[Given by Chris Juchau at the Priesthood Leadership session of Stake Conference, April 2017.]

Good morning, Brethren.  It is Easter Sunday. I would just like to share a few words with you about the Savior before we break into groups.

A week ago yesterday I had the privilege of touring the Vatican.  We were in a small group of about twelve, mostly Americans, being led through by our Catholic Italian guide, Laura, who was knowledgeable and passionate.  It felt like there were a half-million people there as we squeezed through dense crowds to see, among other things,  the Sistine Chapel, the works of Raphael, Michelangelo’s Pieta, and four sainted Popes whose caskets lie inside and not just underneath St. Peter’s Basilica.

It was both a fascinating and, at moments, a claustrophobic tour.  For me, there were two particularly moving moments.

The second of the two came after we’d been through the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel and were inside St. Peter’s Basilica.  As you know, old European Cathedrals are basically laid out in the shape of a cross with the highest point in the ceiling typically formed by a large dome at the intersection of the cross.  In St. Peter’s, this point is tall enough to accommodate the Statue of Liberty underneath it.

As we approached this point at the end of our 3.5-hour tour and I was walking alongside Laura, she said, “And now we enter the very heart of Christianity.”  I was immediately and deeply struck by the incorrectness of her words.

The heart of Christianity is not a physical location.  Yes, there are sacred places.  But I have been to the Garden Tomb and to Bethlehem and the Sacred Grove—and the heart of Christianity is not there, either.

The heart of Christianity lies within my heart and your heart.  For me, it is in that portion of my heart and soul that loves God our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent.  I strive for that portion to be more than a portion—to be my entire heart and my entire soul—and to love them with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.

The heart of Christianity lies also in His heart and in the love that He has for you and for me.  His love is perfect.  It is perfectly kind, generous, patient, good, forgiving, just, and merciful.  His love withstood unfathomable pain and suffering that you and I might receive forgiveness and sanctification.

The heart of Christianity will be found wherever I am—and for you, wherever you are—provided that we remember the Savior and are striving to be one with Him.  He said:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

My other moment came earlier in the tour when Laura was explaining the Pope’s Coat of Arms and showed a painting of Peter receiving two keys from the Savior—one gold and one silver.  I was, in that moment, filled with gratitude for the reality of priesthood keys and for their restoration to the earth today.  Those keys are found in the restored Church.  Many in this room right now hold priesthood keys or have in the past.  President Smith here holds keys for ordinances in the Mount Timpanogos temple through which eternal families may be formed.  President Killpack, represented here today by President Lindley, holds keys to bless the lives of non-members in our stake.

Just a week prior to our visit to the Vatican, fifteen men stood in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and spoke to us one by one.  Each of them holds all of the keys once held by Peter and others.  Those keys are with us and they are exercised on our behalf.

As priesthood leaders in the Highland Utah South Stake, all that we do should be for the purpose of helping individuals and families come to the Savior.  All that we do should be done under the direction of legally authorized representatives of God who hold his authority and the right to exercise it.

On this Easter morning, I wish to testify of the Savior and express my gratitude for Him and for His restored Church.  My testimony involves faith and agency.  It has not yet been replaced by what Alma calls a perfect knowledge.  But that does not mean it isn’t very well grounded and doesn’t rest on a strong, solid foundation.

I have felt the Spirit many times in my life.  Occasionally in very large ways.  Frequently in smaller ways.  I have experienced a joyful connection with the Savior through repentance and forgiveness.  I have tried (not completely successfully, but I have tried and do try) to live the gospel.  I have many weaknesses.  I know that bad things happen to good people.  I also know that in all circumstances, there is a sweet and reassuring peace that accompanies me when I strive to live the gospel—and an emptiness and darkness when I don’t.

I often think of myself like the man in the ninth chapter of John, who was blind from his birth and who, after having been granted the gift of sight from the Savior—and then grilled repeatedly by the Savior’s opponents as to how he came to see—said, “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

Like all of you, I hope, I am growing and maturing in my faith and testimony and in my familiarity with the Spirit.  Day to day personal growth seems quite imperceptible, but over time it can be significant in each of us.  Like the blind man, I don’t know everything, but increasingly I know that I am seeing more and that I am seeing more clearly because of the Savior.

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.  He is, very personally to me, my Savior.  He is, I hope personally to you, your Savior.  He rose on the third day.  The empty tomb said everything we claim it said.  He stands at the head of this Church and it is His authority we bear.  None of us here bears all of His authority, but we bear the portion that has been delegated to us.  If we bear it well, we will bless many lives, including our own.

May you and I come ever closer to knowing Him, to feeling his love, and to developing His attributes.  May we find healing in Him and may we help our family and others for whom we have stewardship find that healing—and ultimately that peace that passeth all understanding.

I testify that Jesus Christ is the Living Christ—and the son of the living God—in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.