A Quick Testimony

I have been thinking about the Easter story this past month.  It’s my favorite story.  I love learning about how our Savior suffered for us in Gethsemene, suffered and died for us on the Cross, and then was resurrected three days later.  It’s the most wonderful news in the world.  Nothing else really matters.  Because of Him, we don’t have to die spiritually.  We can repent and return to live with our Heavenly Father one day.  Because Christ rose from the grave, we can too.  Physical death is not final.  It’s such a beautiful message of hope.

This past Easter, I woke up Mason and Caitlyn early, right before the sun rose.  We bundled up and went outside for a nice, quiet walk in the desert as we watched the sun rise.  We talked about how just as the sun rises in the East after a dark night, the son of God also rose from the dead on Easter morning and how, whenever we see the sun rise in the East, we can remember the story of Easter and we can have hope that all of our dark nights will eventually turn into bright mornings because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I recently listened to an audio book called, “Consider the Cross”, by John Hilton.  It was such a great book that helped me understand the story of Easter more fully.  There was one small part that I have been thinking about every single day since listening to it.  I’ve been thinking about the crown of thorns that the Roman Soldiers placed on Jesus’ head as a form of mockery before Jesus was cruelly crucified.  The book briefly mentioned the crown of thorns as one of the symbols of Easter.  When Adam and Eve were cast out of their perfect world in the Garden of Eden, they were forced to face briers, thorns, and noxious weeds.  The thorns were sharp.  They hurt.  They were uncomfortable.  Thorns represent the trials, temptations, and tests of mortality that we all face.  When I imagine Jesus willingly placing that crown of thorns on his head, I can imagine how painful that was for him.  The imagery of the crown of thorns is exactly what the Savior did for us.  He willingly put upon himself the thorns of mortality of each and every person who had ever lived or who would ever live upon the Earth.  When I make a mistake, I imagine Jesus with the crown of thorns...he suffered my personal thorns of sin for me.  When I am in pain or if I’ve had a hard day, I imagine Jesus with the crown of thorns...he experienced my personal thorns of pain and hardship.  He suffered the longest and hardest day imaginable for each and every one of us.  He loves us more than we can even comprehend.

I am so grateful for a Savior who willingly chose to descend below all things, to be born to this Earth to become more like us...to experience our personal thorns of mortality...so that we could all have the chance to choose to change to become more like Him.  What a gift and a blessing that is.  I know that following the path that our Savior set before us, the covenant path, is the only way to feel true happiness in this life and in the eternal life to come.