Walking in His Footsteps: Easter in Tandil; He has Risen

Dear Family!!!!

Just like Pablo said, the Windows of Heaven are open and miracles truly happen. I am so happy for Pablo and his companions! They are truly seeing miracles happen and are working very hard! This truly is the Lords work.

Well, this week was fantastic. Honestly, I haven't had a great week like this in a long time here in Tandil. We didn't find many people to teach but our attitudes were so much better and we enjoyed every moment of everyday. One of the things that changed was our way of contacting people. Tandil was so busy this Easter week!!! Because Tandil has one of the biggest Crucifixes in the world there was a ton of people here!! We weren't able to see any of the Easter processions or the Easter play but we are going to go see the Crucifix today. Its called, "El Calvario." I have heard so much about it this week that now I want to go. It won't be anything compared to the one in Jerusalem. This whole week I was thinking abut my experience while in Jerusalem for Easter. I will always remember the time I spent there.

Being able to share the message of the atonement and of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is an amazing opportunity. I love the scriptures: (3 Nephi 27:13-22) (Alma 7:11-16)

In Preach My Gospel it says,

God’s whole purpose — His work and His glory — is to enable each of us to enjoy all His blessings. He has provided a perfect plan to accomplish His purpose. We understood and accepted this plan before we came to the earth. In the scriptures God’s plan is called a merciful plan, the plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, and the plan of salvation.

Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan. Through His Atonement, Jesus Christ fulfilled His Father’s purpose and made it possible for each of us to enjoy immortality and eternal life. Satan, or the devil, is an enemy to God’s plan.

God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to overcome the obstacle of sin in addition to the obstacle of physical death. We are not responsible for the Fall of Adam and Eve, but we are responsible for our own sins. God cannot look on sin with any degree of allowance, and sin prevents us from living in His presence. Only through the Savior’s grace and mercy can we become clean from sin so that we can live with God again. This is possible through exercising faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

To fulfill the plan of salvation, Christ paid the penalty for our sins. He alone was able to do that. He was called and prepared in pre-Earth life. He was the literal Son of God in the flesh. He was sinless and completely obedient to His Father. Though tempted, He never gave in to temptation. When the Father asked His Beloved Son to pay the price of the world’s sins, Jesus was prepared and willing. The Atonement included His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering and death on the cross, and it ended with His Resurrection. Though He suffered beyond comprehension — so much so that He bled from every pore and asked whether it were possible that this burden be lifted from Him — He submitted to the Father’s will in a supreme expression of love for His Father and for us. This triumph of Jesus Christ over spiritual death by His suffering and over physical death by His Resurrection is called the Atonement.

Christ promises to forgive our sins on the condition that we accept Him by exercising faith in Him, repenting, receiving baptism by immersion, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and striving faithfully to keep His commandments to the end of our lives. Through continuing repentance, we may obtain forgiveness and be cleansed of our sins by the power of the Holy Ghost. We are relieved of the burden of guilt and shame, and through Jesus Christ we become worthy to return to the presence of God.

As we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

In paying the penalty for our sins, Jesus did not, however, eliminate our personal responsibility. We must show that we accept Him and that we will follow His commandments. Only through the gift of the Atonement can we return to live with God.

I know that this gospel is true. I know that Jesus Lives. Just like the Angel said, "He is not here, for he has Risen. (Luke 24:6)" I know this is true. I know that Jesus is the Savior, our Redeemer and our older Brother. Through him we may change and start over. As we accept his atonement and endure to the end we may rely on the promise that we may have eternal life (see 2 nephi 31:20). What a marvelous opportunity I have to help bring others to this knowledge. The gospel can help us really endure our trials, and can fill our souls with joy, peace and hope that if we endure we may be blessed eternally.

Hermana Zubeldia