By Scott Murphy, First Presidency

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Have you ever really paid attention to a person who has experienced the gift of grace?

During my tenure as a school principal, I had a student who frequently spent time in my office due to poor choices. I invested a lot of time trying to help Robert see himself as a person of worth contrasted against the message of failure he received at home. Regrettably, one day Robert made a choice to bring a knife to school to show a friend, and it required me to expel him from school. The look of pain and loss filled his face as he walked out of the school for the last time.

However, several months later Robert showed up at the school after hours, just to talk with me. At first, I was perplexed. Why would he come to see the person who told him he could no longer attend the school?

During that conversation and subsequent ones, I began to discern his motive for the visits. Through our relationship, Robert experienced moments of grace that allowed him to glimpse his potential as a person. I believe he was able to see himself through my eyes and the value I saw in him. Robert experienced a different way of being when we shared together. I hope the simple expression of grace I tried to extend to him offered the peace that his life desperately needed.

Grace is an act we cannot create for ourselves, but a gift we can receive that can offer us peace beyond measure.

John’s gospel is a proclamation of God’s love that came to be among us in the life of Jesus who was filled with grace and truth. Through his life, Jesus shows us the transformative power of grace that enables us to become the fullest expression of who God created each of us to be in the world.

That is the gift you are offered today as we begin a new year filled with fresh possibilities in life.

Prayer Phrase

“…he has given us a new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

Spiritual Practice

Weaving a Life

Hold, or imagine yourself holding, a piece of patterned cloth. Examine it carefully. Notice overlapping threads mingling colors that form the design. Write a journal entry or meditate about the threads and patterns of your life. What design do you see? How does the life pattern you are weaving create justice and wholeness in God’s world? What new pattern is God calling you to weave in 2025?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.