The Empty Tomb

Back in 2007 my husband and I had the privilege of traveling to Jerusalem. One very memorable experience there was at the Garden Tomb. As we stood upon the ground where our Lord had conquered the grave and rose from the dead we offered a prayer of gratitude for the power of redemption made possible by Jesus Christ. Then we sang one of my favorite hymns, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." As we sang, the Spirit bore a powerful witness to our hearts that Jesus Christ does live, that it is through Him we are Saved and redeemed from death both that of the physical and death of the spiritual. How grateful I am on this Easter day and every day for my beloved Savior, my Exemplar, my Shepherd and my Friend. He loves us. He shows us the way to our Father because He is the way, the light and the truth... HE LIVES!

The following passages are from John chapter 19 and 20

"Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

11 ¶ But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Awesome Video for Easter

This youtube video was so popular last year that it went viral in a matter of days.
I love this video and want to share the link since Easter is just around the corner. See "An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ". I hope you will watch it. I promise you will come away feeling hope, peace and consolation for whatever you are facing. We have hope in Christ, I know He lives and that His sacrifice saves us. I am so thankful for my Savior and His great love for all of us.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to share with me your thoughts on this video.

Jesus Christ Lives

I want to share my testimony that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God, our Eternal Father. I know Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know He redeems us from sin and from death. He Atoned for my sins and laid down his life willingly for my sake... John 15: 13 Isa. 53: 5
I know He was resurrected and took up His body again from the tomb, a perfect and immortal body of flesh and bone.... for many have touched and felt and witnessed it. There are so many witnesses. Most of all I have felt the powerful witness of the Spirit speak to my spirit Rom. 8: 16 that these things are True. Happy Easter!
God Bless You!
Alicia

Mary and the Resurrected Jesus Christ

Isa. 25:8; John 20:10–18

Jesus Shows His Wounds

Luke 24:33–43; John 20:19–20

Go Ye Therefore

Matt. 28:16–20; Mark 16:14–20; D&C 31:3–5

The Ascension of Jesus

Acts 1:9–11

Jesus Teaching in the Western Hemisphere

3 Ne. 11:8–41; 12–26

Jesus Healing the Nephites

3 Ne. 17:5–10

Jesus Blesses the Nephite Children

3 Ne. 17:11–25

Stephen Sees Jesus on the Right Hand of God
Acts 7:54–60

Joseph Smith Sees Jesus on the Right Hand of God

JS—H 1:14–20

Old Testament, New Testament......Another Testament

Title Page

Introduction

The Second Coming

Matt. 16:27; 24:30–31; 25:31; D&C 45:44–45; 133:19, 44–52; JS—M 1:1, 36–40

Easter Message

"Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”

My other plea at Easter time is that these scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice, laced with moments of denial and abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance, that never again will He find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His Via Dolorosa in our present day. As we approach this holy week—Passover Thursday with its Paschal Lamb, atoning Friday with its cross, Resurrection Sunday with its empty tomb—may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,” for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles (April General Conference 2009)

Good Friday

I was just thinking about Good Friday and why we remember it.... I had my scriptures open and found this very applicable for today.

"Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies."- Alma 62:50

He Lives! Easter Slideshow

**Before viewing slideshow be sure to pause the music on the player located in the top left corner of this blog to be sure there is no conflict with the sound. Enjoy!

I wanted to put together a slide show that told the message of the true meaning of Easter. With alot of work and help from my friend Steve Chipman, it's finally done.

Except for the sketch of Mary and Joseph with the Christ child, only the pencil sketches and photographs on this slide-show are mine. Most of the other paintings I downloaded from lds.org there are a few I found on google. The music to this slide-show is called, "His Hands"-by Kenneth Cope, sung by Jenny Frogley. Please respect copyrights. None of this may be sold, copied or is meant for personal profit. My soul intention of creating this slide-show is to simply share my love and testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ and is not meant to advertise myself or to sell art. Even my website is not for personal gain but is set up to share what I consider the best news in the world!

If you feel inspired, uplifted or touched by this please share it.... this is meant to be passed along.

May also be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TgRGzV2iWs

Thank you, and God bless you!
Alicia

Featured Artists in the slideshow: Harry Anderson, Robert T. Barrett, Carl Heinrich Bloch, Ford Madox Brown, Grant Romney Clawson, Ted Henniger, Heinrich Hofmann, Greg K. Olsen, Del Parson, Clark Kelley Price, Walter Rane, Alicia Rawlins, Ken Riley, John Scott, Liz Lemon Swindle