Happy Easter!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is infinite and expansive, but also intimate and personal. Lately I've thought much about the one person I want to see more than any other and what it will be like the day he and I are united. However, I am so grateful for Easter, which reminds me that the blessings of eternal life and victory over the grave will be shared by all people - not just my husband, but my Granny and Grandpa W, my Grandma and Grandpa L, my cousin Denny, Nana and Papa K (the latter of whom I never met), Sis. L (an elderly woman who let me wear her elaborate hats when I was a little girl), Bro. M​ (who was like an uncle to me and my siblings), Bro. B (whose example never ceased to impress me), Bro. L (who served with such service and happiness), and countless other family and friends, only a fraction of whom I have interacted with in this life.

​When I think of how I can still feel connections of love with my family and friends who have died, I feel my heart overflow at the promise that someday those feelings will not merely be at intervals, but they will permeate every part of my existence and perception. Those feelings will be what gives eternal life meaning and value. I believe in the literal, physical resurrection of all people (i.e. a reuniting of body and spirit, in perfect form, never to be separated again), and I also believe in a resurrection of feeling, of loving bonds. I believe love and joy and happiness will be restored to those who make an effort to plant those things in their life.

Truly, if we sow good, we will reap it, because Jesus Christ has paid our debts and provided the clean, rich fertile ground of His gospel in which to grow and progress, eventually becoming worthy to receive every blessing He has in store. He has extended to us the beautiful bloom of life everlasting. What's more, He is the living water, which continually sustains us as we discover the beauty of our own personal blossom.

May every Easter bouquet remind us of the wonder of life - past, current, and future. And may we remember how beautiful each of us is in the garden of this Earth. And most of all, may we grow up in the hope that one day, all our losses will be restored, all our wounds will be healed, and all our happiness and peace will be magnified beyond description - "sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored!"*

I know that Jesus Christ is real. He is a living God, and He is available to every person who seeks Him.

The happiest of Easters to everyone!

*From the hymn, "Be Still My Soul": https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/be-still-my-soul?lang=eng