Happy Eastertime everyone! Today’s Tree of Life Mama’s Countdown to Easter feature is in honor of the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is happening next weekend. You can go here to watch, at 10 AM and 2 PM Utah time on Saturday April 3 and Sunday April 4. This is an exciting time when we get to listen to prophets who live on the earth today, who are just as connected to God as the prophets in the Bible. I promise that if you listen to this conference, having prayed before you watch, and listen thoughtfully, taking notes (as much as you can with children–I know it’s hard if you have super little ones) you will get some ideas about what to do next in your life.

The above video depicts a poem that Elder Boyd K. Packer wrote. He included it at the end of a true story he told in General Conference. This story is from his life when he served in WWII. It illustrates our need for Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Here’s the poem again in song form below.

He told this story in the April 1997 General Conference. A simplified version of the story for children appears in the April 1999 Friend here. You can watch the whole talk below. The text of the poem is here at the end of the talk.

(This story and the stories from previous days of my Countdown to Easter are all compiled in my ebook, The Celestial Guide to Family Devotionals. Watch for it to be released for free here on my website soon!)