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He is Risen: A Family Guide to Celebrating a Christ-Centered Easter
With every passing year, it’s easy to let Easter pass by in a whirlwind of egg dying, hunts, and baskets. In the midst of these celebrations, we can lose sight of the true meaning of Easter—the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The First Presidency has encouraged us to recenter our Easter festivities on our Savior’s life and ministry, so we don’t lose sight of His ultimate sacrifice for us. He Is Risen: A Family Guide to Celebrating a Christ-Centered Easter is designed to help your family come closer to the Savior during the weeks leading up to Easter With twenty-one daily devotionals–each focused on a sacred title of Jesus Christ–this…
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Jesus is The Good Shepherd
A shepherd watches over, protects, and guides his herd. He stays with them, even when there might be danger. He knows each sheep and when one wanders, he is willing to go out and call that one back to the flock. Modern-day shepherds camp with the sheep. They move them to better grazing and watch over them constantly. If a coyote, wolf, or a bear threaten the herd, the shepherd is there to protect the sheep, especially the lambs. Shepherds care about each sheep and will make sure all are fed and nourished appropriately. If any are sick or injured, the shepherd will take extra care to help the sheep…
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The Lamb of God
My brother-in-law owns a large herd of sheep. He has been a sheep herder throughout his life. Lambing happens in the spring when all the babies are born, and those baby lambs are adorable. They soon learn who their shepherd is and they willingly follow and submit their will to the shepherd. We read in John 1:29, “ . . .Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist is referring to Jesus as the Lamb of God. He could have called him a number of other names including, the Messiah, the King, the Lord, but instead he chose to refer to Him…
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Why A Christ-Centered Easter Matters
Easter often arrives amid baskets, multi-colored eggs, baby chicks, and stuffed bunnies. Families dye eggs, have Easter egg hunts, and enjoy a big family dinner. Most of the decorations center on pastel colors and spring. Many even receive new dresses and cute outfits to wear on Easter Sunday. Beneath all of this is something so much more powerful than candy and hardboiled eggs. Easter is not simply a fun springtime celebration. It is the absolute declaration that Jesus Christ suffered for our sins in Gethsemane, was crucified on the cross, and then rose on the third day in His glorious resurrection. When we focus on the Savior, Jesus Christ, and…
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Perfectionism vs Being Perfected in Christ
We read in the scriptures about being perfect. Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 3 Nephi 12:48 “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” We’ve come to define “perfect” as being flawless, without mistakes, or without any blemishes. Because of this definition we have fallen into traps when we think about perfection and can misunderstand this doctrine. Have you ever thought, “I’m not righteous enough?” Or, “I will never be able to keep all the commandments perfectly?” Or, “I keep making mistakes and failing so I shouldn’t attend the temple?” “I’ll never be as…
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Jesus Suffered for Us So We Don’t Have To
While in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ suffered for each one of us. He describes this suffering in the following scripture passage and then adds a condition so that we do not have to experience the same kind of suffering. In Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-19 it reads, “15 Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. 16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; 17 But if they would not repent…
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What Does It Mean To Worship God?
In Alma, chapter 32, Alma begins teaching a group of poor Zoramites who’d been cast out from the synagogues because of “the coarseness of their apparel.” These people were distraught, believing they had nowhere to worship, so they appealed to Alma. “. .. Behold, what shall these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests: for they have cast us out of our synagogues . . .because of our exceeding poverty; and we have no place to worship our God; and behold, what shall we do? (verse 5).” The people believed that they could only worship in…
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A Living Prophet
Something that distinguishes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from other churches is our belief in a latter-day, living prophet who teaches us what God wants us to know. A living prophet is one for our own day. He teaches, preaches, and leads the Church. The living prophet is the most important prophet to us and his teachings are the most vital. Divine Calling to Lead The Church The latter-day Church was established on April 6, 1830 in Peter Whitmer’s home. A total of six people joined that day. Joseph Smith was the first elder, or leader of the Church. He received a revelation that day, which is…
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Modesty: A Mindset
Recently, we had a relief society lesson on “Reverence for Sacred Things,” by Elder Ulisses Soares from the April 2025 general conference. The teacher asked if how we dressed influenced the reverence we felt in the temple or at church. I was reminded of a story that happened with a temple president who spoke in our stake conference. He stood at our pulpit during the Sunday morning session and said, “I have been surprised to see how many young women come to the temple wearing thongs. Please don’t wear thongs to the temple.” You could hear an audible gasp in the audience. He went on to talk about thongs and…
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Doctrines and Principles for Our Lives
There is so much to learn in section 19 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Doctrines and principles contained in this section are of great importance to our salvation. It was specifically for Martin Harris but we can apply much of it to ourselves. An important message contained in this revelation is that God is in the details of our lives. He knows us and He loves us. Jesus is All We Need Doctrine and Covenants 19:1, reads, “I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world.” Jesus is the beginning and the end. We start with Him and we end…
