Like the followers of Jesus on Palm Sunday who were waving their palm fronds and shouting “Hosanna,” we too should find joy and happiness in the Savior and this Easter season!

Two years ago, Church leaders encouraged us to more fully celebrate the Easter Season. Our family has been trying to do just that. We have added new traditions each year and this year I bought an Advent Calendar that has 24 different names of Jesus. We have been studying one name of Jesus each day leading up to Easter. Although there are many beautiful and meaningful names for the Savior, the one name that kept coming to my mind when I was thinking about the young women in our ward was Friend. When we were at Youth conference a few months ago, Hudson Driggs asked the youth to shout out names of the Savior and without hesitation Kailee Angelos shouted out “My Friend.” I was touched by her immediate response that she truly saw Jesus as her friend.

We all know what it means to be a good friend and to have a good friend. A good friend is a good listener, someone you can trust and turn to, and someone you want to spend your time with. You feel welcome and comfortable in their home, and they are someone
who cares for and loves you.

The Savior can be our truest Friend as we take steps to build a covenant relationship with Him. The Savior wants to hear from us in our prayers. He wants to be someone we can trust and turn to in times of need. He wants us to spend time with Him by studying the scriptures and going to church. He wants us to feel peace and comfort and seek answers in His home—the temple. He cares for us individually and loves and understands our unique Spirit and intentions.

As Sister Runia said in her most recent conference talk, “I want a relationship with the one person who gets me, who knows my heart and how hard I’m trying.” As we bind ourselves to Him, Christ will truly become our “truest friend.”

In the scriptures Jesus said, “greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends.”

I’d like to think that if you and I lived during the time that Jesus was on the earth, as his followers and friends, we would have been at the gates to welcome Him into Jerusalem with Palm fronds in our hands shouting “Hosanna.” I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves each one of us, and wants to be our dearest, most treasured Friend. We can become that through the gift and use of His beautiful and wonderful Atonement. Jesus Christ can be our Strength, our Exemplar, our Savior, and our Friend.

Message provided by: Natalie Hall, Young Womens Presidency