Hank Smith: 00:03 Welcome to FollowHIM Favorites. This is where John and I are sharing a single story to go with each week’s lesson. John, it’s Easter at followHIM, and you’ve told me that you have a touching story for Easter.

John Bytheway: 00:15 Easter’s the most important holiday. If without Easter, there’s no Christmas, right?

Hank Smith: 00:19 Yep.

John Bytheway: 00:20 There’s a story that Elder Orlando A. Castaños, an area seventy told. It was published in the April 2025, Liahona. He said, two weeks ago, I received a touching letter from a father of seven children who wrote about his family, and in particular his son Jason, who contracted an illness at age 11. In the following years, Jason’s illness recurred several times. The father commented on Jason’s positive attitude and cheerful temperament. Despite his health problems, Jason received the Aaronic priesthood, the age of 12, always magnified his responsibilities willingly and excellently whether he felt well or not. Last summer, shortly after Jason turned 15, he had to be hospitalized again. During one of his visits, his father found Jason with his eyes closed, not knowing if his son was asleep or awake. He began to speak to him softly. Jason. He said, I know you faced many difficulties in your short life.

01:13 Your condition is tough, although you have a great battle ahead. I never want you to lose your faith in Jesus Christ. The father said he was startled when Jason immediately opened his eyes and said, never, in a clear and resolute voice. Then Jason closed his eyes and said nothing more. His father wrote, with that simple declaration, Jason expressed one of the most powerful and pure testimonies of Jesus Christ I have ever heard with his affirmation. Never was etched into my soul that day. My heart filled with joy because my heavenly Father had blessed me with being the father of such a great and noble young man. Wow. That was the last time I heard him bear his testimony of Christ. Although the family hoped this would be just another routine hospitalization, Jason passed away in less than two weeks. At that time, Jason’s older brother and sister were serving as missionaries. Another brother Kyle, had just received his mission call. In fact, the call arrived earlier than expected. On August 5th, just a week before Jason passed away, the family gathered in the hospital room to open Kyle’s mission call letter and share it with the whole family. In the letter his father wrote to me, he also sent a photograph of Jason in the hospital bed with his older brother, Kyle, by his side holding the mission call. At the bottom of the photograph they had written called to serve their missions together on both sides of the veil.

Hank Smith: 02:42 Wow.

John Bytheway: 02:44 Yeah. Isn’t that beautiful way to look at it?

Hank Smith: 02:46 That’s so tender.

John Bytheway: 02:47 And Hank it reminds me of when I was a an EFY counselor. EFY is now FSY. Think 40 years ago, Hank okay. Think eighties. 1980s

Hank Smith: 02:59 Was a good decade. Yeah.

John Bytheway: 03:00 Yeah. I was just a counselor and we had to report some really sad news to somebody. I can’t remember if it was a family member or friend, but we had to go tell a young teenager that some, a beloved friend or family member had just died. I went with the session director. Our session directors were typically, you know, really experienced institute teachers or seminary teachers.

Hank Smith: 03:25 Yeah. Yeah.

John Bytheway: 03:26 Hank, I don’t even remember who this was, but I remember him telling this beautiful story about a man who crossed the country in a train. The way train travels it’s not like airplanes where you get on and the same group that got on the plane gets off. Right? People get off at different stops. You stop for dinner, you get back on the train, you travel, you stop for lunch, you get back on the train.

Hank Smith: 03:49 Right.

John Bytheway: 03:49 It’s a journey. This man and this friend, they became dear friends on the train, get off and have dinner together, and they’d get back on again and have lunch together and sometimes travel overnight just became close. Well, one time there was a night stop and they got off and were separated or something, and one of these men got back on the train and sat down and was like, where’s my friend? And his friend was gone, and the conductor, I guess found him and said, oh, I’m so sorry. Something happened and he had to take an earlier train out, but you’re going to the same place. He just caught an earlier train. I don’t remember who that session director was, but that was a very comforting story, you know?

Hank Smith: 04:35 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 04:35 The separation is temporary. You’re going to the same place. He just caught an earlier train.

Hank Smith: 04:40 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 04:41 I like that way of looking at it. The time part of it hurts, and Jesus says it’s okay to mourn with those that mourn. There’s a reunion coming.

Hank Smith: 04:50 Mm-hmm.

John Bytheway: 04:50 In a wonderful place.

Hank Smith: 04:52 I love that. John, I remember after my father died, I was pretty frustrated with the Lord. I told him so that I felt the timing wasn’t so good. I remember it was getting a response, I think, from the Spirit, something like this. He’s having a pretty good time right now with his parents and his friends and people he has lost. You sure you want me to take that away from him and bring him back so you can feel better? And I said, well, anything sounds bad when you say it like that, right? But it was one of those moments. I will be there too. One day.

John Bytheway: 05:32 Yeah, that’s right. And all of it because the tomb was empty that first Easter morning, then all of us will have those reunions to look forward to, and they’re in a great place from everything we’ve heard.

Hank Smith: 05:44 You might say, John, that one of the most important things Christ did was take away the fear of death.

John Bytheway: 05:50 Mm-hmm.

Hank Smith: 05:51 Yeah. You and I almost look forward to it. I don’t want to die, but if it’s going to happen, I’ve got people I am excited to see. Talk to. Laugh with.

John Bytheway: 06:02 President Nelson tells a story of being on an an airplane where, what happened? It was like a propeller driven airplane, and the engine,

Hank Smith: 06:09 Something was

John Bytheway: 06:10 Exploded or something.

Hank Smith: 06:11 Right.

John Bytheway: 06:11 He said that people on the plane were screaming and he was thinking, I’m going to see my family. You know? It was totally different because of our of Christ. Right.

Hank Smith: 06:23 I love it. I love it. Well, come join us on our full podcast this week. We’re looking at the Easter holiday. You don’t want to skip this one. We’re with Courtney Rich and she shares some personal experiences that touch John and I, I think will touch you as well and then come back next week, we’ll do another followHIM Favorites.