What is Passover?

Jews have celebrated Passover since the time of Moses. Instructed and empowered by the Lord, Moses used both miracles and plagues in an attempt to soften Pharaoh's heart and encourage him to release the Israelites from slavery. Pharaoh remained unmoved. At last the Lord declared that the Egyptians' final punishment would result in the death of every firstborn child and beast in the land. (Exodus 13:15) At that same time the Israelites were given specific instructions to follow so the destruction would "pass over" their households: Those Israelites who sacrificed and ate a specially selected lamb and marked their doorposts with its blood would be spared the death of their firstborn. Exactly as foretold, the Egyptians suffered loss in every household, while the Israelites who obeyed were spared. Horrified by the destruction, the Pharaoh ordered the Israelites to leave Egypt. This ended hundreds years that the Israelites had been slaves to Egypt. In commemoration of their freedom from slavery, the Israelites began to celebrate what became known as "Passover" annually thereafter.

We know from the scriptures that Passover took place approximately the end of what we now call March. This is important because Jesus' Last Supper prior to his crucifixion was a Passover meal.

As the time of His crucifixion and resurrection is brought to our remembrance this Easter season, I plead with each of you, my beautiful young women, to consider the immense impact of Christ's atonement and resurrection on your life. For me . . . I am humbled and exceedingly joyful too. I know that I will never be able to repay my Savior for this gift that He has given to me. They only thing that I can do, is to live my life as His disciple, teaching, testifying, and proclaiming to you that He lived and that He lives.