Kameron's Talk
Kameron gave this talk in Sacrament Meeting on Easter Sunday. He did a fantastic job. I love that kid so much!!
Why Is
the Living Christ Important In My Life
I was asked to speak on why the
living Christ is important in my life. I thought that this would be an easy
topic to talk about and in some ways it is…but my feelings about the Savior are
so deep and all encompassing that it has been hard to narrow down my thoughts
about what exactly to talk about today.
I decided to focus my talk on Easter and Holy Week …the week
that leads up to Easter Sunday. Every year during Holy Week my family discusses
and reflects on what was happening in the Savior’s life on each day of that
important week. Every day of Holy Week
my mom writes on a chalkboard in our home the events of that particular day.
She also displays pictures from the Gospel Art Kit that depict what was
happening on that day. It has been really interesting to know what He went
through on a day to day basis. Each night at dinner we discussed more in depth
what happened each day.
As the week progressed each particular day had an event that
resonated with me…whether it was Palm Sunday the one day when Jesus was treated
like the King he is, or on Monday when He cleansed the temple, or Tuesday when
Jesus returned to the temple and His authority was questioned and he taught
important parables on the Mount of Olives while behind the scenes Judas was
negotiating with the Sanhedrin to betray Him, to Wednesday when we don’t have
much information as to what was happening, to Holy Thursday as Jesus and His disciples prepared to share
in the Passover and ate the Last Supper and to the events that occurred in the Garden
of Gethsemane as Jesus atoned for the sins of the world to Judas’ betrayal and
Jesus’s arrest.
As we closed in on Good Friday I felt almost anxiety because I
knew what was coming and I didn’t even want to read what was written on the chalkboard
that day… about Jesus’ trial and His being condemned to death, Him being
scourged, beaten, and mocked, forced to carry His cross through a jeering
crowd, His crucifixion and death. As I read those words I was hit by such
intense sorrow that He had to suffer for me and for all of us.
In our family we talked about why it is called Good Friday
when such terrible and tragic events occurred and that it is because the price
was paid for all of us that day. It hit
me in a such a personal way what the Savior willingly went through for me and
for you and for everyone. We had a powerful discussion in our family that night
and were overcome with so much gratitude for the incomprehensible love that the
Savior has for all of us. That the perfect sinless Son of God would do this for
me hit me in a way that it hasn’t before.
Then as we continued to follow the events of that sacred week
and read about Jesus’ body being prepared for burial and laid in the sepulchre
with the stone placed in front and guarded by Roman Soldiers I found myself so looking
forward to Easter Sunday when the stone was rolled away and the tomb empty, and
an angel asks the women “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” to knowing the
Jesus Christ overcame death and was resurrected and that He lives! It was
wonderful to read those words and to know that He lives not just on the third
day but this day and every day. He lives and we can find Him and have him in
our lives.
I am glad that my family has this tradition every year because
it is so easy to get caught up in the worldly aspects of Easter…the bunny, the
baskets, the eggs, and the candy and forget the powerful reality of WHY we
celebrate Easter. I am grateful that I was able to slow down and reflect upon
what the Savior went through in the week leading up to His death and
resurrection.
How powerful are the words of the angel in Luke 24:
Why seek
ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.”
President Benson said that nothing in history equals that
dramatic announcement, “He is not here, but is risen.”
President Monson said in April 2010:
“Our
Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events
of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of
Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been
secured. The fall of Adam had been reclaimed.”
So why is the living Christ important in my life… because
without Him I am nothing. His life and example influence every aspect of my
life. Who I am, what I do, what I say, the choices I make, the friends I
choose, the path I am on, and the decisions that I will make in the
future…everything.
One of my favorite scriptures is D & C 76:22
“And now,
after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony,
last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!”
Today we got the news that my great-grandma passed away this
morning. As we remembered her and her influence these words from John had extra
special meaning this Easter morning:
“ I am
the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live… And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
(Then Kameron bore a really sweet testimony)
