My Dearest Loved Ones...

  
Dearest Loved Ones,

I am aware some of you are hurting, some of you are enduring your own "Gethsemane s," others are emotionally and physically exhausted as they endure a strenuous life, and some are simply praying to have the strength to wake up the next morning to conquer another day. I think about many of you and sit in awe at what you are overcoming. 
If there is one thing that I have learned since being here in Jerusalem, it is the Lord Lives. He knows us so intimately and has felt our deepest pains in the darkest hours as well as our greatest joys.
He suffered alone, so we may not have to. 
He will never let us fall when we trust in Him.
(Isaiah 41:10-13) 

"In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust. 

I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.

 

On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.

On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.

And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.

On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all that we could live forever." -Elder Wirthlin (Sunday Will Come)

This place has solidified my testimony of Jesus Christ and His divine power. 

He Lives.

3/5/11 Today I went to the Garden Tomb.  It was a beautiful Sabbath afternoon. A group of students and I started to sing hymns in the garden.  People from various countries trickled in to hear and join in.  Hymn books randomly dispersed, we all united to sing for one purpose...Jesus Christ.    I sat next to a girl, Maria, and her father. She spoke very little English yet I felt a unique bond with her.  She loved, "How Great Thou Art." 
We counted over 5 languages spoken and even more countries represented.

 The red blossoming flowers just outside of the tomb symbolize the joy and beauty of this sight, for there is life.  It is a hopeful sight to see the empty tomb.  

I yearn for the day to run up to Him and embrace Him
To feel His hands
To look up into His familiar face and see His smile, for I know it will light up my entire soul