Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-12-26
CHRIST THE LORD,
WH|ThEYS THEME
sueaks EIoquent|y on "chrlstmas
thoughts at Special Taber-
nacle Service.
FINE MUSIC PROGRAM GIVEN.
100 Audience Attends and Listens
10 Strong Address and Stirring
Musical Selections.

A congregation that necessitated' the
,,or,ng of the galleries met at the Tab
,sraele yesterday forenoon and listened
n Elder orson +, Whitney In the spe-
,,al Christmas service, which COM
r,anced at IL o'clock. The interior of
ne building presented precisely the
anne beautiful and imposing spectacle
,s on sunday last, when meeting was
held there In commemoration OF tho
hlrth of Jesus the Redeemer and of His
servant the Prophet Joseph smith.
,,non the stand were many OF the gem
sral and local Church authorities, and
ne meeting was presided over by Pres
dent John II. Winder.
Tbe opening number OF the program
Gas The prelude of "Lohengrin' by
prof j. j. Mcclellan. followed by
nrayer by Elder George Teasdale. Fred
T Graham sang III, With All Your
Hearts" from Elijah, and the organ Sc
lections that followed were In Para
disc" "Pastorale,' and "Old Melody"
John Robinson rendered the solo "Je-
ans OF Nazareth" Elder John Henry
smith pronounced the benediction, prior
10 which Prof. Mcclellan played the
'pilgrims Chorus from Tannhauser.
Following is a synopsis OF the ad-
dress delivered by Elder Orson Il, Whit
ney, Of the council Of apostles, lie
had been programmed 10 speak on the
subject OF "Christmas Thoughts" and
began by saying;
"The greatest OF all Christmas
thoughts is the thought of the savior
OF mankind and my thought today con-
corning him is twofold. | am thinking
Of the mortal advent of the Son OF God
when He came to lay down His life
10 redeem the world from the bondage
of sin and death. | am thinking also
OF his second coming of the glorious
advent Of the King of kings, when He
win complete His work, cleanse the
earth from iniquity, ana reign over II
during millennial period OF universal
peace. These two events, one OF them
past, and the other yet to be, are the
supreme events In the predestined his
tory Of our planet.
God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever
should believe on Him should not per-
ish, but have everlasting life" That
was the greatest of all Christmas
gifts. But II should not be forgotten
that the Son OF God was willing to be
given for this purpose; that He was
a conscious party In the case; that He
was one with the Father in the giving
OF the gift; that 1t was God Himself
who offered his life as ransom for
the human race, and made salvation
a free gift TO all who would put them
selves In position to profit by His
sacrifice.
The custom OF giving gifts is much
oder than the observance OF Christ
mas day. From time immemorial.
gifts have been given from various mo-
lives. both good and bad. seihshness
and sycophancy have played their part
In the practise, as well as pity, gen.
erosity and love. The true Christmas
gift, hallowed by its association with
the idea OF the worlds Redeemer, rep
resents unselhsh interest in the happi-
ness of others. There are three prime
essentials In every Christmas gift
worthy Of the name, In the first
place the gift should not impoverish
or otherwise injure the giver While
intended to promote the happiness OF
the one who receives II, II should also
give happiness TO the one who bestows.
It should be such gift as the glver
can afford to give, one that Will bene-
1T in the highest sense the bestower,
one that will exemplify the truth Of
the divine declaration, 1T is more
blessed TO give than TO receive" In
the next place, the gift should be APP
propriate, suited to the time, the place.
the person and the condition: an exam
pie, in short, Of the eternal fitness OF
things"
NOT FOR P0LICY'S SAKE.
Lastly. and firstly, and all the time,
Il should be given ungrudgingly. not
for policy's sake. nor TO conform TO
a mere custom or fashion. II should
be an expression OF pure friendship.
of holy affection, and the giving should
be heartfelt, joyful and sincere The
cost should cut no figure. Well and
wisely has II been said. "rhe best
Christmas gift Is not the one that
costs the most money, but the one
that carries with It the most love"
In this light--this triple light--let
US survey the great gift Of God our
Heavenly Father, in sending His Son
Jesus into the world, TO die that man
might live. Depend upon II, that gift
dld not impoverish the Giver. The
well Of divine love Is always deepest |
when most Is drawn. Rather did the |
giving add TO Gods honor and glory. |
Inc possession or all power, In heaven |
and on earth. came to the Savior Him.
self as the result of His crucifixion on
Calvary. And yet that offering was
made unselfishly, ungrudgingly, with |
tull foreknowledge, no doubt, OF It's |
Inevitable fruits, but without sordld |
calculation. and with no thought save |
10 glorify the Father and to benefit |
and bless mankind.
And who can say that the gift was |
not appropriate? The world lay dead |
at the feet of Death. By the trans |
erosion Of our first parents, their |
tall from Eden--a fall necessary,
since Adam fell that man might be-
death had come into the world, |
earth had been cursed to bring forth |
lhorns and briars. and man compelled
70 earn his bread by the sweat OF his
brow. In other words. the world had
been nlaced IN pawn; the name OF '