A young newspaper reporter working in a rural Utah city was conversing some years ago with the wife of the pastor of a local Christian congregation. His membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came up in the course of the conversation. The pastor's wife said she had wondered about something: The previous year, on Easter Sunday, she had noticed that the parking lot of a nearby LDS meetinghouse was empty all day.

"Don't Mormons observe Easter?" was her question.

The young man replied that indeed, Latter-day Saints do observe Easter, as belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is central to their worship. But he was at a loss to explain why the parking lot of the meetinghouse remained empty that day, as ordinarily, the building would be occupied with worship services on the Sabbath, including Easter.

Only later did it dawn on him that the annual April general conference of the Church had fallen on Easter Sunday the previous year — as it does this year. At once, it was clear why the meetinghouse was idle that day. On general conference Sunday, even when it is Easter, faithful Latter-day Saints in Utah who are not attending conference sessions in Salt Lake City are typically at home viewing them live on television.

In fact, for Latter-day Saints, there could be no more appropriate observance of the sacredness of Easter than to gather — in a single body, as it were — to hear the Lord's anointed prophets, apostles and other Church leaders deliver instruction, counsel, warning, consolation and doctrine as they are so inspired by the Savior Himself.

From a Latter-day Saint perspective, this time of year is rich in meaning. With the rest of Christendom, in observance of Easter and with reverent gratitude we recall the agony and suffering of our Lord and Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, rescuing mankind from a temporal and spiritual death, followed three days later by His triumphant resurrection from the tomb.

This season calls to mind a related but much earlier event: the Passover, commemorating the deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage and oppression in Egypt. It resonates with us as Church members because it is part of our spiritual heritage as the latter-day covenant people of God. We find joy in the mercy and power of God to save His people, our covenant ancestors, from bondage, imminent peril and death. Moreover, the essential symbolism of Passover foreshadows the coming of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the meridian of time. The symbolic elements — selection of a firstborn lamb without blemish, the sprinkling of blood on the door posts of dwellings, the eating of unleavened bread — point the mind toward Christ as the Lamb of God whose blood cleanses those who partake of the pure Bread of Life. How fitting that the Lord decreed through Moses that the Passover would mark the religious new year for the children of Israel (see Exodus 12:2), occurring as it does in the month when spring begins and God's creations emerge from a winter of dormancy and spring to life.

Yet another event marks this as a season of great significance. With the rest of the world, Latter-day Saints observe Christmas on Dec. 25. But we know through revelation that the real anniversary of the advent of our Lord and Savior in the flesh is April 6, coinciding with the calendar date when the Church was organized in this dispensation (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:1).

Thus, the deliverance of the children of Israel and the institution of the Passover; the birth in mortality of the Lord Jesus Christ; His atonement, crucifixion and resurrection; and the organization of the Church in this gospel dispensation all occurred at the same time of year.

Add to that a high point like the Church's general conference, and we indeed have before us a time for rejoicing and thanksgiving. At the conference we likely will be edified with sermons declaring the divinity of Jesus Christ, extolling His life and mission and giving practical counsel in applying His doctrine and teachings as we confront the challenges that beset us. Gratitude and reverence to Him will be reflected in the hymns and anthems that are sung and the prayers that are offered.

Like the disciples who were joined by the resurrected Lord as they journeyed to Emmaus, though they did not recognize Him at first, we may find that our hearts "burn within us" (see Luke 24:32) as the Lord's authorized representatives open to us the scriptures as part of the inspired messages they deliver to us at the conference.

As mentioned above, the Passover season was for ancient Israel the beginning of the religious new year. It can be the same for us, as we ponder the commemorations associated with this season of the year and gather to hear inspired words from the Lord's anointed servants.

Let us make this April general conference a time of renewal, resolve and recommittal in following the teachings of Christ and observing the covenants we make. As we do so, joy will surely flow from our efforts.