Please watch this video:
http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/he-is-risen?lang=eng
Yesterday afternoon I went into the kitchen and found cartons of eggs and food dye. Confused for a moment, I looked at the calendar and realized that March was ending and tomorrow was Easter Sunday. Last night, I was given the opportunity to attend the Young Women's Broadcast at the conference center. It was my first time ever being in that building and ever being in the same room as the prophet. The spirit felt tangible. As soon as I took my seat and looked at the giant organ before me, I started to cry, overwhelmed with a feeling of love and gratitude. How lucky I was to have that experience and to see the prophet and hear the spirit. It prepared me to feel the spirit today on this Easter Sunday when we are given the opportunity to reflect on our Savior's life and sacrifice and His unconditional love for us.
I have to be honest. My knowledge and understanding of Christ is limited. Although I know about His life and His teachings, I feel as if there is so much more for me to learn. Every story I read, no matter how many times I read it, I find something new and amazing each time. Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father. He is our brother. He gave His life for us so that we may be saved, so that we may be able to return to our Father in Heaven. He gave us the opportunity to repent of our sins and be forgiven and although our sins may bring us pain and sorrow, through Christ's atonement, He has made it possible for us to feel great amounts of joy and happiness and love.
Sister Dalton shared at the Young Women's Broadcast this statement, "Christ made it possible for us to change. Satan makes us feel as though we cannot change. That is a lie." That is a lie. The Atonement is our chance to change. I experienced a time in life when I felt unworthy and I didn't think I could change. I would kneel down to pray. I felt as if there was no pray in my heart and when I would try to speak the words, I felt a physical pain. My words were strained during this time, but I continued to pray. I did not feel worthy; the pain caused me to cry many times. I knew Satan was putting these feelings of unworthiness and pain into my thoughts and heart. You are never unworthy to pray. You are never unworthy to speak to God. Christ made us worthy. He gave us a chance to not only be worthy, but to feel worthy. We cannot allow the adversary to fill our hearts with lies. President Ezra Taft Benson told us, "If we do not feel like praying, then we should pray until we do feel like praying." If we do not feel worthy to pray, we should pray until we do feel worthy. If we do not feel worthy to read the scriptures, we should read until we do. If we do not feel clean to enter the temple, even without a reason to be unclean, we need to continue to attend. We are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. We are worthy of him.
Easter is a time to reflect on Christ's Atoning sacrifice for us. Although painting eggs and receiving Easter basket's creates excitement in our day, the spirit we feel on this day is what makes this day memorable. Christ is our Savior. He saved us. We cannot allow ourselves to fall. We cannot allow ourselves to believe the lies of the adversary. The Lord was not spit upon for us, He was not scorned for us, He was not mocked, He did not bleed, He did not die for us just to have us fall and become scared by the lies and the pain of Satan. You will rise through Christ. You will rise as He rose. You have the ability to become perfect through Christ. We all have a part here. We are all a part of this plan. Fight to achieve. Fight to rise. Fight to feel worthy. Christ's love for you is infinite. He knows your pains. He suffered and He bled for your pains. He knows you. He knows who are you and He knows what you feel. You will find peace through Him. I can promise every one of you that your trial will not be forever. And it is worth the fight. This life is worth it, it is beautiful. It doesn't rain forever. The sun always finds its way through the storm.
I love my Savior. I love the peace and strength I can receive for him. I love this gospel. Happy Easter!
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