Jeffrey R. Holland, in his message “Lean into the Wind,” taught that sometimes the winds in our lives feel strong and uncomfortable.

But instead of running away from those winds, we can lean into them.

When we lean into the wind, we move forward.

Sometimes those winds are:

• Hard experiences
• Challenges
• Questions
• Growth
• Responsibility

But those winds can move us toward faith, strength, and purpose with Jesus Christ.

No one showed us the power of prayer more clearly than Jesus Christ.

He prayed:

• In the wilderness
• On the mountain
• Before choosing His apostles
• Before performing miracles
• And in the Garden of Gethsemane

If the Son of God prayed often, how much more do we need prayer in our lives?

Prayer was His strength.

It can become ours too.

If those who serve in high office must be warned not to engage in insider trading, what does that say about the moral soil of our time?

Honor once required no legislation.
It was expected.

When common sense is mocked,
when biological reality is dismissed,
when confusion is celebrated as progress—

Can we truly believe that such sowing will produce stability?

God does not make mistakes.
He is not confused about His creation.
He is just.
He is merciful.
But He is not indifferent.

Nations that remove God from the helm drift.
And drifting nations eventually collide with reality.

“To bless means to wish, unconditionally and from the deepest chamber of your heart, unrestricted good for others and for events. To bless is to acknowledge the omnipresent beauty hidden from material eyes. It is impossible to bless and judge at the same time.” - Pierre Pradervand

What a thought—that every time we bless, we silence judgment, and awaken love.

imagine if every hour became more sacred — every conversation, every sunrise, every chance to forgive or to serve.

Let us step into our days remembering:

• The sacred is all around us - in the beauty of creation and the wonderment of humanity.

If justice could be ignored, God would cease to be God. Justice is part of His perfection.
Justice means God does not change the rules midstream. Justice means He does not act on whim. Justice means the moral universe is stable — and that stability makes faith possible.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell once taught, “God loves us too much to indulge our every whim.” Love and justice are not opposites. They work together.

...He spit into the dirt and stirred a small mixture of clay. He then applied this to the eyes of the man, instructing him to wash in the pool of Siloam. All this the sightless man obediently did and “came [forth] seeing,” the scripture says. How important evidence is, as opposed to wishes or argument or even malice in opposition to the truth.

Remember, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Music by Sally DeFord

Message from the Teachings of Jeffrey R. Holland

...the shepherds said one to another, Let us go now event unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manager. And when they had seen it, they made know abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child... [Luke 2: 15-17]

As we prepare to honor that holy night over two millennia ago, let us come and adore Him. Pause. Reflect. Consider what Jesus Christ has done for each one of us—according to the will of His Father.

As  Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle of Jesus Christ,  taught:

“He who was the Great Jehovah condescended to come to earth… to suffer, to bleed, and to die for all mankind.”

Let us never forget—Jesus was already a God when He descended from His throne on high. He came to accomplish a feat so infinite and eternal that none of us could do it for ourselves.

Joshua asked the people of his day a question that still reaches us now:

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…
But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

That question remains.

What will you choose?

As individuals.
As families.
As a nation.

Will we choose Christ—or the false gods that led people astray then and still do today?

Note the music included was written by Sally DeFord along with the lyrics that are spoken.