Everyday we can see the Savior

This fall I had the blessing of going to and living in Jerusalem for a semester. Despite the incredible experience I had in the Holy Land, let me clarify that this will not be a blog about the sites where I “found” my Redeemer. I didn’t “find” Him in Jerusalem just like I didn’t “find” Him on my mission or “find” Him my freshman year at BYU. Our Savior does not hide; He is with us waiting for us to look. Similarly, my testimony is not tied to a specific place or verse or moment. My testimony is based on the millions of times in my life that I have taken the time to look and realized He is by my side. In the most famous sermon ever given, the Savior said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) I believe and testify that this does not just reference a time at the judgment bar when those who are pure in heart will go to live with their Father in Heaven and Christ, but that every day we can see the Savior. To me this verse says that if we are pure in heart and desire to see the Savior throughout our lives, we will.

I have seen my Savior in the face of an older gentleman in my congregation who always greeted me by name and had given his entire life to serving the Lord. I see it in the young teenagers I taught for a few mornings who faithfully attended an early morning scripture study class before school each week day. I see it in my mom who every morning reads her scriptures before reading scriptures with the family. Christ is not there in the tomb, He is truly risen. And He is with us in each righteous choice we make and in every hard day we endure. We do not need to search for the Savior. He is always with us, we just have to pause and take time to recognize Him.

While sitting outside the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem one Sunday, a Nigerian group of pilgrims were gathered waiting to enter the Tomb. One woman in particular was praising Christ through song at a considerable volume while waiting her turn. As I sat there, I smiled to myself thinking of the joy that the Savior brings in our lives and how we each manifest it. As she entered the Tomb, I wondered if her volume would decrease upon exiting. No, was the answer. As she left the Tomb, she sang just as loudly as she had prior to entering. I noticed, however, that her volume had also not increased. It may have been because she was already singing at maximum capacity. But also I think because she knew just as assuredly as before she walked into the Tomb that she would find it empty. Like this woman, my testimony was not changed by going to the Tomb I know just as assuredly now as I did before that He lives and is not “here, but is risen” (Luke 24:6). And I am so very grateful that He is not there, but is with us.

Brooke Ellis