What a marvelous Easter week-end! I know that we are used to hear that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but Easter is becoming the best time of the year for me. No that I don't like Christmas, because I totally love it and it's a great opportunity to rejoice of the coming of the Lord Jesus-Christ, but, as stated president Gordon B. Hinckley, "there would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection".
Even if all my life I've believed in Christ, Easter never really had a meaning for me before. I never really had Easter traditions... I remembered just chilling with my family during those days off, watching the 10 commandments on TV, and once the Church movie "The Lamb of God" was on TV... It was exciting to see a religious movie on TV, since we don't really have that in Montreal, so we watched it. I also remember that I sang at an Easter concert in 2004, and I think it was the greatest way I ever celebrated Easter before, and I enjoyed to share through music my testimony of the Savior's atonement and resurrection. A couple of years I think we watched the movie "Finding faith in Christ" with my family on Easter Sunday, but I'm not really sure about it. I also remember that in 2012, I made a cake with my little brother to share with my family for Easter, and I decided to put a little reminder on it of the real meaning of Easter that my little brother and my nephews could understand what Easter was all about, as you can see on the picture below:
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| This was the original idea of the cake, a nest with the birds coming out their eggs... look what I add to remember who else came out for another place, the tomb... :) |
But since I moved to Arizona and watched the Mesa Easter Pageant, Easter became my favorite holiday. I had the blessing to watch the Pageant six times that first year. I had some friends who were part of it:
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| Kelly Allen, one of the 10 virgins. |
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| Andrew Payne, an angel and a torchbearer |
That pageant really made me realized how important Easter is and of the privilege we have to know about this, about our Savior, and to share that message of faith, hope and love with others. Since then, I remember even more than ever the truth about my Savior Jesus Christ: that He lives!!! Even if I knew it before, never I have felt that testimony so strongly in my life as after watching that Pageant and pondering about it as last Easter. I decided then that I wanted to make of each Easter in my life more special and to create my own little Easter personal and family traditions. I already took the decision that I would be part of the cast of that pageant some day... I tried for this year but I didn't got to Arizona on time for the auditions, but I'll keep trying. And I will definitely be part of it with my family someday! I want my children to experience that and to feel that excitement about the Savior.
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| One of my favorite parts of the pageant, Christ with the kids. It melts my heart! |
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| He is not there! |
How did I prepared? I went to a sacred musical production retelling of the final days of the life of Jesus Christ, "Lamb of God", where two of my friends were performing. It made me feel the sacred spirit of Easter and start my preparation for it.
We also had General Conference, where the speakers powerfully testified of the divine atonement of Christ. I've been listening to many program on Mormon channel that have uplifted my spirit and humble myself. I also read this book, "The Other Side Of Heaven", where the mission experience of Elder Groberg taught me about Jesus Christ and his infinite atonement, and prepare my heart to change. We also prepared a musical number with our ward choir for Easter, and I've been pondering about the words of that song, He is Risen, and tried to learn those words that I might be able to sing with joy and testifying to those in our ward that I know He is Risen, looking at them, and not to the music sheets.
I've been studying for many weeks chapter 6 of Preach my Gospel, about Christlike attributes, and this last two weeks I've been pondering about charity and learning a lot of things about it. Doing that helped me to really focus on the great love that Christ had for us and how to develop that kind of love in me. I even prayed to become more charitable, and the day after I was feeling so empty and alone, not understanding why. And after sharing my feelings about it with a friend and pondering about the why of those sad feeling inside me, I realized that it was to understand better at least a very little portion of all the Savior endured. It made me feel closer to him and to be even more grateful for the great love He had for me. It gave me the desire to take those days before Easter to learn more about him that on Easter Sunday I could be prepared to rededicate my life to Him. Those feelings turned out to be one of the greatest blessings I had as a preparation for Easter.
I also attend the Easter Pageant. I only had the opportunity to go three times this year, but it was always an uplifting experience. I might had seen this 9 times, but it still touch my heart every single time! I had the blessing to attend with a friend who brought some no members and it was such a great blessing to share with them the joy I had while watching that pageant, and to make them feel the true meaning of Easter. I also brought one of my friends visiting from Peru. She loved the Savior so much and this experience, I believe, had the same effect on her as it did on me, and enhanced the importance of Easter in her life.
And of course, I went to the temple! I got to go twice on Easter week, and had the blessing to perform ordinances for my own ancestors and to share with a friend how the temple helps to understand better Easter and the atonement of Christ. The temple truly testifies of Christ and his mission on earth.
Also, this year the church launched this video and website about the true meaning of Easter, and through all week since Palms Sunday, people had been sharing it through social media. It has been so amazing to see so many people sharing their love for the Christ and all the reasons why they are grateful Because of Him. And I did it too. Everyday I was trying to find something uplifting about how wonderful life is #BecauseOfHim. That definitely prepared me better for it, since I pondered more about all the possibilities that can become realities in my life, BECAUSE OF HIM, eternal life being the greatest!
