I always look forward to general conference, but this time I felt a greater anticipation. In October, President Nelson said that this general conference would be different. He also promised that if we would prepare ourselves, it would be memorable and unforgettable. Sometimes when we are so excited for something to happen, when it is over, we feel a little let down. Not so with this general conference! It was indeed memorable and unforgettable for me!
Palm Sunday is the commemoration of Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. On this special day, He was greeted by the people waving palm branches and shouting hosanna, “bearing testimony of our Lord’s divine Sonship. In plain language they [were] hailing Jesus as the Son of David, the Deliverer of Israel, their Savior and Redeemer, the promised Messiah, the Son of God. And they [were] doing it wittingly, deliberately using the sacred expression, Hosanna, … [which] means literally, save now, or save we pray, or save we beseech thee.”1
One particularly sacred moment during conference was the opportunity to stand in my home with my family and acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Savior and my Redeemer, the promised Messiah. I was overwhelmed as I tried to imagine joining with millions of members of the Church across the world in a united plea to God to save.
The prophet has again invited us to unitedly petition our Heavenly Father on Friday for relief from the devastating affects of the coronavirus pandemic. I am humbled at being a part of such a great cause. This Friday – Good Friday – we are being asked to make an incredibly small sacrifice to fast and pray that the Lord will bless the world on the very day the world commemorates the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice.
Easter season is a glorious time – a time to reflect on the eternal truth that, because of Jesus Christ, there are always better days ahead.
One of my favorite Easter talks was given by Joseph B. Wirthlin many years ago. He taught, “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. … No matter how dark our Friday, Sunday will come.”2
Because of the Savior, Jesus Christ, we have hope even when things around us may seem hopeless!
There is so much for us to consider during this week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Jeffrey R. Holland reminds us, “As we approach this holy week—Passover Thursday with its Paschal Lamb, atoning Friday with its cross, Resurrection Sunday with its empty tomb—may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ ‘at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,’ for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.”3
I am so very grateful for my Savior! I love Him! I boldly declare my devotion to Him!
References:
1. The Triumphal Entry – New Testament Manual
2. Sunday Will Come – Joseph B. Wirthlin
3. None Were With Him – Jeffrey R. Holland