Bishop Wallis – Easter Message
I loved general conference last weekend. It was wonderful to hear from our prophet and other church leaders. There were many messages that brought comfort and hope to me over those two days. While it seems like the work of the Lord has come to a standstill with so many of our missionaries being recalled, our temples closed and not being able to worship together, it was thrilling to hear about temples being approved and planned for in Shanghai, China and the United Arab Emirates among other places!
Then came Monday and back to reality. The week started with some dark headlines. President Trump predicted the week would “probably be the toughest week” of the outbreak with “a lot of death.” Our surgeon general appeared on the Today show and said, “I want America to understand this week, its going to get bad.” And sure enough, they were right. The number of deaths per day across the country has climbed from under 1,000 ten days ago, to over 2,000 on Friday. The unemployment numbers are bad. Predictions on the length of social distancing and stay home directives have gone from weeks to months.
I don’t know about you, but I have had my own dark moments in the midst of this. Working from home, schooling from home, church from home. . . worries about the health, finances, and well-being of my family, friends and neighbors. . . All of this can have the effect of casting a long shadow across our souls. I have certainly had moments these last few weeks when I have had feelings of darkness and discouragement.
Nearly 30 years ago I attended the BYU Jerusalem Center on a study abroad. I had only been home from my mission for about 2 weeks before I left, so I was still a little weird. I remember doing a lot of walking. We walked everywhere. I remember walking into the city one day and listening to my new friends talk about how they missed their cars and being able to drive where and when they wanted. They also missed their girlfriends or boyfriends at home and couldn’t wait to get back to them. We stopped on a corner waiting for the light to turn and I started to feel a little sorry for myself. I remarked out loud that I had no girlfriend, no car to return home to, I didn’t even own a bike! My exact words were “I don’t have Jack!”
As the light turned green there was a man standing next to me that I hadn’t noticed before. He was a middle aged man, an ultra-orthodox Jew in his long black coat and black hat, sitting on an old bike. He turned to me, looked into my eyes and simply said, “You have hope!” Then he quietly rode off. I was speechless, humbled and moved by his words. Here was a man who probably did have very little. His primary means of transportation seemed to be a beat up old bike. Yet he had hope and light and he shared it with me.
In the October 2017 general conference, Elder Uchtdorf spoke about darkness and light. We all have trials that are part of mortality. They may be physical, emotional, financial, spiritual or otherwise. But Elder Uchtdorf reminded us that “Darkness is not an indication that there is no light. Most often, it simply means we’re not in the right place to receive the light. . . “
My mother made this connection years ago in a talk that she gave in church that I will never forget. Sis. Reyna Aburto shared a similar experience last fall during general conference. In my mother’s case she recalled a typical cloudy and dreary Ohio winter. Growing up I remember that clouds would settle into southeastern Ohio and linger for weeks at a time starting in January. My parents had planned a trip during a particularly bad winter and at that time my mother was sure she had not seen the sun for over a month. The plane took off and ascended up through the clouds. As they broke through the tops of the clouds, suddenly the sky burst open with sunlight and there was blue sky all around. It was a reminder that even when we cannot see or feel the sun, it is there. (And so is the beautiful blue sky!)
Our Savior is the same. Always there. Always with outstretched arms. Always beckoning us to Him. He is the light of the world. In his talk, Elder Uchtdorf stated:
Every time you turn your hearts to God in humble prayer, you experience His light. Every time you seek His word and will in the scriptures, the light grows in brightness. Every time you notice someone in need and sacrifice your own comfort to reach out in love, the light expands and swells. Every time you reject temptation and choose purity, every time you seek or extend forgiveness, every time you courageously testify of truth, the light chases away darkness and attracts others who are also seeking light and truth.
We hear in the scriptures countless stories of prophets called to do great things, who must first go through a period of darkness. Jonah was chastened inside a whale for three days and Moses spent 40 years wandering the wilderness to get the Israelites to safety. Lehi was asked to leave everything he owned and take his family into the wilderness and suffer great hardship before reaching the promised land. Even Joseph Smith was overcome with darkness and felt “doomed to sudden destruction” before he found the strength to call upon God. He was delivered from the darkness and surrounded by light as he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in answer to his prayer and earnest seeking for truth.
We often have to experience some darkness to appreciate the light. This past week we have been reading from a small booklet called “Beautiful Truths from the First Vision” by Taylor and Lisa Halverson. One section that describes this principle is entitled After Clouds, Sun. It starts by saying “Sometimes our most intense spiritual outpouring comes only after our most intense darkness or trial.”
As in all things, Jesus Christ is our ultimate example. As we contemplate this past week, and particularly the events of Good Friday, which took place nearly 2,000 years ago, the Savior also had his moments of darkness. “He went about doing good, yet was despised for it.” He was unjustly accused on numerous occasions. He was betrayed by one of his closest friends. In the words of the Living Christ document:
“He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.”
A statement in the Halverson’s book really stuck out to me as we studied it:
“Jesus Christ underwent the darkest most terrifying, most unbearable moments of all when he atoned for our sins and was crucified on a cross. The very earth itself mourned His death and in the Book of Mormon lands, a ‘thick darkness’ fell such that ’there could not be any light at all. Yet He stayed the course, and because He did, this darkest of moments was also a prelude to the greatest and brightest of miracles: the Resurrection and the completion of the Atonement. Christ burst the bands of death and freed us from both physical and spiritual death. Death has no sting, the grave has no victory, and darkness veils the earth no more.”
It is my prayer that despite the clouds that may surround us, we can always have hope and seek the light that can only come from our Savior, Jesus Christ. He can lift our spirits, heal our wounds and mend our broken hearts. He suffered not only for our sins, but He suffered so that He would know how to provide succor in our time of need. I am forever grateful for His example and for His great atoning sacrifice and Resurrection. I testify that He lives.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
