My Elder's Easter

There's no Easter Bunny!!! There, I said it, I can't tell you how much it urk's me to hear of kids getting hundreds of dollars worth of loot and more than a months worth of candy delivered, anonymously by an "Easter Bunny". It's bad enough that our entire Christmas season has been commercialized but how we can buy into this, same kind of spending at Easter, really saddens me.
I thought it might be that I grew up in a place where we don't celebrate every date on the calendar. For me, Easter mean't a chocolate egg, maybe 2 if my grandma got me one as well. I've heard of eggs rolling down the hill, chicks to celebrate spring but a Human sized rabbit that sneaks in your house and steals more of your already tight budget to ruin your kids with more sugar and expectations......well I'm not sure where it comes from but it can stay with the Leprechaun and Cupid.

Our family, well I'm not a total wench, of course we hunt for eggs, but 2 bags of mini eggs thrown around the house, found within minutes, is plenty to share and I usually buy my kids a pair of spring shorts and a colorful t-shirt (let's face it, no one in my house is wanting a spring Sunday dress)For us, Easter is a time to talk about Christ, show gratitude and celebrate Eternal life.

Today I received this letter from Our Elder so I wanted to share:


Dear Everyone, This week has been a really good one. I spent this week reading "Jesus The Christ."if you haven't read this book before, do it! haha anyway this week i was reading that book and i was following the life of the savior. The last week of His life. It was really an eye-opening experience to follow the life of the savior. I learned many things which i never would have even thought about. I realized a lot of little details that i would have missed simply just reading the accounts out of the new testament. When i read about certain parts, it really made me think a lot. I really felt bad for Judas, for instance.It got me thinking about who Judas was. Because his weakness was money. Well someone else's weakness has been money. Joseph Smith...both of them had a big weakness to money, and the only difference between the two of them was the action that they made. One is now revered as the "son of perdition" and the other "has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it."The thing i thought of was: what is my weakness, and how can i keep from becoming a slave to the devil like Judas.I think i received my answer though during the week and i thought that I'd share that with all of you this week.You see, Judas, I feel, was a seeker for attention. He probably followed Jesus Christ because he had a huge following. I feel like it was because of the popularity of Jesus, he followed. Surely when the popular guy invites you to hang out with them in High School, you go. The thing is that Judas, i felt, didn't gain a testimony until after he had betrayed his master. So the lesson i could gain from him, is i need to gain my testimony right now, and not linger and procrastinate the day of my repentance. This easter was one to remember the divinity of our Savior, who reaches out to all and beckons to "come, follow me." I have a testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He IS RISEN! he did it only because he loves us so so very much. i know that my weaknesses are there, so that my heavenly father can test me and see just how ready i am to become like him. i am, though, going to do all that i can RIGHT NOW to become more like him and i encourage you all to do the same. SincerelyElder Curtis Ross Hickman