The Absolute. Most. Important. Thing. March 25-31 Easter

Cindy: Hi, friends! Welcome back to Primarily Scripture.

I'm Cindy Young, and today I am joined by 13 year old Leah. How are you, Leah?  

Leah: I'm good.  

C:  Thanks for being here. Leah loves art, and I'm so excited to study with her today!  This week, we are getting ready for Easter, and Easter is such an important holiday. As a matter of fact, in General Conference recently, they've talked about how it should be the most important holiday that we celebrate ever, because without Easter, we wouldn't even have Christmas. So I've been trying to do that more, and I'm excited to study this week. There are free worksheets for you guys on the website, go to primarilyscripture.com  and if you take a look there are a lot of different scriptures from all over in the Book of Mormon. There are so many scriptures in the Book of Mormon about the atonement of Christ, his resurrection, and what it means for us, and it's so fantastic. So, Leah, what do you want to study today? 

 L: Jesus died on the cross.

C: So that is the third activity on this first study sheet. And it is linked over to 1st Nephi chapter 11, verse 33. Could you read that verse for us, Leah? 

L: "And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and was slain for the sins of the world." 

C: Looking at the worksheet, it has a few questions: How did Nephi see that Jesus died on the cross? And why was it important for him to know this doctrine? Do you remember how Nephi was able to see Jesus Christ? Because they weren't living at the same time, so how did Nephi see it?  

L: Um, he saw it in a vision.  

C: That's right. Why would Nephi get a vision that Jesus Christ died?  

L: Um, I feel like maybe he wanted to show Nephi what would happen and how this would, like, go down  and how he would be able to make up for the sins of man.

C: I agree.  Nephi was the prophet for his family and, um, their entire civilization, right? So they couldn't progress without knowledge of the plan that Jesus was going to die.  Him seeing this made him a powerful prophet to be able to teach and testify and help his people choose the right.  So what thoughts do you have when you think about Jesus dying on the cross?  

L: It makes me sad that he had to go through that, but at the same time, it makes me feel like really, like, appreciated.  Like, I appreciate it greatly and I'm very glad that he did that and that he gave us a chance to repent and be able to go live with him again.  

C: Yeah. It's such a beautiful thing and it makes me cry.  Um, when I think about Jesus suffering,  I have those same feelings of just gratitude and how sad it is that he went through that. I know how horrible it is when I suffer myself, right? When I stub my toe or my own sins, my mistakes, and I'll cry and be upset because I feel bad.  I think back and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I could not believe that I did that.  And to think that Jesus felt all of that, everything that I felt and everything that you felt  and everything that everybody has felt like. I can barely handle my own feelings, let alone anybody else's.  And he felt all of that. That's,  it's mind blowing. We just can't understand it.  So what else is Easter about besides him dying on the cross?  

L: Um, his resurrection, like his coming out of the grave and like rolling the stone away. How people were able to like see him again and be astonished that he was back. Even though they saw him die. 

C: Yeah, exactly. Nobody else had ever been resurrected before. There were a few other people who had come back to life, like Lazarus. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He died, and then Jesus performed a miracle and brought him back. But he wasn't resurrected. Resurrected is when our spirits and our bodies are brought back together and they'll never go apart ever again. And when you and I are resurrected, we'll have perfect bodies. When Jesus was resurrected, he chose to keep,  he chose to keep the wounds in his hands and in his feet so that people would know that it was him. How amazing that would have been to see him.  There's some verses in here. Let's turn to 3 Nephi chapter 11.   

L: 3rd Nephi chapter 11.  

C: Let's read nine and ten. 

L: "And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:  Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world."   

C: Such a beautiful verse. I'm going to highlight that for sure. And when I highlight about Jesus Christ, I love to use yellow. And it just really stands out that this is about the Savior, the light of the world.   So, all of our listeners and viewers, I hope you guys go and read this story and think about it.  There were beautiful teachings and experiences. Angels came down and surrounded the children. Such amazing miracles and things happened when Jesus showed himself to the Nephites.    Now if the Prophet and Apostles have asked us to celebrate Easter a little more, just more. They want us to celebrate   more diligently and have it be a bigger deal.   What are some ways that we could do that? Do you have any ideas? 

C: We could  read these verses, like how on Christmas we read some of the verses about  his birth,  but during Easter we can like read the verses about his resurrection.   Learn more about him and what happened on that day. 

L: Yeah, definitely. I'm starting that with my family, that we're trying to read more and more about it and have it be like, not just the day of, but kind of working up to it. 

C: Now, something fun that I have done  that I think would be just up your alley, Leah, is I have tried to put more art in my home that is about the Savior, especially about Easter.  and I didn't have budget to just go out and, like, buy $200 paintings of the Savior. And I was like, how could I put a big painting up? So, I bought a $6 canvas. And then I did my own painting. And it's not super great,  but it's about Easter. And so I've put that up and I ended up doing three paintings. I did one of Gethsemane, and I did one of the cross, and I did one of the tomb with the stone rolled away. Um, have you ever done any art that is Savior based? 

L: I have some really old ones.  But they're like, really old, so they aren't that good, but I did,   I drew a couple,  and like, I've done this thing a few times where I would draw a picture and redraw it the next year, so like I could see how I've improved, and I found one, and it was of Jesus. And I did improve a lot, and I just thought it was cool to see  that I, like, to this day,  I am still interested in learning and drawing. 

 C: I'm sure you're a much better artist than I am. Like, my picture of Gethsemane, I just drew a tree trunk. really basic. I used a couple different colors so there'd be some depth, but I did a basic tree trunk and then I got Q- tips and dipped it in colors, and that was the leaves of the tree, and doing it in lots of colors of green gave it some depth,  and that's basically all my picture is, just a tree. Uh, so it doesn't have to be anything crazy, it's just a reminder, and so I think that, um, adding art, and  adding music. There are so many amazing songs out there. There are hymns and there are primary songs, and then there are even more, too, that lots of people have written, um, that can remind us and teach us about the Savior, about His Atonement and His Resurrection. And adding those is a great way to increase the spirit in your home and help you prepare for Easter and think about it more.   Any last thoughts that you want to add?  

L:  I just feel like I can't express enough gratitude for him having done that.  And  I feel like maybe, at the time, he might have been scared.   I would have been terrified, but I feel like he probably was thinking, It's for them, and it'll be over soon. And they'll be so much better. They'll be able to come back.  And I just feel like  I have, like, an infinite amount of gratitude for that.  Never ending.  

C: Thank you for sharing that. I feel the spirit as you're bearing your testimony.  And I think you're right. I think he was scared.  As a matter of fact, um, the scriptures tell us that an angel even came to help him and comfort him for part of it when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was hard. What he did was hard,  but he did it because he loves us. Isn't that beautiful?  Everything about the gospel centers on that.  Friends, I hope you go and read your scriptures this week and strengthen your testimony of Jesus Christ. Really take some time to sit with the Spirit. Easter is the most beautiful time of year when we get to remember the most important thing that ever happened in the history of the universe. I love Jesus Christ  and I absolutely love preparing for Easter and the spirit that it brings as I focus on him and remember him. There are a lot of different ways that you can study. As long as Jesus is at the center,  you're doing it right.  I'll see you next time.  Bye, Leah.  

 L: Bye!

C: Thanks for tuning in to Primarily Scripture with Cindy Young. Don't forget you can subscribe to the newsletter and download free worksheets on the website PrimarilyScripture. com. And if you like the channel, be sure to subscribe, like, share, and leave a review. See you next time!