Easter 2009

We had a nice Easter this year. We ate dinner with Bill and Katherine, John and Linda Sanchez, the Hendersons, and the Waltys. Dinner was potluck style, so I just cooked some bread boules and defrosted one of our hams (from our pigs) and Katherine cooked it. Everything tasted great. Linda set up an Easter egg hunt for Jack. She really outdid herself - 24 eggs, chocolate bars, and presents. Jack thought it funny that the eggs were hiding.

We didn't really get a family picture, and Joel left before dessert to go on EQ visits. But it was a pleasant day.

Below is the talk I gave on Easter. I'm happy with the way it went and it seemed to be well received. Hope all went well with you.

Happy Easter!!!!! I love holidays: the family, the food, the traditions, the excitement in the air. And what more important events are to remembered and celebrated than the Atonement, death, and resurrection of our Savior?!?! Christmas gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so, but if it wasn’t for the events at the end of our Savior’s mortal life, there would be no point to Christmas – a miraculous birth, yes, but to what end? Christ himself taught that this was the reason he came: to be lifted up upon the cross (3 Ne 27:14). He came to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, that through him all might be saved (DC 76:41,42).

By virtue of being the children of Adam and Eve, we have inherited the effects of The Fall. Adam’s fall brought death: temporal death and spiritual death. Temporal death is the separation of body and spirit; Through the Resurrection, all men are able to become immortal, having their spirit and body reunited, never to be separated again. This is a gift that all men will receive. (As a side note, this is one reason why we should be good to our bodies – because like it or not, it’s the one we are stuck with for an awfully long time.) Okay, now that we have temporal death taken care of, we are left with spiritual death to reckon with.

Spiritual death is being cast out of the presence of the Lord. In order to become spiritually alive again, the book of Moses teaches us that "as ye were born into the world by water, and blood and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; (Moses 6:59)" So birth takes 3 things: water, spirit, and blood. Water and Spirit are taken care of on our baptism and confirmation day. Give yourself a little check if you have been baptized and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost. But dang it, ugh, we are human! I remember when I was 8 that as soon as I was baptized, all spotless from sin, when I still washing up and getting ready before being confirmed, I LIED! I was crying, having felt the spirit, and my mom asked if I was crying. I was embarrassed and said no, that I just had something in my eye. My baptism day! Tainted by this! Thank goodness for that third aspect of birth: blood, even the blood of our Savior.

Without Christ’s Atonement, no one would be able to be in the presence of our Father again. How sad is that? Isn’t that the Father’s goal? His work? His glory? To bring to pass our immortality and eternal life? (Moses 1:39) Father knew before he sent us here that we would be sinners. He knew that if something wasn’t done, we’d be pooched, and He would be sitting on His throne with an empty court. With His work, (and anyone who has kids knows that having children is definitely work) His work, us, would be cast out because we were unclean, and no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. (Moses 6:57) Remember this: He wants us to succeed. He wants to have joy and to give us all that He has. He wants to because we are His. It is easy to forget, but we really are children of Heavenly Father. And He loves us. Not just loves he, but He loves us, He loves us, He loves us. And because of this love, from the beginning, the infinite Atonement was part of the plan.

The Atonement

When I was in 9th grade science, Newton’s 3rd law of motion stood out to me, giving me a very rudimentary explanation of the Atonement. The law states: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As we do the things He tells us to do, things that bring us closer to Him, He, in turn is bound and has to bless us. Conversely, as we sin, and break the laws of God, we make ourselves distant from Him. There has to be a consequence for our action. He has to enforce the punishment for the broken law. The more immediate punishment would include guile, unhappiness, and eventually the Spirit withdrawing from us. The longer term punishment would be being separated from God, eternally pained from knowing what we could have had = the peace and joy and happiness - and knowing that it was our own actions that keps us from being there. When we distance ourselves from God, blessings are withheld - but not because He doesn’t want to bless us. He is not the one distancing himself from us. Remember, God wants us to succeed. Thus, the Atonement.

Second Nephi 2:7 reads, “Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law.” The Atonement is Christ paying the penalty of the broken laws for us. Christ suffered vicariously for our sins. He suffered the pains of our sins, both sins of commission (the sins and laws we actively break) and our sins of omission (the good things we should be doing but aren’t). Through the Atonement, men can again be brought back into the presence of God. This gift is offered to all. But not all men will receive it. Some insist to tread the winepress themselves.

Repentance

The Lord has said, “I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I” (D&C 19:16-17). Now, I’m going to step out on a limb here, but I’m quite sure we all have things in our lives that we aren’t proud of. Then I’m sure you have felt that guilt, that weight, that pressure, perhaps that self-loathing, both in body and spirit. Christ suffered these too, but not because of his own sins, but ours, which caused him “…even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit – and would that (he) might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink…” (D&C 19:18) But he did partake, thus preparing a way for us to return.

Do not feel that some of the things you have done can’t be forgiven. This is simply not true. As harsh as it may sound, you are not that exceptional. Your situation is not beyond the reach of our Savior. The Atonement is infinite, and does cover your individual sins, your individual circumstances, your pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses, disappointments, and transgressions (Alma 7:11-13). Time and again, even knowing everything we've done, the Lord has told us that his hand is stretched out still. He has engraven on his hands you personally.

Repentance is not an easy thing to do. It takes humility, and makes you really see yourself and face up to those dark places in yourself that you wish weren’t there. Sometimes some of your sins have to be confessed to the Bishop. Although it may feel like it, talking with the Bishop is not part of the punishment,. His job is to help you, to make sure your repentance is complete.

Repentance brings us joy, not just in the world to come, but in this world also (Moses 6:56). Through our Savior every struggle can be for our own experience and our own good. Each temptation we overcome is not meant to destroy us but to strengthen us. Remember, He wants us to be happy and have joy. Don’t wait to give your sins away – start the process today, and do it everyday. Be patient with yourself, for repentance is needed on an ongoing basis. Doing so can help us to live after the manner of happiness, even now.

This Easter season let us enjoy the food, the family, and the family traditions. Let us celebrate that Christ has risen, breaking the bonds of death, both temporal and spiritual death. Their lasting effects are nullified, if we but let it. A few words in one of my favorite songs ‘This Is the Christ’ by James E Faust come to mind, and get me every time: “How many drops of blood were spilt for me?” Christ suffered for our sins. Let us use the Atonement and repent, enduring to the end, doing all that we can do, so His blood was not spent in vain. I bear my testimony that we are known individually, that we are loved and are wanted back in the presence of our Maker. I bear my testimony that living the gospel brings peace, hope and joy into our lives. I am eternally indebted to our Father and His Son for making these things possible. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.