Resurrection, Revelation, Reflection

Yesterday morning my mind went back to another Easter morning 12 years ago.  I arrived in Utah the day before because I'd received word that my father wouldn't live past the week.  He was in the final stages of Alzheimer's.

It was good to greet my father Saturday and see his eyes light up when I walked into his hospital room.  That afternoon my mother, brothers and their wives, his grandchildren, and I gathered around my Dad.  We visited with him, shared memories, and said a prayer together.  When I went back to the hospital the next day, my Dad was non-responsive.  In Sunday worship services that Easter morning we sang the hymn, He is Risen!  As we sang, my eyes filled with tears as I realized because Jesus had risen, so would my father.  I will be with my father again.  His death will not be the end of our relationship.

My father, and our son Sam

Click the arrow to hear the song, "He Is Risen"

Yesterday, my testimony of eternal life was strengthened as I listened to the First Presidency share their Easter messages at general conference.  Take a moment to listen to a few of their thoughts about Easter in the video below.  

President Russell M. Nelson

Without our Redeemer’s infinite Atonement, not one of us would have hope of ever returning to our Heavenly Father. Without His Resurrection, death would be the end. Our Savior’s Atonement made eternal life a possibility and immortality a reality for all.

President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor

Today we join other Christians in celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a pillar of our faith. Because we believe the accounts in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon about the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we also believe the numerous scriptural teachings that a similar resurrection will come to all mortals who have ever lived upon this earth. That resurrection gives us what the Apostle Peter called “a lively hope” (1 Peter 1:3). That lively hope is our conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity but merely a necessary step in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan for the salvation of His children. 

President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor

I thank our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Beloved Son, who came voluntarily to earth to be our Redeemer. I am grateful to know that He atoned for our sins and rose in the Resurrection. Every day I am blessed to know that, because of His Atonement, I may someday be resurrected to live forever in a loving family.

Speaking of general conference, it was fun to get pictures of our children and their families as they watched conference in Idaho, Utah and California.  We sent them photos of us watching from Belize.  

Renee and family in Utah

(from left) Rachel, Janelle, Lisa, Sam and families in Idaho

Below: Kristine and family in California. Elder Magnusson and I in Belize

 Above are the two branches watching conference in the Belize City chapel in English and cultural hall in Spanish.

This picture was taken in-between conference sessions with the missionaries and a couple of members.  

We learned that Belizeans take the meaning of Easter seriously.  I should have figured something was going on when we stopped by the market Thursday afternoon to pick up some watermelon.  It seemed as though all of Belize City was shopping for food at Publics Supermarket.  Their grocery baskets were filled to the brim and every check-out register had long lines. 

The next day, Friday, as we drove in town we noticed that the streets were empty and stores closed. Completely, even the gas stations. The busy boulevard below is usually teeming with pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, and shoppers, all hours. We're told it's against the law in Belize to do business on Good Friday, out of respect for Jesus' death.

As we were telling the Flakes about our experience on Good Friday in Belize City, they described what they saw in the streets of Benque on Good Friday. Belizedestinations.com describes the sawdust covered streets and the Passion of Christ Parade the best:

The Passion of Christ parade is held on Good Friday every year, in Benque, Belize, on the border of Guatemala. From early morning, families start decorating the steps to the church and the streets with intricate designs, using colored sawdust. By afternoon, they are completed and people walk the streets to admire them, before Christ carrying the cross is reenacted on the sawdust covered streets.  

The Flakes took these pictures and sent them to us. I couldn't comprehend how the beautiful colors of sawdust were laid on the streets of Benque until they sent the second photo (right) and I saw that the colors were laid with stencils.

Teaching Yvette Young in front of her small, outdoor restaurant. Sister Young joined the church two years ago. She lives by faith, honoring the Sabbath Day by closing her business on Sundays.