let the whole wide earth rejoice.

i know not everyone who will read this is lds. i am aware. but i plead with you to read and watch anyway, regardless of your own beliefs. if you do or don't, i'll never know. but i hope you will. and this i do know: there is no piece of truth in my life so important as this. no strength, joy, comfort, or peace so strong as this simple, yet profound, knowledge available to all.

there are a million things i could say on this beautiful easter sunday. and yet, i simply say this.

he lives.

he who once was dead, lives.

how sweet the joy this sentence gives,

i know that my redeemer lives.

he lives to bless me with his love.

to plead for me above.

to silence all my fears.

to calm my troubled heart.

he lives to bring me safely home.

i know that my redeemer lives

the savior, jesus christ, is not a man spoken of only in ancient scripture.

not a half-forgotten historical figure.
he lives.

he was, in fact, raised from the dead three days after his death.

despite the darkness and loss the world faced that solemn friday so many years ago, sunday did come.

sunday always comes.

the day of life, the day of hope.

'he is not here, for he is risen.'

he lives.

“In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust.

When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones. I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross. ... On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled. It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God. I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.

But the doom of that day did not endure.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.

And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.”

joseph b. wirtlin, sunday will come

and sunday does come. of that, i am completely sure. and there is nothing more beautiful than that sunday.  those sundays of life are what make everything else worth it. everything else bearable.

because christ suffered and experienced everything--the sins, joys, and sorrows of every person who ever lived--we do not have to suffer alone. in the depths of our sorrow, he has experienced even worse. he knows it all. from the most divine and transcendent of joys, to the deepest wells of grief, he has known all. and it is that spectrum of experience through which he has been given understanding. elder holland tells it much more eloquently than i ever could.

full original talk: none were with him, jeffrey r. holland.

there is nothing more greater than that complete understanding and empathy.
and despite knowing all of our faults, the perpetual acceptance.

he knows.

he lives.

my kind, wise, heavenly friend lives.

and loves me (and you) for always.

and there is no thought more beautiful in all the world.

if i sound preachy, i don't mean to be.
but maybe i kind of do. maybe a little bit.
have you ever known about something really great?
something that brings you joy? peace? love?
i have.
and the first thing i want to do as i explode with the feelings of peace and love, is share.
share it with those that i love.
share the beauty and let them experience the same.
share the comfort and love, so they too can feel that peace on the fridays of their lives.
no matter how dark the day, there is always light.
the light is always darkest just before the dawn.
the dawning of the savior.
let him into your heart.
for that makes all the difference.
you'll wonder how you ever lived life without it.

and so, dear reader. i may not know who you are. but i'm dying to say this.
i love you.
and so does he.
a love beyond comprehension.
i once heard someone say they wondered why christ would suffer so immensely for them.
feeling so insignificant, so unimportant.
why would he do that for every single person?
surely they didn't deserve such a sacrifice.
but they do deserve that sacrifice.
everyone does.
it was out of love.
LOVE.
because he loves everyone.
he loves me.
he loves you.
i love him, because he loved me first.
he doesn't have conditions on his love.
he doesn't withdraw love.
it's always there.
despite our faults, mistakes, and stupidity,
he loves us still.
and his hand is stretched out still, waiting for us to let him in.
let him into our hearts as he wraps his arms around in comfort.
for there is always one who understands.

mother, liz lemon swindle.


and that, friends, is the most important of easter messages.
he is risen to save the world.
he conquered death to save the world.
christ has one the victory.
and now,
shall we not go on in so great a cause?
courage, and on to victory we go.
in the end, it's all about the love.