Today is Thursday of Holy Week. Today, the Savior ate the last Supper and went on to suffer in Gethsemane. I wanted to share some talks about the Savior’s final hours. So, for this week’s Throwback Thursday Talk, we get two from Elder (now President) Jeffrey R. Holland. Pres. Holland is a master teacher, writer, and gifted orator. I love his talks. Especially his talks about Jesus Christ.

The first one is, Elder Holland, None Were with Him, from April 2009 General Conference. This talk is about the last few days of the Savior’s life. It is so beautiful and sorrowful. Here is one of my two favorite quotes from it. (I’ll let you guess the second!):

“Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”

The second one is from Elder Holland in April 2015, Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet. Here is a favorite quote from this talk.

“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. That victory is available to us because of events that transpired on a weekend precisely like this nearly two millennia ago in Jerusalem.”

I also invite you to listen to this beautiful children’s choir from Conference singing Gethsemane. It is truly angelic!

Enjoy this Easter week! It has come to be such a lift and light to my soul to spend time with Jesus Christ. I began to celebrate the whole week in 2016 when I was teaching at Murray High Seminary. The Administrative assistant there put up a poster for each day. They explained what the Savior was doing on that day during His final week. I was mesmerized as I followed along. It’s not that I hadn’t studied it before. I had studied the events of the end of His life many times. But for some reason, doing it on that week, each day, was very sacred. It’s been a tradition that I have kept up to this day.

What Easter Traditions or Study of Jesus Christ has blessed your life?