He Is Risen!

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time! I thing that it perfectly symbolizes our Savior and everything that we believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that He IS risen! Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered greater things than we can even begin to imagine. He bled at every pore. He was scourged and beaten. Nails were driven through His hands and His feet as He was hung on the cross. He died for us. For me, and for you. And then, on the third day, that beautiful Sunday morning, He rose again. Our beloved Savior broke the bonds of death and made it possible for each and every one of us to also rise again! Death is not the end, but merely the beginning.

I like to imagine how I would have felt, had I been in Mary's shoes when she arrived at the Tomb of her Lord only to find His body gone. And then to be sitting outside the Tomb, weeping, when He came to hear and said to her "Woman, why weepest thou? Why seekest thou the living among the dead?" How would I have felt to see Him standing there before me? I think that it would have been the most amazing feeling in the world to realize that, just as He said He would, Jesus Christ was resurrected on the third day after His crucifixion.

This Easter Sunday, a day when the Christian World pauses to remember what He did for us, I want to express my gratitude to my Savior for all He did for me. It is because of Him and His suffering that I was even able to finish my mission. His Atonement brought me strength greater than I could have imagined. I learned so much about my Savior during the time that I served my mission. He really truly did do so much for each and every one of us so that we can have the opportunity to live again. And what a blessing it is.

I know that He lives. I know that He died for each one of us because He loves us. I know that because of His sacrifice and suffering, we will all have the opportunity to live again, and have our eternal families.

I am eternally grateful for my Savior and for all that He did for me. I cannot wait for the day when I will be able to kneel before Him and thank Him for all that He has done for me to make my life the way it is. To quote a favorite hymn, "Oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me!"