Monday, March 22, 2010

Motivational Monday - "Testimony of Easter"

"Testimony of Easter"  By Pat Graham

Because I live, ye shall live also (John 14:19).

The Easter story is a story of love. Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent His Son to earth to atone for our sins. Jesus loves Heavenly Father; He was willing to obey Him. And Jesus loves each one of us. He gave His life so that we may be forgiven when we do something wrong and repent.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13

Jesus died and then was resurrected, which means that He lived—and lives—again. We do not fully understand how Jesus can live again, so we think of it as a miracle. There are many miracles all around us that help us understand the resurrection of Jesus.

Wintertime is long and dark;
The flowers and seeds are sleeping.
They wait for the light of the sun to awaken them.
The warmth of spring brings them to life again,
Like a testimony of the Easter story.
A wonderful thing happens in spring—
The birds sing, the grass becomes green,
The world is awake with the promise of life,
Restoring the earth in its fullness.
Tiny brown buds become blossoms on a tree.
Dry bulbs pressed deep into the earth bloom again.
A little egg inside a nest becomes a bird.
From a gray cocoon, hidden beneath a leaf, comes a beautiful butterfly.

These tiny miracles help us to understand the greatest miracle of all, the Resurrection. When the stone was rolled away that Easter day, Jesus had risen from His tomb.

 “He is not here: for he is risen” (Matt. 28:6).
Many people saw Jesus after He was resurrected. However, we do not need to see Him to know that He lives. As we keep the commandments and remember Jesus, we feel good. And that good feeling is the beginning of a testimony.

“A testimony of Jesus means that you accept the divine mission of Jesus Christ, embrace His gospel, and do His works” (Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, May 1982, page 62).

For a long time the world was in darkness;
The hearts of men were sleeping.
There was no spiritual light upon the earth.
Then at last the heavens were opened,
And the light of the gospel awakened the world.
This was a glorious testimony of the Resurrection.
A wonderful thing happened one spring
When Joseph saw the Father and the Son.
The world was awakened, and the priesthood was returned to earth,
Restoring the gospel in its fullness.

2 comments:

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Thank you!

kado! said...

oh I love tulips, that for the beautiful picture!

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