Sister Sarah Johnson: Happy Easter! :)

Hello Family!!

Happy Easter! I love this time of year where everything starts blooming and hope seems to enter the world again after a time of dark, cold, winter. Just like how after Christ's death it seemed like all hope was lost, until He was resurrected and then all hope returned! I know that our Savior lives. He overcame death and all the struggles we will face in this life, and because of Him and with Him, we can overcome them all too! In church I gave a talk on the resurrection which was really fun! Our assistant ward mission leader spoke on how after Christ's death and before His resurrection he served as a mission president and organized missionary work in the Spirit World. Then our ward mission leader talked about how we can do missionary work in our life just by being honest and open about who we are. We have the greatest message of hope, so don't hide it! It was really great and a creative little Easter program:)

This week I went on a split with Hermana Egbert and she taught me how to PRAY IN SPANISH!! Wahoo! I love it, and on our split I prayed at every apartment we visited! It's so much fun! Spanish comes in handy SO MUCH here because everyone is from the Dominican Republic. They often call Inwood Dominican Heights:) I'm slowly adding to my Spanish vocabulary. Slowly but surely:) I'll get there someday!

Living in New York is such an adventure! For many reasons:) But lately what I love is just the sea of people around me. Each an individual person, but we're all part of God's family. Each in their own little world, but we're all part of His world. In fact, we are His world and we mean the world to Him. It's exciting here to be able to see and meet what seems to be every type of person from all over the world! Sometimes when I sit on the trains, it seems like there really is one of everything ever on each cart! A musician, a doctor, a really organized person, a really athletic person, an old person, a young adventurer, an artist, a singer, a struggling college student, a successful businessman, someone who speaks spanish, someone who speaks english, someone of every skin color and hair color, you name it! It's wonderful:) And it's amazing that Heavenly Father knows each one. He knows their story, He knows where they're at, and He's created a perfect plan that will provide each one of us peace. And that plan was completed and fulfilled because of what we celebrated this weekend. Because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ:)

I'm grateful for our Father's perfect plan, and I'm grateful for this time I have to share it with others! I'm grateful for the things that I have learned here so that I can continue to share it with others when I get home too! I hope you will all be open and honest about who you are and what you believe! We have the greatest message of hope and peace, so don't be afraid to share it! Even, and especially, with those who have it but may have forgotten that they do!:)

Lots of love from NY:)

Love, Sister Johnson

* SARAH'S SACRAMENT MEETING TALK *

I am so grateful for this opportunity to speak on Easter! I love Easter, and I continue to love it more and more each year as my understanding of the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ grows. I'm grateful for this time I have to share what I love about the Resurrection, and I pray that I'll be able to say what our Heavenly Father would have me say.

When I was serving in Harlem at the beginning of my mission, there were two men who visited our chapel one day and wanted a tour of our church. We walked around to the different rooms and told them about our services and basic beliefs. The last place we went was to the chapel, and to the surprise of the two men, there were no crosses. One of them looked all around and when he was certain there weren't any there he stopped, looked at us, and asked why we don't have any crosses of Jesus Christ. I smiled and told him that the reason we don't have the symbol of the cross is because we don't focus on the fact that Christ died, we celebrate that He lives! The Spirit filled the room when I said that, and I knew it was true. I know that He lives.

After suffering for all our sins, sorrows, pains, and sicknesses in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ was crucified and died on Calvary. After three days he rose from the dead. This is His Resurrection. This Easter morning we celebrate His resurrection and that he overcame death! His body and spirit were reunited, never to be separated again. Alma, one of the Book of Mormon prophets teaches us all about the resurrection. He taught that "there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death. . . The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame. . . Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous. . . To be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil."

Now to break this up a little, first "there is a death which is called a temporal death" or our physical death. This death is part of God's plan and came included in our earth life experience. We all came to earth and gained a physical body so we could have experience and time to grow and repent with a physical, mortal body subject to death and disease. We gain this physical death (separation of body and spirit) and spiritual death (separation from God) because of the Fall of Adam and Eve. But "the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death." Christ's resurrection made it possible for us to overcome death. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22).

Christ overcame death and He's also overcome all our sufferings. We all deal with physical, mental, and emotional hardships in our life. Things that seem impossible to fix or like they'll last forever. Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy spoke about this in last year's General Conference and said, referring to these sicknesses that we all face in life, "Because of the Resurrection, they have already been cured too. The miracle of resurrection, the ultimate cure, is beyond the power of modern medicine. But it is not beyond the power of God. We know it can be done because the Savior is resurrected and will bring to pass the Resurrection of each of us too." We can overcome death and the challenges we face in life because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Next, Christ's Resurrection brings us hope for improvement and perfection, even though we're surrounded by our imperfections here on earth. These challenges may create discomfort, pain, anguish, and sorrow in this life whether it's physical disabilities, mental illnesses, or the pain of losing a loved one. But Christ's Resurrection truly is the ultimate source of hope. Just like Jesus Christ, our spirit and body "shall be reunited again in its perfect form; (and) both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame. . ." never to be separated again. The verse continues

on by saying, "there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame." We will have immortal bodies and never be subject to sickness or death again because of Jesus Christ.

We will all be resurrected and live again because of Jesus Christ's resurrection, "all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous." No matter who we are, resurrection and immortality is a gift given to all of us. In the Bible Dictionary it says "To obtain a resurrection with a Celestial, exalted body is the center point of hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection of Jesus is the most glorious of all messages to mankind." Our Heavenly Father is so loving and wants us all to receive this glorious blessing.

His Resurrection was necessary for our salvation so that we can all be resurrected to an immortal and perfect state to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father to be judged. "To be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil." I know that as we choose to follow Jesus Christ and God's perfect plan, we will not only overcome death because of Jesus Christ, but we can all overcome our sins and mistakes through Jesus Christ and be perfected in Him as well.

During the Sacrament, I was thinking about the resurrection and what it means to me. On the cover of my tablet case I taped on a pass along card with the picture of the resurrected Christ coming out of the tomb. I tried to imagine what it was like then when Christ suffered for our sins, was crucified, and then his body was laid in the tomb. I'm sure for so many people when that stone was rolled over the tomb it felt like all hope was lost. The light of the world was gone. But then three days later, he rose again! That stone was rolled back away and the light of the world, our Savior, returned and all hope was restored again!

The Atonement is not just about Him suffering all the pain and anguish just to suffer for us and die. The reason the Atonement is complete, amazing, and brings us so much hope is because He overcame it all! He lives again! He suffered it all so that He could overcome it in order to help us overcome it. That is the greatest gift and the greatest message. That our loving Heavenly Father has a complete and perfect plan for each one of us that was fulfilled through His Son, Jesus Christ. Through His Atonement, both the suffering and death and the resurrection, we can have hope. We can overcome the challenges and barriers here on earth and all return to our Father in Heaven to be judged for our actions.

I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and all that he's done for us. I know that on this Easter morning he rose from the dead. I know that He lives, and because He lives he is always there to guide, comfort, and help us in our lives through the good and the bad. I know that He lives and that He loves each one of us. And I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.