16 a The Easter Holy Week Study Plan (Begins on Palm Sunday)
The Easter Holy Week Study Plan (Begins on Palm Sunday)
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends” (John 15:13).
We were friends to Jesus in our Pre-Mortal lives and He
loves us. Please be a friend to Jesus now and always remember the Love He has
given you.
Remember Jesus’s example of love all through His life and
especially during the last week when His kindness was steady, even knowing the
cost of the Atonement. Our souls are precious to Him.
(You can return for more links)
Matt 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Matthew 22:37–40:
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Take five minutes out of your day to pray and express love
to Heavenly Father and Jesus. Listen with intent to hear and respond with the
love that they feel for you.
Hosanna, blessed by the name of the most high God.
Monday:
Matthew 21:13
Jesus taught us the importance of keeping His Father’s
house, the temple, a holy place of worship.
Vs 14 The temple is a place of spiritual and physical
healing. Jesus healed the blind and the lame in the temple.
How can you open and soften your heart, so that you will be
in a preparation to receive Jesus’s healing power in your life? What can you do
to help others prepare to feel His love, kindness, and healing and redemptive
power in their lives?
Will you work on cleaning your home and ridding your life of
clutter and distraction? Will you set aside personal and family worship time to
learn about and honor your Heavenly Father and His Son?
We can become clean and whole and we look to God and live,
seeking after His Son, asking for forgiveness, and changing the patterns in our
life that are holding us back; repenting.
As you serve family while your visiting, how can you help
them to draw closer to the Savior? When you return home, what can you commit to
doing to keep Jesus more central to your life?
Video: Jesus cleanses the temple.
More Holiness Give Me
Tuesday
Matthew 25
How do I treat Jesus every day in the way that I think, talk
about, and treat others?
Matthew 25:35–40
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I
was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and
clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Are you feeling the peace of the Spirit and the Lord’s
validation in your life because you are choosing to do His works? How can you
improve and do better?
What could you do to follow the Savior’s invitation to serve
those around you?
How could regularly serving others with greater love bless
your life and the lives of people you love?
Video: Ye have done it unto me.
Lord, I Would Follow Thee
Wednesday
John 11:35
Jesus wept. Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus has
perfect emotions and feels our sorrows perfectly. Not only that. He knows how
to send us healing and comfort, because He also is willing to carry our pains
and sorrows.
John 11:35–36
Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
Jesus definitely loves Mary and Martha and Lazarus; and He
loves you and me. He is not a passive God. He is an intimate and Eternal Father
that seeks after our well-being and offers us peace and hope.
The raising of Lazarus from the dead was a promise of Jesus
being resurrected soon, and all of us being resurrected thereafter. When Jesus
spoke to Mary and Martha, He let them know that He is the resurrection and the
life, and that we will all be resurrected because of Him. What a glorious and
profound truth, what great light and hope and love!
Because so many people in Bethany witnessed this miracle,
they believed in Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah.
The Savior has always believed in you. He has always wanted
to magnify your potential and present you to the Father redeemed and ready to
enter His Kingdom. Will you always believe in the Savior?
When have you felt God’s miraculous power in your life? Do
you express gratitude for the many blessings you daily receive through His
love, forgiveness, and nurturing care? Are you aware of His tender mercies? Has
has His divine life made a difference in your understanding of life’s purpose
and the way you conduct yourself each day?
Are you learning about Jesus and His Atonement? Are you
practicing repentance on a daily basis as you strive to be His disciple?
What do belief and faith look like in your life right now?
If you shared your experience with someone else, how did you
feel after you shared it?
Video: Lazarus is raised from the dead.
I Believe in Christ
Lily bulbs grow under
the ground for a long time before they bloom in the spring.
Thursday
“Greater Love Hath No Man Than This” (John 15:13)
Jesus held the Passover with His disciples. Jesus expressed
His love for them during the Last Supper. There were dark hours ahead with the
betrayal, scourging, and crucifixion of Jesus, but there was great hope and
light ahead to, because Jesus would be resurrected and bring resurrection and
life to us all.
13 Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command
you.
Jesus used His last hours to teach, prepare, and comfort
those He loved.
When have you seen others who are struggling through pain do this too; thinking
more of others than themselves?
I saw this in my sister Kathy as she was in deep pain from
the effects of her cancer, and yet she prayed with her missionary companion and
with me and looked to cheer and comfort us.
I saw this in Bob and myself, as we were given power in the Spirit, to comfort
those who came to comfort us when Robby returned home to heaven, so quickly and
quietly.
These are the experiences, along with many others, that have
helped me feel the Lord’s love and recognize more deeply the meaning of His sacrifice
and atonement for me.
Work on expressing love to others every single day. Who can
you reach out to today to express love and gratitude? Will you pray to be guided
by the Spirit in that interaction? Will you follow through and do it?
Videos: The Last Supper; The Savior Suffers in Gethsemane
Read this message from
President Henry B. Eyring.
Friday
“Forgive Them” (Luke 23:34) They know not what they do.
Think about what a fair trial is. Really! Jesus was tried,
condemned, beaten, and crucified the same day. Nothing was fair for Him; but,
He has been fair to all of us, and He will be fair, and He will also be merciful.
He died that we might live!
As He said to the Father about those who crucified Him, He was also speaking of
us, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
We can never become like Him if we are not also willing to
forgive, quickly, even when we are wrongly judged and condemned. “When we
choose forgiveness, He offers His ultimate peace and healing.”
