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This devotional address entitled Jesus Christ, Gifts and Expectations, was given on December 10th of 1974 by Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the quorum of the 12 apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

My beloved brethren and sisters,

humbly and gratefully I stand before you this morning,

humbled by your presence,

and grateful for the gospel that makes this great university possible.

I hope I'll be given the strength today to say what I feel the Lord wants me to say.

As we enter the Christmas season, a season of getting and giving, I would like to talk to you about a few of the many gifts we have received from our Lord Jesus Christ and what we in turn might give to Him.

First, he gave us the perfect model himself, after which we are to pattern our lives.

He said that greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Not only did he lay down before us the perfect example for earthly living, but for our sake he willingly gave us his life.

He went through an agony both in body and spirit, of which we cannot comprehend,

to bring to us the glorious blessing of the atonement and the resurrection.

Some men are willing to die for their faith,

but will not fully live for it. Christ both lived and died for us. By walking in His steps and through his atonement, we can gain the greatest gift of all,

eternal life, which is that kind of life of the great eternal one, our Father in heaven.

Christ asked the question as to what manner of men ought we to be?

He answered by saying

we ought to be even as he is.

That man is greatest

and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely fits the pattern of the Christ.

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