My Easter Gift

Easter is just a few weeks away and every Easter I give myself a present. It is a gift I look forward to all year long; I read the four gospels in the New Testament which are the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Over the years this tradition has made Easter very special for me, but this year there has been an added surprise. At our last Stake Conference our Stake President asked the entire stake to read the Four Gospels for Easter! So this year instead of reading it alone, I have people all around me reading and commenting and enjoying the same tradition. I love it!

I sometimes read my Easter gift from a harmony which means that the stories from the four books have been put side by side so you can read each writer’s version of a story all at once and compare them. The best harmony I’ve found is by Steven and Julie Hite’s. Besides being a harmony of the gospels it has all of the Joseph Smith Translation included. But since I am teaching New Testament next semester and will be using the Hite book as my text, I decided that for Easter I’d read it book at a time. I’ve finished Matthew and Mark and am reading in Luke right now and eagerly anticipating John because his gospel is my favorite. It is so full of light and truth that I can’t read it without coming away absolutely lifted and encouraged.

I love Easter! I love it for all it represents and for the opportunity it gives me to remember and renew. Life isn’t always what I want it to be, but because of Jesus Christ it will be.