The Power of Spiritual Momentum
In 2022, President Russell M. Nelson suggested that we each
show gratitude to the Savior by forgiving others:
“I repeat my call to end the conflicts in your life.
Exercise the humility, courage, and strength required both to forgive and to
seek forgiveness. …
“… I invite you to seek an end to a personal conflict
that has weighed you down. Could there be a more fitting act of gratitude to
Jesus Christ for His Atonement? If forgiveness presently seems impossible,
plead for power through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ to help you. As you
do so, I promise personal peace and a burst of spiritual momentum.”
To show Jesus gratitude for His gift of forgiveness to you,
please seek to forgive others both directly and in your heart. Sometimes, we
have to allow time and space for others agency and growth; but, we can still
think about them kindly and remind their good deeds, instead of concentrating
on the hurt and injustices we both perceive and feel.
As you let go of resentment, the Savior you offer to you the
peace and comfort you are seeking. Restitution will come in the Lord’s time.
Because of the gift of agency, some things are beyond our control to resolve in
our own time or way. But the Lord will restore things according to His good
pleasure and in His wisdom and timing.
“Forgiveness is about letting go of bitterness, anger,
resentment, and thoughts of revenge as you allow the Lord to heal you.”
How does forgiving others help you become more like Jesus
and understand His redeeming love for you?
Videos: Jesus Is Scourged and Crucified; Forgiving Others:
An Easter Message from President Russell M. Nelson
Saturday
“Peace I Leave with You” (John 14:27)
Can you imagine the grief and pain of those who loved Jesus
the day after he died? They had so much hope in the promised Messiah making
everything right in the world. Now He was gone. But He would not leaven them comfortless.
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as
the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid.”
Isn’t it amazing that the Comforter is always present and
can help us deal with the struggles, trials, and sadnesses in our lives, as we practice
faith in Jesus Christ and seek His direction? We can feel God’s love for us. I
know this to be true. We need to turn to our Father in prayer, in Jesus’s name,
and He will send us feelings of love and peace through the power of the Holy
Ghost.
“We can feel hope instead of fear.” There is peace in
Christ!
Choose to seek and live by the Spirit of Peace.
“We can feel the peace of the Holy Ghost as we listen to
sacred music or watch uplifting videos about the Savior.” We can feel our
Father’s love and the Savior’s gift of grace when we pray and as we seek to do Their
will.
List of Videos to watch: video of the Easter story
List of music to listen to: beautiful playlist
Share a favorite Easter song with others.
Video: Jesus Is Laid in a Tomb
Sunday
“Mary …” (John 20:16)
Mary was distraught that Jesus’s body was taken from the
tomb. She had come to anoint His body, and she didn’t know where he was. (Think
back to what comfort it gave you to know that Robby’s grave had been filled so
soon after we left the graveside service. We all feel more secure knowing that
the remains of those who’ve passed on are respected and not desecrated.)
So what turned Mary’s sadness and dismay into hope and joy?
She heard the Resurrected Savior speak her name, “Mary.” Have you listened to
hear the Savior speak your name?
“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest
thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have
borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
“Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith
unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.”
Jesus didn’t know it was the Savior there, because of her
grief and pain. It was when He spoke her name that she recognized Him. Hearing
Him say her name was the beginning of a wonderful celebration. Her beloved
Jesus, her Lord and Savior was yet alive, He was alive again, resurrected,
never to die again.
We are invited to see and know Jesus and to understand His love
for us. We are invited to hear Him speak our names. He knows each one of us
personally and intimately. We can feel and know this for ourselves, as we come
to know Him personally and intimately.
We can feel of His glory!
Because of Him and His sacrifice, atonement, and resurrection, we can
return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father again. All we be resurrected and
given the opportunity to choose to follow Jesus. He has a love for us even as
our Father. There is no greater love than that.
How can we celebrate greater love each day for the rest of
our lives? You know we can because of Easter!
Be believing. Christian celebrate Easter because they
believe in Jesus Christ, and Him resurrected!
Be like Mary. Seek Jesus in those places where you know He
can be found.
Celebrate the gift of His Atonement and Resurrection by
following Him, worshiping Him, and attending His memorial services, and making
covenants with Him. Celebrate His gift further by inviting others to come unto
Him and offering them the hope and peace that comes through Him.
“Sing songs of His redeeming love, and feel the Spirit
testify that Jesus Christ knows you personally.”
Testimonies of Jesus Christ born by others and songs sung
about Jesus Christ brought me great joy this Easter season. Though I could not
be there to hear Christine sing in the choir, I am thankful she invited me to
hear the choir practice those songs that were sung on Palm Sunday. I am
thankful that I heard Eliza sing in the choir in her ward and in primary and at
Max’s baptism. I am thankful for the testimony’s of the brother who spoke in
her ward on Easter. I am especially thankful that Bob and I were privileged to
worship in the House of the Lord with Eliza in the Frankfurt Temple.
I am looking forward to worshiping each Sunday as I partake
of the Sacrament, and each time I go to the temple to help others make
covenants and receive gifts from the Lord. I am looking forward to celebrating
Easter all year long, with hope, forgiveness, and joy in my heart. That will
take constant repentance on my part as well.
Video: Jesus Is Resurrected
Whether Jesus said, “Touch Me Not” or “Hold Me Not” before
ascended to His Father, Mary was believing that it was Jesus. That’s important.
She ran to tell His disciples that He was resurrected. Seeing is Believing when
the Lord is there and when the Holy Ghost witnesses the truth.
“Jesus Christ knows your name! He loves and understands you
perfectly.”
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