Create

*vain note:  I just realized I posted this without saying, I'VE NEVER PAINTED BEFORE.  These are from the last year.  Soooo yeah.  don't judge too much. ;)  k thanks.

I've always loved President Uchtdorf's Talk "Happiness, Your Heritage" and the Mormon Message they created to go with it.  (Shout out to Kate, "where can I get this soundtrack?!")

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."

I feel like it's so easy to get discouraged about what we haven't done or what we wish we could be better at.  It's times like that when I love being able to sit down and create.  To hash it out on the piano, make a meal for somebody, or doodle with a paintbrush.  

Here are some of the things I've "created" lately.  I'm not one to come up with a picture to paint on my own, so usually I look up pictures online and then just do my best to copy them.  Here are some of the things I've done. I'm actually really proud of how well they turned out overall.   (Many of them get thrown away.)  

Aspen trees

"Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty."

Pretty colors, right?!  I was super proud of how the sidewalk turned out.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use* for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

*But for real.  

Love me some springtime.

"If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."

When I lived with my grandma for a few weeks in the summer while I was engaged she did this cardboard cut out painting with me.  It was great.

 "If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next."

So humbling.  And exciting.

Once again, copied from the internet.  His little face kills me.

Lions and elephants are my favorite animals so they had to be what I tried painting first.  I also showed Derek this probably ten times in the process of doing it because I couldn't get over how cute they were.

"I believe that as you immerse yourselves in the work of our Father—as you create beauty and as you are compassionate to others—God will encircle you in the arms of His love."

Because He Lives

On this wonderful Easter day I want to share my thoughts on the meaning and import of this holiday. For me, Easter is more meaningful than Christmas. Why? Because on Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ. But on Easter, we celebrate his Atonement and triumph over sin and death--the reason for his birth in the first place.

The Savior's life was a perfect example for how each of us should live. His sacrifice and death on the cross of Calvary ensures that we can lay claim to his grace and power to save. His resurrection on that first Easter Sunday is our greatest source of hope in a troubled world.

Jesus Christ was perfect. He taught the gospel with power and authority from his Father. He commanded devils to depart, brought sight to the blind, and healed the sick. Even before his own resurrection, he proved that he had power over death. His walk among mortal men was filled with service, teaching, and love--a perfect pattern for all of us to follow. John, the apostle who knew him best, said, "and there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:25). Truly he was the greatest man to ever have walked the earth.

In the week leading up to Easter, we celebrate Holy Week and commemorate the final events of the Savior's life. He entered Jerusalem accompanied by shouts of Hosanna and again proclaimed his authority as he cleansed and taught in the temple. His teachings to the apostles in that final week are some of the greatest pronouncements of love, hope, and peace that have ever been uttered:

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:33-34).

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you (John 14:18).

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you (John 15:13-14).

In his final hours on earth, Christ suffered unspeakable emotional, physical, and spiritual pain as he took upon himself the sins of the world. It is impossible for mortals to comprehend the depth and intensity of his sufferings. Why did he suffer? Why did he die? A few scriptures from the Book of Mormon help us understand why he endured so much pain and anguish:

And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men (1 Nephi 19:9).

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.  

Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me (Alma 7:11-13).

For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; (D&C 19:16).

Christ suffered "because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." Christ suffered so that he would know how to succor us. Christ suffered to blot out our transgression and to loose the bands of death. Christ suffered to ease OUR sufferings. Christ willingly suffered because he loves YOU. Christ suffered because he loves his Father and wanted ALL of his Father's children to return to him. I testify that Christ has opened the door to our salvation. We can be comforted. We can be forgiven. We can be cleansed from sin. We can walk back into the presence of the Father and "dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness" (Mosiah 2:41).

After Christ had suffered and was crucified on the cross, the greatest miracle of all--and the one that we celebrate on this day--occurred. The Savior of the World, the man who had been crucified, was raised up from the grave. He appeared to many people. He walked alongside them. He ate with them. He taught them.

The greatest miracle of all is the assurance that because he triumphed over death, the gift of the resurrection is given to all. Every man that has ever lived on this earth will also be resurrected. "The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame (Alma 40:23). We will see our loved ones again. We will be reunited with our Father. We will have the opportunity to become like him.

I now cite the testimony of the modern apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ:

We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary.

We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.

To their testimony I wish to add my own. Christ lives! He did truly suffer and die for us. His resurrection is the true source of our hope. He is the source of peace and love and joy. "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ" (PMG, p. 52). I testify that Jesus Christ knows you and loves you. I testify that he did ascend from the Garden Tomb on the third day and is now enthroned in glory with his Father. I testify that his sufferings and death make it possible for us to return to our Heavenly Father and to take our place with Christ at the right hand of God.

This is what we celebrate as we contemplate the resurrection of Christ every Easter. We celebrate the hope of eternal life. We celebrate the love of our Father in Heaven. We celebrate the plan of salvation that leads to our eternal happiness. We celebrate the One who did truly rise from the tomb "with healing in his wings" (2 Nephi 25:13). We celebrate what is possible because he lives.