Jessica's Easter Talk

Doug and I were both asked to speak in church. We were given the topic of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was amazing to study all week long and think about what we wanted to share with everyone on Easter Morning. Here is what I shared-

“…The gift of our divine Redeemer brings an entirely new dimension to our lives. Because of our Savior’s sacrifice, instead of dismal oblivion, death becomes only a passage to a more glorious realm. The Resurrection becomes a reality for all. Eternal life becomes available to those who walk in obedience to His commandments”- Gordon B Hinckley

How blessed we are to know of the Savor’s life and to have a day set aside to celebrate his works!

As a little girl I used to read through the hymnal like a book. The words of the hymns have always been so inspiring to me- it seems that because they are set to music that invites the Spirit their simple words have been able to teach me amazing lessons. One in particular has helped me to learn and better understand the steps we can take to better take advantage of the Atonement.

Hymn 169- As Now We Take the Sacrament
As now we take the sacrament our thoughts are turned to Thee
Thou son of God, who lived for us, then died on Calvary
We contemplate thy lasting grace, Thy boundless charity
To us the gift of life was giv’n, through all eternity

The first step is to think of Christ. To remember Him and, most importantly, to have faith in Him.

As a child I memorized the meaning of faith to be a belief in things we cannot see. My whole life I took that very literally- I felt that I had faith because I believed that God was there. I knew that there was someone listening to my prayers and I knew that Joseph Smith really did live and to me that was faith. It wasn't until I was in college that faith took on an entirely new meaning to me. I was faced with a large decision and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. It could almost go without saying that there was an easy route and a hard one. I'd of course chosen the easy decision. I had it all planned out and it all made perfect sense in my head, until I prayed about it. At that moment I knew that my decision was wrong and that I was going to have to go the harder route. The ease of MY decision called to me much more than the difficulty of what I had been directed to do. I felt as if I'd been asked to take a giant leap without knowing where I'd land. All of the sudden faith was so much more- it was real. Instead of just believing that God was there, I had to know that he would guide me.

As the years have gone since that lesson, I have learned more and more about the strength of believing in those things that you can not see. I have learned not only to believe, but to know that the plan God has set out for us is always the better plan and if we can only allow ourselves to follow it, He will bless us with happiness we could never have expected.

A great example of this can be found in the life of Joseph Smith during the time when the plans for the Kirtland, Ohio temple were made.
When the saints first began construction of the Kirtland temple, Joseph Smith convened a council meeting and asked each participant to propose the type of structure for the temple. Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith's mother later recorded:

"Some thought that it would be better to build a frame others said that a frame was too costly kind of house and the majority concluded upon the putting up a log house...Joseph rose and reminded them that they were not making a house for themselves or any other man but a house for God. " And shall we brethren build a house for Our God of logs. No bretheren, I have a better plan than that I have the plan of the house of the Lord given by himself you will see by this the difference between our calculations and his Ideas."

May we all have faith like Joseph Smith so that when a commandment comes we will be able to stand up and say- I'm not going to take the easy way out, I will follow the Lord's commandment exactly as he asked it because I KNOW that is the best way.

The second verse of the hymn says,

As now our minds review the past, we know we must repent.
The way to Thee is righteousness-the way Thy life was spent.
Forgiveness is a gift from Thee We seek with pure intent
With hands now pledged to do thy work, we take the sacrament

The last verse was filled with thinking and remembering words- this one is filled with action words. We review the past, we seek forgiveness, we pledge to do the work of the Father.

I had the amazing opportunity to grow up in the Kirtland, Ohio stake and I am convinced that my life will forever be influenced by what I learned about the early history of our church. I can remember every time someone came to visit us. One or two days were always set aside to go to the church history sites. As a child, this was pure torture. I'd been through the tours so many times that I knew exactly what they were going to say and when they would say it. I knew what every single object in every room was used for- in fact, I could honestly say that I considered myself an expert on historic Kirtland by about the age of 9 or 10.

As I got older I realized how much more there is to learn about the early members of our church. Instead of focusing on facts about what they ate or the kind of shoes they wore, I began to realize that these people had real lives- they had hopes and dreams and trials just as I did.

I soon decided on my very favorite sight in Kirtland. About two miles down the road from the Kirtland Temple is the stone quarry. It is a beautiful forest where, if you follow a small path, you will find a stream lined with sandstone- it is easy to see the marks where the stone was cute in large chunks to be used to build the temple. I love this sight because it shows not only the spiritual side of Kirtland but also the work that was necessary to build the temple. Imagine the physical strength necessary to cut an enormous stone out of the earth and carry it two miles up the road, and then imagine doing this simply because you had the faith that the Lord wanted you to. This is when I truly began to learn from the early saints from Kirtland.

From them I realized that blessings don’t often just come by themselves. You must work for them. Two miles down the road from every temple there must be a stone quarry where each of us has labored.

The third and final verse explains the next step- my personal favorite.
As now we praise Thy name with song, the blessings of this day
Will linger in our thankful hears, and silently we pray
For courage to accept thy will, to listen and obey
We love thee, Lord; our hearts are full. We’ll walk thy chosen way.

In the end, the Saints had their temple- and what a beautiful temple it is! It still stands- a beautiful beacon to all who pass by. People are taught of our faith by only the site of it. It is a blessing to us from God.

We each have open access to the most amazing of all gifts. Just like the temple was created through hard work and faith, we can, (with faith and sometimes a lot of work!) we can receive the blessings of our labor. I know that our Redeemer lives and that through him we can each be saved if we use this gift of the Atonement in our lives.