Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said that first Easter sequence of atonement and resurrection

constitutes the most consequential moment, the most generous gift, the most excruciating pain,

and the most majestic manifestation of pure love ever to be demonstrated in the history of this world.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that he could,

like lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with his might and through our

obedience to his commandments, lift us to eternal life. So today we celebrate the gift of victory

over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known, every discouragement we

have ever had, every fear we have ever faced, to say nothing of our resurrection from death and

forgiveness for our sins. Welcome to Meridian Magazine's Come Follow Me podcast where this week

we are studying that magnificent gift the Savior gave to us in the atonement and resurrection.

Because we take tour groups to Israel and have done extensive photography there,

we have often been to that mound of olives where Jesus suffered such agonizing pain in the

garden to Gethsemane for us. We have walked down that mound, shared testimony in an olive garden

there, but one night stands out as singular. We wanted to photograph an olive grove on that mound

in the nighttime to capture as closely as possible what that scene might have been like two thousand

years ago. Most who go to the Mount of Olives visit the Church of All Nations where ancient twisted

olive trees grow that date back more than twelve hundred years and some claim to that very time when

Christ was there. Yet for our photographs we went a little further up the Mount of Olives

since the Scriptures described Jesus as going further into the Garden of Gethsemane and on the

Mount of Olives that means further up. We were there for many hours the din and honking of the

traffic gradually subsided to quiet. The crowds had dispersed and we were quite alone in the olive

vineyard. Across the Kiddrone Valley the ancient wall of the old city wound its way with an occasional

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