Resurrection

A dear friend from church asked me to give a short talk about the Resurrection of Christ this week. I thought it would be appropriate to also share it here. I was so grateful for the chance to prepare and felt such a closeness to the Savior as I studied. I have felt great peace ever since and am grateful for the increase of love and appreciation I feel for Him.

The Resurrection of Christ

Christ died on a Friday. In a 2006 conference talk given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, entitled Sunday will Come he stated,

“It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God. I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.

But the doom of that day did not endure.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.”

Christ had triumphed over death. The bands that bound Him to the grave were broken. For Him and for us all.

Jesus rose on the third day with an immortal and perfect body of flesh and blood. The tomb was empty. He appeared to Mary, he ate fish and honey, He taught his apostles, people touched him and angels witnessed of his resurrection.

Then the 12 apostles went forth to testify of his resurrection- the most fundamental doctrine of their preaching because without the resurrection- the reunification of our spirits with our immortal and glorified bodies, the atonement and His teachings would have been in vain.

Christ then came to the New World to let a whole nation see, touch, and testify of his resurrected body so they could bare witness of His triumph over death.

Latter-day prophets, beginning with Joseph Smith have testified that “He lives- for we saw Him even on the right hand of God.”

Witnesses abound in the scriptures of the reality of and hope that springs from His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is the most glorious of all messages to mankind. It dispels the darkness of death and the fear of the adversary.

Death is a part of life. If we have not already, we will each lose loved ones- our children, our spouse, our parents, our grandchildren, our siblings. Death is certain for us all.

Elder Wirthlin says,

“Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.”

I had mine. On Friday, January 24, 2014 when I went from thinking that my husband had the flu to several hours later finding out that he had a tumor growing in his brain that could prematurely take his life.

I experienced a terror that night that was so dark and so consuming I thought all was lost.

But like Elder Wirthlin, I testify that Sunday will come and because of the Resurrection of Christ all will be made right again. Resurrection is certain for us all.

 He states,

“I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.

Because of our beloved Redeemer, we can lift up our voices, even in the midst of our darkest Fridays, and proclaim, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

I testify of the resurrection of Christ. I know that He lives. I believe the witnesses who testified of His resurrection and know that their testimonies are true. The hope of the resurrection has dispelled the darkness of the past year and gives me comfort that because of the resurrection of the Savior we will ALL live again.