I have three sons serving as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. this is the Easter letter I sent to them. I try not to get to preachy here in blog land because heaven knows I am the last person that should be preaching to anyone. I do believe in God and his son Jesus Christ and I believe in love. Nothing has taught me more about love than being married to my husband and being the mother of eight beautiful sons.

Dear Boys,

I put a couple packages together for Jacob and Tyler then I decided that it really didn't make sense to spend 12 dollars to send 5 dollars worth of candy to you! Things are a little tight right now so I ended up giving your treats to the little boys and that saved me buying them candy. I had planned to send you each a card with a little money but work and life got in the way and since we aren't sure if we can send anything to Josh except emails I decided to just email you all my testimony of Christ.

I have thought a lot about what Jesus Christ means to me on this Easter day! My thoughts have come down to this one thing. Yeshua born of Mary a literal Son of God teaches me most purely of my divinity, my worth, and my claim as a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and cherishes me. As I think of each of you, your amazing strengths, your little hang-ups,and your unique personalities I am humbled by the the love I feel for you as it compares with Gods love for me.

Rarely does a day go by that I don't see or hear something that reminds me of each of you. And each time I think of you I am filled with gratitude for the things you teach me and the parts of you that remind me of the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. You each save me as I see my strengths and my sins amplified in you.

I am thankful that Christ came to teach me not to cling to human experience but to live each moment and move on. I am grateful that He teaches me to know my relationship in this simply, vast universe, to know that I am never, for one teensy moment, alone. I love the abundance He taught by possessing no earthly goods. I delight that over and over He showed by word and deed that rules and policies and guidelines, be they of man or God, are only powerful if they are rooted in and applied with love. "On these two hang all the laws and all the prophets, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself." I am touched that over and over those who chose to live as he lived, in humble realization of THEIR power to order and guide their life through unwavering faith in God were healed.

Jesus Christ knelt in Gethsemane's garden, in solemn tribute to the promises made in Eden's garden. He bled from every pore, oh the symbolic significance in each droplet of blood. Then in agony, deserted by sleeping friends, even this Son of God pled with His Father, "remove this cup". He endured silently the taunts and torments of his Roman captors, he groaned beneath the weight of His cross. Forgave, three times in the hour of his death then commended his soul back to it's wellspring . He did not save us by being perfect, He surrendered all condemnation and judgement of our experiences in this mortal sphere and thus became perfect, and taught us the source of our salvation, do not condemn, do not judge, only love. He rose, and came forth out of the tomb on Easter Morn, clothed in immortality and eternal life and Mary called him "Master"

From your first breath each of you has taught me this perfecting love by loving me and freely allowing me my experiences, my moments of clarity and my foolish sins, without judgement. You teach me of my Savior, of what it means to love as God loves me. You are each priceless and beautiful beyond the ability of mortal lips expression.

Love each soul you encounter as Jesus loves. Know that each soul has a mother who loves them as I love you. Believe in Christ, see him in each set of eyes you meet, in each hand you touch. Let no one leave your presence with out giving them a moment of pure presence a moment of oneness. That is my Easter wish for you, my Easter gift to you, and my testimony of the risen Lord!

I hope you each had a glorious Easter day!

I love you, Dad loves you!

Strength and Honor

Mom and Dad