Easter

William enjoyed his first Easter egg hunt with our ward at Central Park.

As you can see, he had a pretty good idea of the way things work, although, he also felt that it would be a good idea to collect some sand and sticks in addition to plastic eggs.

He also realized pretty quickly, to his delight, just exactly what is inside those eggs.

He’s going to love Halloween.

On a more spiritual note, my wife shared a beautiful Easter quote from Harold B. Lee in her Sacrament Meeting talk today. But first a little biographical context:

President Harold B. Lee lost his wife, Fern Tanner Lee, and his daughter, Maurine Lee Wilkins to death within a few years of each other. With half of his family of four taken away from him, he suffered profound grief and depression. (L. Brent Goates, Harold B. Lee: Prophet and Seer [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1985], 357.) Within this context, Harold B. Lee shared the following thoughts about how the resurrection helped him to overcome his challenges:

I know … what it means to have the shattering devastation of loneliness with the snatching away of a loved one. Over my years, I have been called and tried to comfort those who mourn, but until I had to repeat those very things to myself that I have been saying to others, then only did I come to sense something that was far beyond words, that had to reach down to the touchstone of the soul before one can give real comfort. You have to see part of you buried in the grave. You have to see the loved one die and then you have to ask yourself—Do you believe what you have been teaching others? Are you sure and certain that God lives? Do you believe in the Atonement of the Lord and Master—that He opened the doors to the resurrection in the more glorious life? Sometimes when we stand in the stark nakedness all alone, it’s then that our testimony has to grow deep if we are not going to be shattered and fall by the wayside…

You folks today, if you know that you have anchored your souls in that divine testimony that He lives and that at the latter day He will stand upon this earth and you will meet Him face to face—if you know that, no matter what the risks and the responsibilities and the tragedies may be—if you build your house upon the rock, you won’t falter. Yes, you’ll go through the terrifying experience of sorrow over a lost loved one, but you won’t falter; eventually you’ll come through with even greater faith than you ever had before. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, (2000) Chapter 23

Happy Easter.