Easter Message: Would We Being Willing to Die for the Gospel?

This weekend, we celebrate the great atoning sacrifice of our Savior. He suffered in Gethsemane and died for us on the cross. He also asked us to being willing to give our lives for His sake, if necessary. Are we willing to do it? We continually ask ourselves that question.

We've been asked to do some hard things on this mission. With Scott's history of heart disease, we never thought we'd be asked to live in the high Andes. We felt there was a possibility that living here might cause some serious problems, even death. We're glad that hasn't been the case.

More recently, we were asked to go to Huancavelica. Our travel book said the road was unpaved, and could be extremely dangerous during heavy rains. We both felt that, to some degree, we were risking our lives to make the trip. We're glad that wasn't the case.

In both instances, we knew what we should do, even if it meant putting our lives in jeopardy.

It turned out that our fears were unfounded. Scott's heart works as well here in the high Andes as it did in Lima at sea level. And the road to Huancavelica—though winding, steep, and at times a little treacherous—was fully paved. When it rained, our driver slowed down, and we felt only a minute or two of concern during the entire journey.

So what should we be willing to do for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Overcome our fears and do whatever we are asked to do. And if something tragic happened and we died on this mission, we would want our children to know we were doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place. We would want them to know that we felt our testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was worth any sacrifice we could make.