day, the hope is revived, of peace on earth, good will toward men.
1 “I Heard the Bells” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, LDS Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints p. 219
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December 25, 1983
Broadcast Number 2,836