Easter Letter to Family

Debra and I are celebrating Easter with daughter Sharee, Randall, and five of our nine grandchildren, Paris, Willow, Skye, Star and Bronson in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho! What a beautiful place.

But I wanted everyone to know how important this Easter season is to me personally and as your father and brother.

This past week we remembered the entry of Christ into Jerusalem where he knew he would sacrifice himself as the lamb of God. Even his disciples did not understand fully what was to happen...

Friday is the day that we acknowledge his sacrifice on the cross. But it was the night before in the Garden of Gethsemane where he prayed to the father as his disciples slept, and where he felt the pains and anguish of the sins of all mankind as he paid the price for each one of us. It was here that his divinity as our Savior and his love for each one of us, manifested itself fully.

It is this time of Easter that we should especially examine ourselves and ask what we are doing to make this sacrifice, already made in our behalf, effective in our lives. None of us would want another to suffer for us, but Christ already has. And now it is our turn to make his suffering and anguish of consequence and value. We need only repent of our sins and transgressions and abandon them. If we will do this, not only will we be forgiven and made clean, but Christ's sacrifice for us will not have been in vain.

Of course, to repent may seem difficult. It requires recognition that as mortal beings and individuals with weaknesses, that we have made, are making, and will make mistakes in our life. Unlike Christ, we are imperfect beings and need to be constantly vigilant against temptations. Cultivating a relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ through prayer and the scriptures will help identify those areas we all need help in; virtue, pride, an unkind word... and more.

And yet as overwhelming as recognizing our faults may seem... Know that God, our Father, knows our heart and loves us each one, and gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to pay for the sins, not only of "all mankind", but of each one of us individually, you and me.

After acklowledging the sin, we need only ask in faith, with a sincere heart, to be forgiven and then promise to abandon that sin and perform restitution if possible. If we do all that we are asked to do, God will bless us with peace in our lives.

Because we have been given the greatest gift of all from our elder brother Jesus Christ, it is a wonderful time to reflect in gratitude for all that we have been given. All good things come from our Father in Heaven, and yet he has given us our agency to choose how we will use those gifts.

Another one of those gifts is what we celebrate today, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By taking up his life once more, our Savior has opened the gate to immortality for all of us. He lives and we will live not only in this life but in the life to come.

I hope you will watch the attached video. An apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Elder Jeffrey R.Holland spoke a couple weeks ago about the Savior's sacrifice. http://www.youtube.com/mormonmessages

I love you all very much and am grateful to be a part of your lives. I pray that we may all do as we have been invited, to "Come Unto Christ".Have a wonderful day!

Love,
Dad, Papa B, Bro

I