Quest For Christ

On Saturday our ward had an activity entitled "The Quest For Christ"

Over the past 2 1/2 months, in preparation for this day, those joining the activity have been memorizing "The Living Christ" document, which is the testimony sent out to the membership of the Church in January 2000. It is signed by the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Of course, over the past nearly eleven years, the names have changed. With the passing of several General Authorities and members of the First Presidency, new people fill those positions. The second part of the preparation was to study the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and the third was to write down your testimony.

The call came at 6:30 am, with the words, "The bridegroom cometh." We had fifteen minutes to be at the church.

The first thing that happened was a "judgement" table where we were asked 3 questions. 1. Have you memorized "The Living Christ?" 2. Have you been studying the life and teachings of Jesus Christ? 3. Have you written down your testimony? Those who could answer "yes" to all three questions went into the Primary room. Those who answered "No" went into the Scout room. After everyone had been "judged", we were asked what parable came to mind with the activities. The answer was clear, The Parable of the Ten Virgins. Next we went into the cultural hall for a light breakfast. We were given instructions for our day, and then an Angel appeared and told us that the Christ Child had been born and that we were to go to the Inn to find him. All of the classrooms were Inns, and we had to seek out the correct one. Once we found the correct Inn, we were told that they had been there, but there was no room for them, and they were in a stable. Directions were given to find the stable.

When we arrived the stable was empty. A Roman soldier came by and told us that Herod had decreed that all children under the age of 2 were to be killed, and did we know where the family was who apparently had been in this stable? He gave us a copy of the decree, with a clue as to where our next destination was to be. The clue led us to the Temple, where a young boy told us that Jesus had been there, but was now gone. The Scribes were certain that this could not be the Messiah, as the scriptures said Elias would come first. We were told that Elias had already come and we should go to the River Jordan to find Him.

At the River Jordan, we encountered John the Baptist, who also reported that Jesus had come this way, but we must repent and be baptized in order to follow Him. He led us up the path, where we met Simon Peter, who had left the sea and was a Fisher of Men. Here we were given the opportunity to cast a sin into the net of the fisherman and let it depart from our presence.

Simon Peter told us that Jesus had gone to the Pool of Bethesda to heal the sick. Over the past year everyone has been putting spare change in a "Jingle Jar" to help someone less fortunate than we. At the Pool of Bethesda (Primary Children's Hospital) we learned of the needs of the children afflicted with diseases and the research that gets much of it's funding from donations such as Pennies By The Inch. The 1st counselor in the bishopric has a 3-year old with leukemia, and he related a little about what had happened here. We were given the opportunity to donate the money in our jars to the hospital. This is one jar of two that we filled.

Next we went on to the Upper Room for the Feast of the Passover. One of the families in our ward are of Jewish descent, and this good brother explained about the feast and the tradition behind each food that was served. He talked about Christ introducing the Sacrament at the Last Supper. Then we ate the Feast.

After our meal, we went to the "Garden" at the base of the Mount of Olives and learned about Gethsemane, the olive presses, and the pressure of the sins upon Jesus, as he atoned for our sins. The pressure was compared to that of extracting oil from the olives.

Then we walked the road of Golgotha to Temple Square and into the Visitor's Center. At the Cristus Rotunda we learned of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. We held a testimony meeting and all recited The Living Christ. When we finished our quest, after we finally found Jesus Christ, it was raining. The weather had cooperated while we held the outdoor activities. We awakened Sunday morning with snow on the ground. The timing and the weather were perfect for our quest. It was a life-changing experience that is difficult to put into words. It was a very spiritual experience.