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By Brent Roberts
Guest Columnist

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It is a time to reflect on the life, teachings, and sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ.

As I think of Christmases past, two particular gifts come to mind. 

One gift that I loved was a Batman punching bag, a kid-sized inflatable Batman that you could punch again and again to work out youthful aggressions and anxieties. If you punched him hard enough, you could knock Batman down flat to the ground. But he would always pop back up. 

Another gift, probably less well known, was a Hoppity Horse, basically a large round rubber ball with a horse’s head and handle on top so you could ride it and bounce all around. 

Both of these gifts were great for wreaking havoc in the house. With the Hoppity Horse, I remember my mother sending me outside to hop around the yard before I destroyed the house. 

Both of these gifts are also helpful in thinking about the doctrine of Christ. 

Similar to the Batman punching bag, one day we will each be knocked down to the ground by death. But because Jesus Christ was resurrected, all who have ever lived on the earth will be resurrected. 

As we read in the Bible, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

In the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, we learn that “the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death. The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God…Now, this restoration shall come to all” (Alma 11:42-44).

It is a great comfort that death is not the end of our eternal existence as children of God. 

Like the bouncing Hoppity Horse, we have ups and downs spiritually in our lives. Many times we are brought down by feelings of guilt, when we do things we know to be wrong. To escape the burden of sin, we must turn to the Savior. 

Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught of the joys of repentance: “Because the world needed saving, and because you and I need saving, He sent us a Savior. Let us accept God’s precious and perfect gift. Let us cast our burdens and sins at the Savior’s feet and experience the joy that comes from repentance and change. Let us follow Jesus Christ and emulate His life.” 

May we celebrate this glorious season by reflecting on how Jesus Christ helps us overcome physical death as well as the burden of sin. 

Merry Christmas to all! 

DR. BRENT ROBERTS is the Bishop of the Sandy River Ward, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and also Assistant Provost for Academic Outreach and Dean of Greenwood Library at Longwood University. He can be reached at brentsroberts@hotmail.com.