The Promise of Easter
Finding hope and healing through the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I honestly can’t remember what Easter felt like growing up—or what it really meant to me. I knew the Easter bunny would come, and we’d probably have an Easter egg hunt, but I completely missed the real focus: Jesus Christ’s service, His Atonement, and ultimately, His Resurrection.
I’ve always believed in Jesus Christ and His glorious Resurrection. I’ve always known that He lives—that He is Risen. When I was 7 years old, I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. I always knew that if I wasn’t healed in this life, I would be healed in the next. Because of Jesus Christ, I knew I would be made whole.
But for much of my life, the Resurrection felt more like a beautiful idea—something comforting I held onto. It was always reassuring to believe that death wasn’t the end, and that someday I’d live with my family forever.
But this year, it means something more—something deeper. It’s no longer just a sweet hope; it’s an anchor. An Eternal Truth. A promise that life doesn’t end, and that one day, all the injustices and unfairness of life will made whole. Because Jesus Christ lives, my family and I will be made whole—perfect and complete.
Almost a year ago, we found out our baby boy, Baby Joshy, had Trisomy 18. A chromosomal disorder where chromosome 18 has three copies instead of the usual two. This caused him to have many physical abnormalities that made him incompatible with life outside the womb.
When Josh and I were first learning about Baby Joshy’s condition, the bad news came in pieces—one doctor appointment, one ultrasound, and one update at a time, spread out over the course of weeks and months.
Each piece of news was heartbreaking. We quickly tried to wrap our heads around our reality: we were going to have a baby who wasn’t going to live. We didn’t know when, and we didn’t know how he would pass away, but we knew the eventual day was coming. We tried our best to keep moving forward, holding onto God’s promise that all will be well because of the covenants we made in the temple.
Of course, we believed in miracles. We prayed for one with all our hearts. Our prayers changed throughout my pregnancy. It began with desperate pleas: “Please heal our baby. Please let the tests be wrong. Please fix his heart. Please heal the cysts on his brain.” Then, our prayers shifted to: “Please let us feel him kick. Please let us hold him. Please let us meet him. Please help me finish school.” But as we pleaded and prayed with all we had, we did so with the faith to say, “Thy will be done,” trusting that God's miracle might not be the one we were asking for.
And His will was done. On December 19, 2024, our baby boy peacefully passed away during labor. With tears streaming down our faces, we locked our gaze on the ultrasound screen, silently pleading for a heartbeat. But his little body wasn’t moving, his heart showed no flutter, and the room fell still.
Baby Joshy had finished his work on Earth. He had returned home.
Our parents, who had once been so excited to see him on the screen, quietly stepped out into the hallway. Josh held me in his arms as we cried on the hospital bed. We couldn’t believe he was gone. In that sacred moment, we said a prayer and Josh gave me a blessing. It was one of the most powerful blessings I’ve ever received. It was filled with promises, and reassurances of where our baby was and who he was with.
The peace we felt was indescribable and I still can’t fully understand the joy we felt. It was incomprehensible and unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
In October 2006, Joseph B. Worthlin gave an address titled Sunday Will Come. He beautifully testifies of the profound truths and promises of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He teaches “Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.
But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.
No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come….Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.
On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all, that we could live forever.
Because of the sacred ordinances we receive in holy temples, our departure from this brief mortality cannot long separate relationships that have been fastened together with cords made of eternal ties.”
Our personal Fridays will look different for each of us—and they may change throughout our lives. Many of us have faced, or will face, a variety of physical and emotional trials. And if we haven’t already, we will all eventually experience the heartbreak of losing someone we love. These are the heavy, heart-wrenching moments of mortality.
Some of us may experience miracles of healing, others of us may not. Some of us will struggle the rest of our lives. But that doesn’t mean God has abandoned or given up on you. And He is certainly not punishing you.
We can move forward with hope and faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that because of His Resurrection, we will one day be made whole and perfect. It may not happen today—but He will walk with us, strengthen us, and hold us until that promised day comes.
We may not have all the answers. We may not understand why we’re asked to endure certain trials—and we may never fully know in this life. But I do know this: God’s plan is perfect and He makes no mistakes.
His path for us is far greater than anything we could ever create for ourselves. And one day, I believe it will all make sense.
I don’t know when that day will come, but I know Sunday will come.
Just as the sun rises each morning and the flowers bloom each spring—Sunday always comes.
I know that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I will be healed from my physical trials and emotional heartaches. I know that because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, my baby will also be resurrected. And I know that because of the covenants Josh and I made in the temple two years ago, we have an eternal family. As we remain faithful to the covenant’s we’ve made with Heavenly Father and with each other, we have the opportunity to be exalted with our perfect son. What a beautiful promise and blessing—all because of Jesus Christ.
I know that all will be well because of our temple covenants. Covenants that bind us to our Heavenly Father. Covenants that draw us closer to Christ, so we can come to know God. Covenants that are only possible because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and promises that can be fulfilled because of His Resurrection.
I know that Jesus Christ lives. He made the ultimate sacrifice out of love for each of us. Sunday came and I know that Sunday will come for each of us.
Happy Easter!
With love and from my heart,
Elizabeth