“He Is Not Here” (Luke 24:6)

Because we wanted to find a way to help our children better understand the meaning of Easter, my husband and I started a tradition that works well for our family. By setting aside Saturday morning for dyeing eggs and receiving treats from the Easter Bunny, we are able to reserve Easter Sunday for a more spiritual activity.

On the Friday before Easter, we hold a special family home evening about the Savior’s Atonement and Crucifixion. We talk with the children about the events of the last week of Jesus’ life. As we discuss the Savior’s death, we use a small figure of the Savior cut out of paper and a matching cutout of clear plastic. Holding the two together, we talk about His death and then separate them, placing the picture of His body in a tomb (a box) and moving the clear plastic cutout to the “spirit world” (on a shelf). We explain that without His spirit, the Savior’s body is dead and can no longer breathe, move, or talk.

Early Sunday morning, I remove the picture of the Savior and put it together with the plastic cutout and place the two items outside the box. Later, when the children awake, we gather them and talk about the Resurrection. We go to the box, open it, and look inside to find it empty. We then see that the Savior has been resurrected because the clear plastic “spirit” has been reunited with the picture “body.” The children can understand that the Savior is alive in a newly perfected body and will never die again. This simple tradition has helped us teach our children the true significance of Easter.—Kelly L. Barfield, Hartsville, South Carolina

Illustrated by Joe Flores