Easter is a very special time for me.First and foremost, it’s a time when we celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Atonement He performed for all mankind. It’s the time we remember that the angel said the most comforting and joyous words ever uttered:

He is not here, but is risen (Luke 24:6).

The resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, means that there is no end for us. Because of Him, we have hope. We can start over. We can be made clean. We do not stop at death.

If that’s not a personal enough reason, my last Sunday in the field was Easter Sunday. Granted, Easter was April two years ago, but no matter what month Easter comes around in the year, I’m always reminded of my mission and how it brought me closer to my Savior.

In 2014, the Church released a video called “Because of Him” as a kind of Easter initiative. The last month of my mission we were encouraged to share the “Because of Him” video with members and investigators. Because I’m a horrible person and hate jumping on bandwagons, I didn’t even watch the video until a week or two before I came home.

How I mourned the fact that I didn’t begin showing people this video sooner. It changed me. There would be nights Hermana Keeler and I finished nightly planning and I would watch that video over and over and over.

My mission brought me closer to Christ than any other even in my life. I hit my lowest of lows on my mission. I cried, I felt alone, I felt worthless, and almost every day I felt that I wasn’t good enough. I had to rely more on God and Jesus Christ those eighteen months than I ever had.

And through everything, I felt the reality of my Savior. I felt Him during those hard moments more than I’d ever felt Him before. I felt His love – His real, peaceful, warm love. I got to know Him on a personal level.

Because of Him, I was made whole from the hatred I felt towards the missionaries and leaders in my mission.
Because of Him, I was able to see and understand my worth for the first time in my life.
Because of Him, I learned how to endure to the end.
Because of Him, I’ve learned how to love others.

Because of Him, I am happy.

Since 2014, the Church has released different Easter initiatives and hashtags for us to share on social media. While all of them are good, none of touched me the way “Because of Him” has.

But this year, I made a conscious effort to really open my heart to the “Hallelujah” video, and I was touched.

Why do I shout Hallelujah?

I shout Hallelujah because I will see my Grandpa Morris again.
I shout Hallelujah because Grandpa Beckert and Grandma Swanson are hearing about the gospel.
I shout Hallelujah because my nephews and niece are not forgotten.
I shout Hallelujah because death has no sting.
I shout Hallelujah because He gave me hope.

I shout Hallelujah
because of Him.