By Krista Jorgensen
Tis'' the season of giving, sharing and remembering Jesus Christ.
During the Christmas season, remember is a powerful word.
While on my mission in Houston, Texas, it was easy to remember Christ because we were serving Christ.
But during the holiday season at BYU, life often moves in the fast, materialistic lane.
At this year''s First Presidency Christmas Fireside, President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of remembering Christ during Christmas.
'I rejoice with you at this glad season when our thoughts center on the Lord, Jesus Christ, who is our precious Savior and who means so very much to each one of us,' Hinckley said.
President Thomas S. Monson also urged the saints to look for a new perspective during Christmas.
'The Spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world''s busy life and become more interested in people than things,' Monson said.
Bradley Garber, a junior majoring in finance, from Fruit Heights, Utah, said he tries to avoid the busy Christmas rush.
'For me, Christmas is giving and not receiving,' Garber said. 'I haven''t asked for anything for Christmas since I was eight years old because I realized you should focus on giving, on what Christ would do.'
Garber said he gives time to Christ, friends, family, the service of others and to deep reflection before the new year.
Brittney Smith, a freshman majoring in nursing from Highland, Utah, also said she tries to remember the true meaning of Christmas through service.
'I try to serve people and be of good cheer,' Smith said. 'I try to do what Christ did and be like him.'
When American Fork resident Amy Ogden went to the Jerusalem Center during Christmas 1994, she said she learned how to remember Christ personally in the land where He walked.
Ogden and other students traveled to Shepherd''s Field, where the shepherds most likely saw the new star and heard the angels sing.
'I felt a calm, peaceful feeling and a great sense of humility,' Ogden said. 'There, I truly learned that Jesus Christ is the king of kings, born in humble circumstances.'
Ogden said remembering those feelings helps her to focus on Christ, the future and the rearing up of her children.
Susan Easton Black, a professor of religion at BYU, teaches her students to look for Christ in the scriptures not only during Christmas but also throughout the year.
'I say, when in doubt, read the scriptures,' Black said. 'In them, you''ll find the words of Christ.'