All those special experiences has brought me closer to my Savior. So this morning, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and looked at the sunrise, pondering about THAT Easter morn, when the Savior conquered death. As I was watching the sky and the sun, many thoughts came to my mind and I understood better so many principles of the Gospel and so much about our true light, our sun, Jesus Christ, and of his love and mercy. I had a interesting scripture study and was uplifted with sacred music and with Music and the Spoken words. Doing this helped me to feel that love from the Lord.
And my Sabbath has been so uplifting because of that!
#BecauseOfHim, I got sweet messages from friends since early this morning that made me feel loved and important for others.
#BecauseOfHim, I sang with our choir He is Risen and felt the joy that the knowledge about the resurrection of Christ brings to our life, and sang it almost by heart, having a smile in my heart (and hopefully on my face too), testifying of that truth, that I know he lives. I don't have the version that we sang (made by our choir director), but I love this version from the Mormon tabernacle choir, that you can listen too:
#BecauseOfHim, I had the opportunity to think a little longer about our him, my Savior, at sacrament while we were waiting for the bread to be ready.
#BecauseOfHim, I heard talks that made me understand better how I have felt and can still feel his love, and lessons that remind me of all the things that all possible through him.
#BecauseOfHim, I saw wonderful friends that I dearly love and are examples to me and give me motivation to become more like the Lord.
#BecauseOfHim, I had a friend who remembered that I was without my family here and thought about inviting me for dinner with her family that I may not stay alone for Easter dinner... I couldn't go because I felt the need to stay alone tonight and write about my feelings and ponder about all that, but I really appreciated the fact that she thought about me in that way and are grateful for her love and friendship.
#BecauseOfHim, I got to share a cake with some friends and gave what I had left to another friend and I felt that sweet gratitude in my heart by seeing that a little thing I did could bring them so much excitement, not only to my friends with whom I shared it, but also to those my other friend was going to share it with even if I don't know them, reminding me that the good things we do can bring blessings to more people than what we think, even some that we don't even know... I love cooking for these wonderful friends by the way :)
#BecauseOfHim, I got the blessing to have the company of a friend who asked me to share my Easter tradition, and my thoughts about what had been taught at church and also of the things I had been pondering that morning, and he did the same, and I was grateful to have friends with whom sharing our joy about the Savior and his teachings comes just naturally and how we can uplift each other.
#BecauseOfHim, even if I'm not with my family this Easter (and I wonder if I ever will again), I don't feel alone, and I know that I will be with them forever, because of the temple covenants we have make together.
#BecauseOfHim, I've seen many friends testifying about their belief in Christ by posting a picture of the Savior as their profile picture on facebook and by sharing videos or thoughts about all that is possible in their lives with the greatest hashtag ever: #BecauseOfHim. I actually saw this image on facebook that one of my teachers from high school posted, kinda making fun of how that event could have been if it had happened in our smartphones era in 2014... I commented on that picture saying that if I had been there, I would totally take a picture of it and share with everyone the joy that event brings. She liked the comment, and I supposed she understood that this event is real and important to me, because of all the things I've been posting this week... But then I also thought: this is totally what mormons have been doing today with our profile pictures... it made me smile, because this is how excited we get about this event! :)
#BecauseOfHim, I rejoice in the guidance of the Spirit in the decisions that I've been taking and that I have to take. Some might not be easy and are hard to accept, but I know that, because it comes from him, it is the best for me and it will be great blessings to my life.
#BecauseOfHim, I have feel so many of his tender mercies in my life and miracles that I never thought could be possible, and I know that, if He had the power to conquer spiritual and physical death, he can make anything good happen in my life.
#BecauseOfHim I had the blessing to enjoy the quietness and peace of my room to ponder more about Him and how I want Easter to become a great event in my life and in the life of my future family, and to prepare for it since now.
I felt so much love for my Savior this past days and specially today, and that has brought a great desire to make the changes I need to do in my life to try to be more like Jesus. I really think about keeping that tradition, preparing a couple of weeks before Easter with the Easter pageant, musical events, temple, choir, general conference, uplifting music and discussions, to prepare my mind and soul for all the next Easter mornings in my life, where I would try to wake up early in the morning and have my spirit ready to understand better the magnificent and powerful things that Christ did for me.
I am so grateful for the Easter Pageant, which was the beginning of my "true conversion" to the Easter Spirit, and for all the blessings it had brought to my life, and how it had made of this Easter Sabbath the best day of the year! This image shows how I felt this morning, I how I feel about my Savior: I look at him, knowing that he is there, that he is not in a tomb, and as I look with faith at him, hope will never disappear, and charity will fill my heart and will allow me to be a better instrument in his hands to share the news that he lives with others, and make them feel His love.
So on this Easter day, I invite you to ponder about how this Easter have drawn you closer to the Savior. May we not only remember and share on facebook all that is possible because of Him and our testimonies of him, that he lives, but may we live with that knowledge every day of our life, sharing it with others. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and because of those event that we remember on Easter time, everything is possible!
I have in my life the best cherry I could ever ask for my Sundays, and it's HIM! #BecauseOfHim, I can enjoy my Sundays!
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