By Dallin Saurey

Most businesses worry about the commercial side of Christmas. They make it all about buying nice gifts for others. Shouldn’t people be happy with the gifts they get from others, because it comes from the heart? Or is it about telling your friends what you get for Christmas? Should we lose our Christmas spirit because of things that are going wrong in our lives? Should we feel bad about our financial situation during Christmas? Should we focus our attention on getting little kids to be good and make them believe in Santa Claus? Do people wonder what the true meaning of Christmas is?

We still need to shop and buy Christmas gifts for others. One Christmas, my wife and I made homemade gifts for my brothers and sisters. My mother told me a story about how, one Christmas, the only thing Grandma Kauer got was an orange and how grateful she was to get it because it came from the heart of my great-grandma and grandpa.

When I was a kid, I would ask my friends what they got for Christmas, and they would tell me. When I was a young man, around this time of year, we went to help poor families celebrate Christmas by donating food, cash, and gifts. We would knock on the door and hide, watching their eyes glow with smiles on their faces.

One November, right after my mission, I was diagnosed with cancer. I didn’t know how to deal with it. But people in the ward helped me feel loved. Young men decorated trees with Christmas lights. People from the ward gave my family gifts. It made things easier for me.

It is not because of Santa Claus that children should be good. It is because they should always be good to others and give. In addition, good children should always assist their parents in remembering the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The true meaning of Christmas is to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and how grateful people were to have a Savior to help them.