Changing our Natures with the Leaves

It's the last quarter of 2014 (my complete calendar year as a missionary). President Riggs has challenged our mission to give "our greatest gift" to the Lord. It's inspired by a Christmas song whose lyrics say,

Our finest gift we bring
to lay before the king
so to honor him.

So what is our finest gift for Jesus Christ?

My thoughts turned to autumn and the changing of the leaves. Soon, Virginia will be flooded with color, but it won't last very long. It will be a brief, beautiful moment. So many of Heavenly Father's gifts to us happen in a single moment. He gives us an opportunity to change for the better, and it doesn't come back again.

Change is really the greatest gift we can give our Savior. He has taught us, "faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them" (Helaman 15:7). Christ wrought the atonement so that we could change! We can't allow that sacrifice to go to waste.