Good afternoon brothers and sisters. I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak today and share some thoughts with you. Speaking on Easter can be a bit of a challenge. It is kind of like speaking around Christmas. Usually your audience knows the story and the events being celebrated, maybe better than you yourself. One wonders what to add that hasn’t already been talked about umpteen million times and still make it interesting and edifying.
The last week or so while pondering the topic for the day, I thought maybe we would be better served by singing the many beautiful and inspiring hymns about the Atonement and The Lord’s resurrection and playing recordings of several specific testimonies given by The Lord’s modern prophets and apostles than for me to try and avoid blubbering in front of you for 10-12 minutes.
But, maybe there is something of value I can share with you, so let’s pray I am able to share my thoughts cohesively and clearly enough you can better appreciate not just this Easter day but all your days.
O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.
Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers.
How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ.
Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so. (Alma 30:13-16)
Wow Brother Cat Herder! Strong words and assumptions there, what does that have to do with anything Easter? Those were the words of a man named Korihor, directed to people in another time and place before the birth of Jesus Christ. I’m sure that the early disciples and valiant members of Christ's church in ancient Israel during and after His mortal ministry heard things like that regularly. Let's liken it to us now. Have you ever had anyone say anything like that to you in our day? Has the Adversary ever whispered something like that in your ear in times of personal doubt or spiritual darkness?
I propose that if you have or ever will experience that, take courage and lift your eyes to heaven and rejoice! The fact it happens is evidence that Christ lives and brought about the Atonement, your means of Salvation.
Why do we look for Christ? Interesting question, but the answer is not difficult.
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that we (our children) may know to what source we (they) may look for a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26.)
We all have sinned and transgressed God’s laws in some manner. Sometimes daily. Anyone who denies that is actually the one with “the frenzied mind”, because I think they are trying to justify him or herself rather than seek the cleansing power of The Atonement.
Consider The Saviour’s words given to us in modern times. Doctrine & Covenants section 19. When you have read it before, how have you imagined the tone of voice? Maybe with a bit of harshness or anger? Or how about that of a calm, imploring voice full of love? In that tone, I almost always overcome from the love and power .
Therefore I command you to repent--repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit--and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink--
Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power;
(Doctrine & Covenants 19:15-20)
Why do we look to Christ? Indeed for a remission of our sins… For the payment due the Law of Justice that we can not make. For the law of Mercy to free us of the chains of spiritual and physical death.
How do we know this, for it is not something that can be seen by our natural eyes. We know it because we have done that which is required in order to have The Holy Ghost reveal it to us spirit to spirit. This type of knowledge is sure and permanent to our soul. We may choose to ignore it or act contrary to it, but we will always know it is true.
We may not see the risen Lord in our individual mortality, but it doesn't negate that many have and have testified of it. In the New Testament we have the account of Mary Magdalene being the first to see Him on that first Easter Sunday morning. Later that day He appeared and gave instruction and comfort to 10 of the early apostles as they hid themselves from the Jews. Later, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and then to the apostle Thomas when he was able to meet with the other apostles.
From The Book of Mormon we learn that a great multitude of the survivors of the destruction that occurred at the time of His death were witness to the risen Lord. He appeared to them and their account is found in 3 Nephi chapters 11-26.
And we have modern day witnesses as well. The boy Joseph Smith saw and was instructed by Him as answer to Joseph’s simple, pure, trusting faith and pray. Later, the Prophet Joseph Smith, as an adult recorded another vision he had off The risen Lord, and Sidney Rigdon was present as well and saw the same vision.
And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--
(Doctrine & Covenants 76:22-23)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s final general conference testimony in April 1985 is one we all can learn from. We need not see Him to know He lives and fulfilled the Atonement. And we can grow the spiritual witness to the point we have the same surety Elder McConkie testified of.
"I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.
But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way."
A quick synopsis of why this knowledge is so important was shared by Elder Richard G. Scott in April 2010 general conference -- also an Easter Sunday coincidently:
"Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. He is a glorious, resurrected being. He has the capacity to communicate love that is so powerful, so overwhelming as to surpass the capacity of the human tongue to express adequately. He gave His life to break the bonds of death. His Atonement made fully active the plan of happiness of His Father in Heaven.
Jesus administers the balance between justice and mercy conditioned upon our obedience to His gospel. He is the light for all mankind. He is the fountain of all truth. He fulfills all of His promises. All who obey His commandments will earn the most glorious blessings imaginable.
Without the Atonement, Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness could not have been placed fully into effect. The Atonement gives all the opportunity to overcome the consequences of mistakes made in life. When we obey a law, we receive a blessing. When we break a law, there is nothing left over from prior obedience to satisfy the demands of justice for that broken law. The Savior’s Atonement permits us to repent of any disobedience and thereby avoid the penalties that justice would have imposed."
I encourage you all to read and review the conference addresses of the modern day apostles as they pertain specifically to the reason we celebrate Easter. I personally am drawn to those by Elder Scott and Elder Jeffrey R Holland, but all other witnesses from the Quorum of the 12 and the first presidency are as deeply profound and stirring. In last April’s Conference, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminded us:
"The Savior’s Atonement cannot become commonplace in our teaching, in our conversation, or in our hearts. It is sacred and holy, for it was through this “great and last sacrifice” that Jesus the Christ brought “salvation to all those who shall believe on his name.” "
Thru small and simple things are great things brought to pass. And what can be simpler than The Son of God sacrificing Himself to bring about the great Atonement of mankind?
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
(1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
Learn more about the redemption made possible to you and to each of us by Jesus. Develop the hope from knowing of the promises He has made and the Atonement He brought to pass by suffering for you individually in the Garden of Gethsemane and the blessing of your sure resurrection by Laying down His life on Golgotha and taking it back up in the garden tomb. Use that hope to develop and exercise the faith needed to repent so He can heal you.
The joy of His redeeming love truly is more than mortal tongue can speak! Maybe that is why Alma described the change of heart experienced as we allow Christ’s Atonement to cleanse our soul as singing the song of redeeming love. That is a universal description, regardless of time or culture. Some things like Händel’s Messiah come close to bridging that gap of our mortal inability to express the joy. But we need not look further than many of the hymns in our hymnal.
I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me! (Hymn 193)
Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that I know The Saviour Jesus Christ lives. He is the promised Messiah, our advocate with The Father, and the one who has freed us from the bands of death and made it possible for us by our repentance and His mercy to overcome the spiritual death that otherwise we would be damned with. I know this thru the power of The Holy Ghost.
He lives, and while he lives, I’ll sing.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
“I know that my Redeemer lives!” (Hymn 136)
In His holy name, Jesus Christ. Amen.
