By MIKE KELLEY
Students should focus on the supreme Christmas gift, Jesus Christ, along with 12 other gifts, said Elder Hugh W. Pinnock, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, at Tuesday's Devotional.
'There are gifts that we can give to Christ,' Elder Pinnock said. One such gift is for us to resolve to give ourselves to Him.
He said these gifts, if carefully thought about, and applied, will bring peace and joy to our lives.
'The first present is to let the gospel of Jesus Christ be your guide, your determinate and the main focus of the season,' he said.
If we come unto Him by keeping His words, we will have our abode with Him, Elder Pinnock said. 'Can there be a greater reward than to live with the Father and the Son?'
The next gift was to select good friends of different backgrounds that can strengthen us, he said. 'Friends are the bargains of life.'
Another present to ourselves is to guard our name and to do our best, he said.
'If your going to be anything, be the best anything you can,' Elder Pinnock said.
Living a covenant-making life is the fourth gift, he said. Dating can be a covenant-making opportunity for two people to get to know each other better.
'The person you date should be a better person when the date is over than when you left on the date,' Elder Pinnock said.
Students should allow the Savior to help them reach their full potential, he said.
Two more Christmas gifts Elder Pinnock said are to speak and seek the truth and seek to retain or re-obtain the heart of a child.
Christmas can also be a time to give or receive the gift of reality, he said. The real world is defined by the prophet and the scriptures.
'The ninth present is to be an effective giver,' Elder Pinnock said. 'A person receives more pleasure from giving than receiving.'
The last three presents talked about were blessing others with our hands, offering the gift of generosity, and understanding the supreme Christmas -- the first Christmas.
He said each of us needs a hand to lift us.
'Generosity represents our maturity level,' he said.
When we were children, we wanted to receive gifts rather than give them to others, he said. As we age, we should be more generous, especially at the Christmas season.