Faith & Easter

Happy Easter! Today has been a blissful and blessed one due to my loving aunt and uncle's kind efforts. They fed us muffins in the morning, organized a scavenger hunt outside in the perfect weather, organized an indoor Easter egg hunt (where our childhood personalities remerged as we elbowed Mugs & Mikey around and I actually shoved Mugs face down into a bean bag to get an egg.Got it. Won.), let us come to their wonderful ward, fixed one heck of a fancy dinner and shared their testimonies with us.

The real point of this post, however, is to talk about my reaction to a friend's comments about how silly based he found Easter. This friend of mine has always been a very intellectual and kind person who has never found much worth in religion. Some of his comments were aimed at ridiculing how impossible the resurrection of a human being is and how awful he finds faith, that it is not a virtue, "but an intellectual failure, and a characteristic to be mocked. Someone who is prepared to believe in virgin births, zombie sons of gods, talking snakes, water turning into wine, etc. without rigorous evidence should not expect respect for their beliefs from society, and should not expect the right to declare those beliefs openly without being challenged and criticized by others"

When I read this, instead of feeling offended, I felt an intense strengthening of my own testimony. He is correct in the belief that Christ's life and resurrection seem impossible, illogical. Is that not the point? Is that not what is the most remarkable aspect of the Savior's life? Is that no one else could do it. He only could shake the foundation of our mortal beliefs of what was and is possible. The impossible becomes the possible through Jesus Christ. One can ridicule, mock, criticize all he or she desires and it will not change this fact that it happened. I might not be able to provide statistical evidence of such, but I know it happened. I don't follow blindly with a hope and a belief in an intangible fable of imagination. I know that Jesus Christ rose from the tomb. I know He lives now. I know my heart is beating, but I can't see it. I can't hold it in my hands and slowly traces it's vessel, but I can feel it's presence every second of every hour. The same idea is held with the Savior. I cannot yet trace the imprints in His hands and feet and side, but I can feel Him every single second of every hour of my life. He is what keeps me alive and defines every breath I take.

I might not be the best one in the world to defend the faith of billions of others who also acknowledge this day as celebrating the most beautiful event that has ever occurred, but I do know He lives. I do know that no matter whatever is said to try and persuade me that I am illogically following authority figures, I won't ever believe it. I will, however, respect those opinions held of others. I will do my best to love them the way they deserve.

I hope no matter what your faith or lack thereof, that you had a Happy Easter.